The closure of churches as a result of COVID – 19 was a spiritual error in the first place that should not have taken place, the Ecumenical Youth Association (EYA), has said.
The organisation said the call for the reopening of churches should be seen as a necessity to provide and proffer spiritual solution to control Coronavirus.
While appreciating the views of spiritual leaders which, he believed, believed, were “intended for good”, EYA said it supported the call for the reopening of churches because “only the body of Christ can deliver this nation as whatever manifests itself in the physical has first existed in the spiritual; this makes it necessary to treat the spiritual first to tackle any challenge from its root.”
The EYA said the government should have just engaged the spiritual leaders and give them expert information on how to manage the pandemic.
The President of EYA, Daboikiabo Warmate, who stated these in an interview our correspondent, faulted what he described Nigeria’s “over-reliance on the West to proffer solution to all her challenges, rather than looking inwards spiritually.”
He said, “The call for the reopening of churches should be commendable and not condemnable by all. Anyone that is calling for the reopening of churches for the primary purpose of collecting tithes and offerings should be left for God and his conscience to judge. The unfortunate closure of churches as a result of Coronavirus was a spiritual error in the first place that shouldn’t have been.
“Churches are spiritual essential service providers. Worship centres are the foundation of spiritual and other developments of a nation.
The call for the reopening of churches should be seen as a necessity to provide and proffer solution to control the COVID – 19 pandemic.
“The opening of worship centers wouldn’t have in anyway worsened the spread of the Coronavirus than it is today. There was a spiritual angle to the defeat of Ebola (Virus Disease) in Nigeria.
“Churches are information dissemination centres; the government would have just engaged the spiritual leaders and give them expert information on how to manage the virus, including effecting social distancing, by reducing the number of attendees per service.
“Nigeria’s problem is its over-reliance on the West to proffer solution to all her challenges rather than looking inwards spiritually, technologically and medically.”
Warmate said as at May 10 2020, the total number of confirmed cases in Nigeria was 4,399, discharged cases were 778 and deaths recorded was 143 despite the lockdown.
“But Tanzania that did not shutdown churches had 501 confirmed cases, 21 deaths and 183 recovered cases because the President is spiritually alert and sensitive”, he stressed.