As I write this I have Cece Winans' song 'Waging War' playing.
This song brings back memories of the conversations I have had in the past days with colleagues and friends about the recent wave of bloodbath in our country, Nigeria.
We were greeted only about a week ago with news of the killings of over 200 people by suspected herds men in Plateau state and then on Thursday there was the fire incident that claimed lives and cars in Lagos - this is aside the news of victims of kidnappers, armed robbers and ritualists.
It just seems like a blood sucking demon is on rampage and having leaders like ours that seem not to care enough and would rather hold on to power than admit their incapability to be responsible to citizens has helped it's course, in no small measure.
We wake up to headlines and see too many pictures of people dying that we have gradually become numb, the lives lost have become statistics and all we seem to do now is keep score of the tragedy each hoping that they do not become the next victim. But there are no guarantees.
Really, there are no guarantees.
So what can we do? Resign our fate?
You may say we should wait till the next election so we can vote in better leaders but guess what? The election is 7 months away and even with new leaders there are guarantees.
You may say then that leaving Nigeria is a better option but even in the United States of America where living conditions seem a lot better we have seen that there are no guarantees.
With the news of shootings in schools and offices, policies that make mockery of humanity, racial discrimination etal you can bet that there are no guarantees.
Recently there was the global threat of terrorism that led to countries tightening immigration laws. In the US children were separated from their mothers and kept in cages while here in Nigeria amidst news that ISIS had infiltrated our borders, the DSS reported that it had captured about 60 ISIS commanders once again reaffirming fears that no where is safe.
Days ago news of a Nigerian trader shot dead for no just cause in South Africa hit us bringing to our consciousness that even our brothers away from home are not safe.
In fact it has become hard to listen to or watch the news as there seems to always be a heart wrenching story being told.
News of murders, suicide, rape, bombings, paedophilia, domestic violence, kidnapping, genocide, xenophobia and fraud hit us daily leaving us with more questions than answers.
Sometimes I wonder how I will raise my children in a world like ours where evil lurks on the street corner, the Internet and even in laws promulgated by government globally and I have resolved that all I can do is pray.
And that's what you should do too.
You must pray because your enemy isn't the man in government or the woman selling children for money, your enemy is the devil. His work is to steal, kill and destroy and he roams around seeking whom to devour.
So pray you must and daily too.
Pray daily that God helps you hold it all together and that you wouldn't lose faith and optimism in spite of all that's happening.
Pray for your children even if you are yet to have them, pray for the friends they will have and the life they will live.
Pray for your spouse even if you haven't even met them, pray for the people in their lives, the work of their hands and the life you will have together.
Pray for your family, friends, the people in your life and even our leaders.
Life was not meant to be lived without God as such while it is good to talk about and work for what we want for our children, family, friends and even our nation, the most important thing we can do is pray - for them.
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