For those who know the highly revered General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor E.O. Adeboye, he does not criticize government and hardly advises in public. So, it was not surprising when Elder Felix Ohiwerei told journalists at a media par1ey with the General Overseer that no questions MUST be asked outside the 2005 Holy Ghost Congress slated for December 12-17.

The parley with the editors was held to kick start the spiritual event which attracts multitude from across the globe annually. Adeboye says this year's theme: The Ultimate Breakthrough was not from man but God, assuring that the individual break­ through will definitely translate to breakthrough for Nigeria politically, socially and economically. According to him, this is because it is the individual that makes a nation.

He, however, made a veiled reference to his relationship with President Olusegun Obasanjo, giving - reasons, spiced with proverbs why he does not criticize his friends publicly.

Solving Nigeria's problems
The truth of the matter is this, for me the friend is to advise, he does not dictate, command or criticize. For the little I know of friendship, if you remove my clothes in public and then you try to cover me in private, you have already done the harm. Every man has his own calling and if a man will keep to his calling, he will receive the backing of God.

One time a Silas was thrown into the prison, he prayed and sang praises unto God and God set him free. And he did that because he got imprisoned for doing what he called them to do: preaching the gospel, healing the sick and casting out demons.

If they had landed in jail because the criticized Pharaoh, they could have stayed there for eternity. God will not release them. I am a pastor. I am not a government adviser or political adviser to the government. However, everybody knows that I enjoy having people around me. I live with them, sleep with them: I know what they are feeling. I know their aims. I know their feelings. Whether you believe it or not, from years of being a mathematician, I have also discovered that problems are solved not necessarily by making noise about it, but by going ahead tackling the problems the way you know.

Some problems can be solved with pen and paper. Some problems require the computer. I tell you the truth; the problem of Nigeria requires divine intervention. Only God and God alone can solve the problem of this nation. I thank God that, by His special grace I have access to Him, the Almighty. So, I will be doing my own little between me and God. Believe me, honestly soon­er than later, progress will come.

Breakthrough
Large as the ocean is, it is made up of mass of water and as big as any bridge may be, it is made up of individual rigs. You cannot, assess a nation unless you start by accessing the individuals. I am confident that because several individuals, this time around, will have breakthrough, the various nations they represent will become affected. How it will begin and the logistics of it, I will leave that to the Almighty.

God has kept on prospering his people, and more and more people are buying cars. And we have had to keep on expanding our car parks. So, definitely, some of the land that the God has granted us through the Ogun State Government will be developed and made into parking lots for the congress.

I believe that we have done a lot to ease traffic flow, not only during the monthly Holy Ghost Services but even during the congress. However, one thing everybody would attest to is that when it comes to traffic control and some other things, things have been getting better by the year, I believe that, even in the area of traffic movement, this December we will have a breakthrough.

As for Nigeria, I have always believed that whenever God gives us a theme for the congress, it is because there something He wants to do. For example in 1998, He gave us a theme: The Land will be better. And whether you believe it or not, God visited Nigeria because it took God to send the Khaki boys back to the barracks. And with what we are seeing, it is the ultimate breakthrough. I believe that, in a way that, no human being can explain, even politically, Nigeria will have a breakthrough.

Impact of the Congress on Nigeria
When it comes to the impact of the congress on individual life, we have to consider, ehm... I am trying to answer your question without sounding mathematical. If someone is standing still on the floor, mathematically it is moving. It is moving because it could have moved backward but somehow, you appreciate the force that would have taken him backwards, so as to put him where he is.

There are many people we see here, and we think there had been no impact on them. If only we know what they could have become if they had not been exposed to what they have been exposed to, then we will really appreciate what God bas done in their lives. For example,

take N1geria, there are people who have said that in spite of an our prayers, we have not seen anything good happening in Nigeria . I tell them but for those people who are crying to God day and night, there will be no Nigeria today.

If 10 percent of what has happened in Nigeria happened in other nations of the world, Rwanda will be a child's play compared to what would have happened here. It is because people are praying. People gather together at Holy Ghost Night: they pray for Nigeria .

The Almighty God kept on restraining the forces of destruction, forces of retrogression. When Nigeria became independent and Ghana became independent, we were both spending pounds and a pound was two Naira and two Cedis. Today, a pound, if I am if correct, is close to 9,000 Cedis and in Nigeria two hundred and something naira. Compare the two and you, will understand what I mean.
* Culled from the Sun