Former military Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, a retired General, has urged Nigerians to utilize the power of prayers to defeat the Boko Haram insurgents.

He made this plea during a prayer conference which held on Sunday at the Olive Tree Parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, Ikoyi, Lagos.

The prayers held under the auspices of Nigeria Prays, a
nongovernmental organization, NGO, headed by the retired General, who led Nigeria between 1966 and 1975.

Gowon said Nigerians should endeavor to change their orientation on the issue of prayers as a means of getting divine attention in the affairs of men, adding that it was what the nation needed at present to tackle the menace of insurgency and its attendant security challenges.

He said the incessant suicide bombings in the country were worrisome.

“It is sad that some people willfully take their lives and the lives of others. This is a great concern. There is no longer respect for lives. There is no regard for human dignity. This is worrisome. That is why I really want to appeal to Nigerians to raise an altar of prayer for Nigeria. We should consistently pray and constantly ask that God will cause his mercy to flow in our nation,” he observed.

Gowon said the case of the Biblical Saul, whom God transformed from a violent rebel to a minister of the gospel, shows that there was hope of redemption for the misguided insurgents.