Japa: Bishop Okonkwo advises those planning to run away from Nigeria

Dr Mike Okonkwo, Presiding Bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM) has advised those planning to run away from Nigeria to think twice and do so with caution while stressing that it is not always rosy at the other side.

TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Bishop Okonkwo gave the advice while speaking to members of his congregation on Sunday at TREM’s international headquarters at Anthony-Oke, Gbagada Expressway, Lagos State, Nigeria.

The revered cleric noted that some Nigerians who left the country seeking greener pastures regretted their action as they were disappointed and scammed. Okonkwo advised those seeking to run away from the country and settle abroad to remain and only travel if God asked them to travel.

“God already knew that in this period in our nation, you are going to be around here and things will be happening the way they are happening. But we have the covenant of exemption. But you are not leveraging them. You are just behaving like every other person.

“No! You are different. You are totally different. Your mouth will testify. Grace has already deployed the answer. Just receive it. Faith is telling you that you are almost there. If anyone will have a testimony as a result of this period, you are the one.

“I do not want to talk ‘japa’ because travelling abroad I see a lot of people who ‘japad’ who are suffering and I do not want any of you to go there and suffer unless God says you should ‘japa’.

“I see a lot of them suffering. They are regretting that they left. They have sold all their goods, cars, houses and everything and left for abroad. Only for them to get them and see that it is not what they thought.

“Some of them got there and found that they had been scammed. Because they were told: ‘Come, there is a job there for you. Everything is settled.’ But when they got there, they found out that they had been scammed.

“So you who are in Nigeria now will have to be settling them. I told you that I had an issue with this japa when it started. I told you: ‘Don’t throw away your passport and say ‘I am going abroad.’ Listen, overseas, it is still somebody’s country. Whether you like it or not you are still a stranger there and they are becoming more and more racist.

“So whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your heart. It is not doing it with one leg and saying ‘if I see an opportunity, I will japa.’ No! Do whatever you can while you are here and do it with all your heart with the expectation that everything will turn around for you.”

TNG reports Bishop Okonkwo gave the advice with the confidence that Nigeria would become better and a sought-after country. The bishop said it is imperative for Nigerians to build their country, adding that they should be committed to national development and the welfare of one another.

He also urged them to be diligent and ensure excellence in their professions, undertakings and occupations. He stated that God will soon intervene and restore the country to a cynosure before the comity of nations, stressing that Nigeria will not remain in this current excruciating hardship for a very long time.

Okonkwo said: “One thing I know is that this country will not remain like this. I can tell you that prophecy for free. Breaking news! You see this country, it will not remain like this. The devil is wasting time. You understand that on a football field, it is the person with the ball that every opponent goes after.

“Why do you think the devil is attacking this nation the way it is? We hold the ace. Nigeria holds the ace for the changing of the world. I do not know why God loves us in Nigeria. I do not know. There is virtually everything that we have.

“Our weather is good. If some of the disasters happening abroad happen in Nigeria, we all will be dead because we do not even have the facilities. But God is gracious to us. So do not give up on Nigeria.

“I understand our frustration and I am not here telling you that I am a super person and I do not get frustrated at times. I do! I do but when I remember Jesus, I have hope. Do not give up. All is well! Your mill barrel will not run dry. God will see all of you through this challenging period. You will go through it and come out better, bigger and stronger.

“The God we serve is the God of divine happenings. Expect divine happenings in your life, divinely orchestrated. When you begin to look at it from a human perspective, you will not see how. But somehow, you are coming out.

“That same God who made the fish deliver Jonah from the sea and got him on the seashore will deliver you from the present challenges. Jonah did not know how to swim. He was dumped in the middle of the sea”.