By Bridget Ikyado
Abuja – A Cleric, Pastor Marvel Onoka, has urged Nigerians to shun domestic violence and strive hard in building good families to ensure the evolution of a better society.
Onoka, who is a legal practitioner and Pastor of the Glorious Spring Christian Centre, also known as “His Offspring”, said this in an interview with the News Agency if Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday, in Abuja.
According to her, violence between couples is capable of breaking family bonds.
She attributed Gender Based Violence (GBV) to defective parental upbringing and misplaced societal values.
“You cannot be a good spouse if you were firstly not a good child.
“When parents fail to instill core fundamental moral values: fear of God, love, patience, hard-work and respect for people in their children when young, problems pile up.
“Such parents have succeeded in releasing into the society uncultured and endangered species that would eventually harm or hurt those around them,” the pastor said.
Onoka advised couples to treat each other with love and respect so as to breed responsible children in a harmonious atmosphere.
“Family is the first unit of the society and if there is no harmony in the family, the larger society will experience crisis,” she added.
Onoka said to reduce the menace of GBV, government, religious bodies and Non-Governmental Organizations should focus on instilling vital virtues in young people.
She also said that those engaged in GBV had been deeply manipulated by the devil and needed to submit themselves to God, serve and fear Him.
“That is why we are out to evangelise by informing, educating and enlightening people on the way of Christ which shuns negative vices.
“I am out to get Nigerians addicted to God; when you test the fear of God, you become distinguished above your contemporaries, you detest living an unrighteous life.”
Quoting from the book of John 4:20, the pastor said “whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar.
“For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.”
She added that the bedrock of violence in all circumstances was the void of God’s love in people.
“When a man loves God he feels the flight of the downtrodden, he seeks to relieve the hurt of the impoverished and always yearn to extend a touch of smile,” Onoka said.
She also said that there was need to expand the church so as to “preach to all nations”.
“We will inaugurate our church’s branch in Abuja by Sunday at Utako, we will extend God’s word to impact and win more souls.
“As the country is in its trying times and also is the church of God. Let us thrive more and not relent as joy comes in the morning,” Onoka said.
The cleric advised Christians to go beyond praying in search for solutions to Nigeria’s problems by obtaining voters card to elect good leaders in 2023.
“Vote and be voted for, let us be courageous and enduring, let’s go beyond complaining and murmuring, let’s do the right thing and vote sincerely for our choices of good leaders.
“Let’s guard against and resist every form of monetising our votes.
“He that buys our votes buys our health, roads, wealth and future, our collective good; like Esau, let’s not exchange our great future for a mere meal,” she added.(NAN/vitalnews)
