It’s touching and rare to have a President seek for divine intervention
in solving some of the country’s enormous economic problems.
After being in the news recently for opening his own church, Liberia’s president, George Weah, is making headlines again for asking his citizens to pray for two hours every day .
The former football star further urged his countrymen and women to hold an all-night prayer vigil on the final Friday of each month for God’s blessings and guidance.
When there were reports that a dry spell and pest infestation had begun threatening Malawi’s staple maize crop in January 2018 it compelled the President, Peter Mutharika to call for a national prayer for rain. He asked cabinet ministers and government officials to lead the prayers. Many people at the time questioned this move.
Zambia, in October 2015, announced a cancellation of football matches and closing of bars to make way for a day of prayer and fasting. This was after the president, Edgar Lungu, ordered his country to pray as Zambia’s currency, kwacha, came under pressure, falling 45 per cent against the dollar. Critics of the government accused Lungu of failing to tackle the causes of country’s economic troubles, adding that the prayer day was a distraction.
Before the passing away of Ghana’s former president in 2012 that cut short his administration, Atta Mills was often criticized for turning the Castle, the seat of government into a prayer camp. He had stressed the need for Ghanaians to continue to pray for the government for divine direction to enable it to lead the state effectively.
Mills even went ahead to propose an annual national prayer and thanksgiving day by Muslims on every last Friday in January and first Sunday in February for Christians. When criticized over this, he allegedly stated that he wouldn’t mind turning the whole nation into a prayer camp.
