The immediate past President
of Nigeria, Goodluck
Jonathan, Saturday, appealed
to the people of Bayelsa and
the Niger Delta to continue
praying for him and his
family.
Mr. Jonathan spoke at a
Special Thanksgiving Service
organised by the Bayelsa
State government at St.
Peters Anglican Church,
Yenagoa.
“Let me again thank all of
you, and continue to request
that your prayers should not
stop now, even as we leave
office,” said Mr. Jonathan. “I
believe we still have a part to
play in the development of
our society, even as a former
president,
“With your prayers and your
support, I’ll be strong enough
to work with all of you in the
development of our
communities, local
governments, and states and
our nation.”
Mr. Jonathan also used the
opportunity to thank
members of his cabinet who
attended the service; the
Bayelsa State government;
and Ayo Oritsejafor, the
President of the Christian
Association of Nigeria.
He also thanked Nyesom
Wike, the newly sworn-in
Rivers State governor, who
led a delegation of state
officials
and PDP members in Rivers
State, to the service.
Mr. Jonathan expressed his
gratitude to Diepreye
Alamieseigha, the former
governor of Bayelsa State,
without whom, he said, he
would not have become
president.
“At a time when I was not
even thinking of being a
commissioner in the state, he
came to me and said I should
run with him. That’s why I’m
here today. Without him it
won’t have been possible.”
The Thanksgiving Service
was billed to begin at 11
a.m., but after Mr. Jonathan
and his wife arrived 20
minutes later, it kicked off at
11.30 a.m.
Mr. Jonathan read the first
lesson of the service, from
the Luke, and afterwards the
officiating minister
announced that the former
president had requested for a
special song for the service,
Stand By Me.
“In the midst of faults and
failure, stand by me; When I
do the best I can, and my
friends misunderstand, Thou
knowest all about me, Stand
by me,” the congregation
sang.
Mrs. Jonathan read out the
second lesson, taken from
Psalm 121.
After reading the B​ible
chapter, she broke into a
song, “What shall I say unto
the Lord, all I have to say is
thank You Lord.”
The congregation chorused
after her.
David Oyedepo, the general
overseer of Living Faith
Church Worldwide, had been
slated to preach the sermon,
but in his absence, Uma
Ukpai, the head of the Uyo-
based Victory Cathedral
Fellowship, took the baton.
Quoting copiously from the
Book of Job, Mr. Ukpai said
that any life without problem
is useless.
“Problem is a pathway to
promotion,” he said. “So if
you want to be a great man,
ask God for problems.
Anyone who has no enemy is
an idiot. That is to say,
people have looked at you
and saw that you have
nothing worth contending for.
“Everyone must go through
that other side of life.
Sunlight becomes darkness,
good health becomes
sickness. Nobody remains on
the sunny side of life. Every
one of us will be tested, you
can’t escape it. If you have
not been tested, you can’t be
a good soldier of the cross.”
Mr. Ukpai described Mr.
Jonathan as a man who
“doesn’t look like a Nigerian”​.​
“He was a man who was
teachable, a man you could
confront and he would listen
to you,​”​ he said.
In his welcome remarks,
Seriake Dickson, the Bayelsa
State governor, said the
thanksgiving service was to
round off activities marking
the “heroic homecoming of
the hero of democracy”​.​
“The significance of this
thanksgiving service, we that
are his children feel that all
the activities we had put
together will not be complete
unless we come together to
thank this awesome God,”
said Mr. Dickson.
“Our leader did a great job,
he acquitted himself
creditably and we are proud
of him. He has entered an
exclusive club of national
statesmen and international
statesmen.”
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God Bless You alway my HERO!