Enoch Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, says Nigeria is currently fighting many internal wars and should not get involved in a fresh external war.

“We are still fighting wars against hunger; we are fighting some serious wars, and sure, we don’t want more wars,” Mr Adeboye told his congregation on Saturday. “We want to win the ones we are fighting, and we don’t want fresh ones, whether within or without our borders.” 

The renowned cleric’s remarks come two days after ECOWAS ordered its standby force to invade the Niger Republic to restore constitutional order following the ouster of President Mohammed Bazoum by the military junta.

Citizens, including senators from Northern Nigeria, had cautioned ECOWAS, chaired by Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, against using military power to tackle the military coup in the Niger Republic, stating that the development would affect Sokoto, Katsina, Kebbi, Yobe, Borno, Jigawa, and Zamfara, which share borders with the country.

In his sermon, Mr Adeboye listed numerous forms of insecurity bedevilling the country and how citizens are gripped with fears of the unknown and stated that the country needed prayers.

The cleric also recounted his experience during the Nigerian civil war, where over a million people were gruesomely killed and said he would choose peace over war.

“And we are already fighting many wars in Nigeria; we are fighting wars against kidnappers, we are fighting wars against terrorists. There are still places in Nigeria today that when people go to bed, they are not sure they will not be killed before tomorrow morning,” said Mr Adeboye.

He added, “Nigeria still needs a lot of prayers. I’m a small boy, but I was at the battlefront during the civil war, not as a solider, but I lived near the battlefront and what I saw; if anybody asks me to choose between war and peace, I would choose peace.”

Mr Tinubu, at the meeting where ECOWAS resolved to military action in the Niger Republic on Thursday, said the ongoing political crisis threatened the stability of Nigeria and other West African countries. 

However, Nigerians have accused Mr Tinubu of getting involved in the war against Niger while Nigeria is confronted with internal insecurity and other issues.