Abuja, Sept.18, 2025(NAN) The Nigeria-Africa-Israel Initiative (NAII), has called for global peace and cooperation, centred on a strong relationship with Israel.
The President of NAII, Bishop Joshua Mulinge, made the call at the official launch of its 2025 summit with an inauguration dinner in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the NAII is an organisation pioneered by Christian leaders since 2012 to engender strong relationships between African nations and Israel.
The body exists in 17 African nations and in Norway, U.S.A. and Israel.
It also draws the attention of nations to the biblical injunction to love the Jewish people and pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Mulinge said that praying for and seeking peace for Israel would bring prosperity and peace to Nigeria and other nations of the world.
He said, “No nation will be able to make progress where there is no peace. The core mission of the summit is to foster unity and cooperation.
He urged participants to embrace their roles as peacemakers, referencing Jesus as the “Prince of Peace.”
The summit, he explained, was a platform to “propagate, to partner and to garner people together for the purpose of peace.”
Mulinge praised Israel’s significant contributions to global well-being, particularly in technology and medicine.
He stated that the world has “all to gain and nothing to lose” by standing with Israel, crediting Israeli scientists for finding cures for many diseases.
He described Israel as a beacon of progress that has been used by God to impact the world.
“The greatest things we can do for the nation of Israel is to pray for her continually, pray for her leadership, pray for wisdom and pray that Israel will have peace.
“We know there are a lot of things going on, but God has used that nation. You talk about technology, about the health, just name it. This nation stands tall.
“Probably if not for the nation of Israel, the cure for many sicknesses would not have been found. But for the scientists that God has raised in that country and in that nation,” he said.
Mr Gedaliah Blum, Senior Partner and Co-Founder of the Heartland Initiative, urged the participants to reframe their perspective on the relationship between Africa and Israel.
Blum stated that the bond was not merely political or economic, but a 3,500-year-old spiritual war for a “new world order” established by the Bible.
“I fly thousands of kilometers to come to a place that I’ve never been to before and hearing everybody speak about Israel, my home, it’s such a light and it’s really, it’s bizarre noting the uniquely strong ties.”
According to him, this connection is rooted in a pivotal historical event.
“Moses walked up to Mount Sinai and received the commandment. What he received was a new world order.”
Blum described this divine revelation as a “disruption” that has been opposed for millennia.
He said that with a population of only 9 million people, Israel is not looking to exploit others. “We’re looking for partners,” he said.
The Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Archbishop John Praise traced the initiative’s history back to 2012, when a Norwegian man named Eric Selle felt a divine call for Africa to lead global affairs through a strong relationship with Israel.
Praise admitted to being an ardent anti-Semite at the time, but said a divine encounter during Selle’s sermon in his Kenyan church dramatically shifted his perspective.
“I used to be a hater of Israel. I had the worst preacher on the pulpit. I wanted to jump on the pulpit and pick the microphone out of him.
“However, during Selle’s brief 15-minute sermon on loving Israel, I experienced a transformative moment.
“The love I never had for other churches, the love I never had for any bishop, began to fill up my heart,” he said.
He said he was the first to answer the altar call to become a “lover of Israel,” a move that surprised his wife and congregation.
He predicted a “paradigm shift” for Nigeria and Africa, adding that their initiative will attract global attention and investment.
County Director, Bishop Sally William-Chinebu, advised Africa countries on the need for financial resilience and urged them to move from dialogue to action, from scarcity to sustainability and from a shared vision to a shared victory.
“Let collaboration begin now. May we, all Africans, be united for Israel? May we, Nigerians, come and understand and work with Israel,” William-Chinebu said.
NAN also reports that the NAII’s 2025 summit aims to strengthening ties between Africa and Israel, promoting cooperation and mutual understanding.
The initiative’s efforts are expected to have a positive impact on the continent’s development and global influence. (NAN)
