My wonderful country is becoming more and more beautiful to me as I travel the world. Nigeria may look sick, but I’m starting to believe it’s the greatest nation on Earth. To be the best in the world, she just needs to do a few things perfectly.

I had to travel to a prayer mountain in the remote Spanish city of Barcelona because I was so concerned about Nigeria and wanted God to intervene there. The only things that the typical Nigerian will recall about Barcelona are Messi and Camp Nou.

But there is a well-known god who is said to have spared Spain from hardships on a few occasions. Perched on a mountain, she

Romanesque polychrome sculpture known as the Black Madonna is thought to have been created in Jerusalem sometime in the twelfth century. One of the most well-known Black Madonna statues in the world, the Virgin of Montserrat was named the patroness of Catalonia by Pope Leo XIII in 1844.

She was thought to have prevented the Swedish invasion and siege of the monastery in 1655. In 1920, she was again given credit for repulsing a Russian attack. You won’t be angry with me for going to beg the woman to save Nigeria from all of our problems.

Maybe I’m affected by my upbringing. In contrast to now, pastors and churches were revered and respected while I was in high school. I recall the initial instance when I

visited a nondenominational

That mountain, which is in Akure, where I was raised, is known as Ori Oke, BASIRIBASIRI (The mountain where God covers our terrible secrets). When I was a high school student, the mountain obediently answered all of my requests, leading me to believe that God hears prayers from higher elevations than from lower ones.

Up until my JSS3, I was enrolled in a public high school. I had a strong urge to attend one of the unity schools, which were the traditional schools back then. That Friday evening, I begged to God that I might be sent to a unity school by miracle. Due to the vigil the night before, I was asleep when I got home on Saturday. My father came to wake me up and enquired as to whether I

A man from the hamlet came with his two daughters to take the exam, and he had nowhere else to stay but my father’s house. If that dad hadn’t brought his children to our house that fateful night, we would have never learnt about the exam. When my father questioned him about how he obtained the forms for the girls, the man replied that he would pay for them at the exam location, but he had not yet received them.

Was it the previous night’s prayers, or was it just a coincidence? when is how, on the same morning when I begged God to let me into the school, I went into the exam without having studied in any way. After finishing the exam, I forgot about

One month later, he was notified at work that someone had seen my name on the admissions list and that, out of over 500 applications, I had placed second in the state. What do you think? The two women who informed me about the exam were never successful. That’s when I first started to think that prayers from the top of mountains could really work. That’s why you’ll understand my excitement when, decades later, I embark on a similar journey in far-off Barcelona.

I departed early in the morning from Barcelona in order to ascend Montserrat, the highest peak on which the lady’s convent was located. At 4055 feet above sea level, the peak is located. I chose to take the funicular this time to ascend the hill. The trip was truly amazing, and the sights were truly breathtaking. There’s a lot of history behind the monastery, but I’ll just talk about the woman I waited in file for almost an hour, admiring and praying as we passed through an old but exquisitely sculpted church.

I was both amazed and saddened when I eventually met our lady. Is it this little statue—or something else entirely—that draws millions of pilgrims each month? I was aware of a few of the numerous miracles linked to a meeting with the Black Madonna, but the statue itself was so plainly made that, if it were in Nigeria, Pastor Adeboye and Oyedepo, along with all the other pentecostal churches, would be publicly denouncing daily visitors to the statue as idolaters. You could also remark that she resembles Osogbo’s YEYE OSUN.

Even the fact that the statue is dark adds to its humour. Is it implied that MARY THE VIRGIN was a woman of African descent? I suppose the believers came up with an explanation because they didn’t want to give black people any positive attributes. They claimed that although the monument was painted thousands of years ago, wear and tear caused it to turn black over time. incredibly practical! We’ll have to wait and see whether MONA LISA goes dark as well. Although I have no faith in the hypothesis, how else could the All-Powerful Spain explain their 1920 escape from the Russians thanks to a monument of a black woman?

Anyway, I was able to finally grasp our lady’s hand. I had a private conversation with the woman. My only request to the lady is that she “get it right,” MAY PRESIDENT TINUBU. May Nigeria regain its greatness. Later, as required by custom, my group sealed the prayer by lighting a candle.

I had the pleasure of meeting hundreds of visitors from around the globe who came to honour and be blessed by our lady. I keep asking, “What is wrong with my dear Nigeria?” when I witness millions of tourists visiting seemingly commonplace locations all around the world. When will visitors to the IDANRE hills start to form lines? When will they discover the well-known background of OLUA, a revered figure in my community who is also credited with performing numerous miracles? Nigeria will eventually get it right.

All I could think about as I rode the funicular down from the montserrat was: Will the Black Madonna save the most populous Black nation?

Dr. Olusola Omoju is a public affairs analyst and researcher.