The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Alfred Adewale Martins has challenged in-coming administrations at the Federal and State levels to be faithful to the promises made in their manifestos so as to give Nigerians a new lease of life.
Martins equally urged Nigerians to allow the power of Christ’s resurrection lighten the dark moments of their individual lives; as he wished all Christians a happy and blessed Easter celebrations.
“In-coming governments must work for peace and reconciliation in order to foster peace and unity among Nigerian peoples. The hardship that our people are facing today arising from bad leadership cannot be overestimated,” Martins stated in his 2023 Easter message signed by Anthony Godonu, the director of social communications, Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos.
The clergyman urged leaders at different levels and positions to do away with narrow parochial, ethnic, religious interests in order to set the country on the path of greatness.
In a country where there is so much division and disunity, the Archbishop called on the political elites to take the risen Christ, as their model of leadership.
According to him, those in position of leadership must realize that individual, personal good, and security can be assured only if the good of every individual person is attained.
“Both leaders and people must renounce the path of selfishness and greed that is so prevalent now. If we learn to love one another selflessly as Christ loves us, then we can build a better society where all would be able to develop and thrive and actualize their God-given potentials,” Martins stated.
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According to Martins, all Nigerians must allow the power of Christ’s resurrection to dispel the dark moments of their lives in order to heal the wounds that are threatening the unity of the country.
He stated further that Christ has brought Nigerians from darkness to light by shattering the gates of death and subduing the grip of sin and evil. According to Martins, Christ did this by willingly dying on the cross of Calvary in order to redeem mankind from eternal damnation.
The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos also charged Christians to truly renew their baptismal promises at Easter, and reject Satan and all his evil works and deeds. According to him, this would serve as a reflection of their faith and their readiness to live the new life of Easter, working for the unity and progress of Nigeria.
“In recent times, we have had moments of divisiveness and disunity in our country. Disunity is always the work of the devil, the agent of darkness who is always looking for opportunity to cause confusion. As we celebrate Easter, the victory of Risen Christ over sin and evil, let us allow the power of Christ’s resurrection to dispel the darkness of disunity, discrimination, and violence that we are experiencing. We must allow ourselves to be agents of unity, peace, and progress,” Martins stated.
The Archbishop also called on all Nigerians to pray for the grace to recognise the risen Christ in the reality of their lives and to live in his love with trust and confidence in his promise of giving them victory over their challenges.
He also called on the political elite especially those recently elected in the 2023 general election to dedicate themselves to the common good and the welfare of the electorate and to take Nigeria from the currently polarised and divided situation to unity, progress, and peace.
He said such a measure of self-sacrifice for the common good is expected of everyone, particularly those in leadership positions in the country in order to bring about genuine progress, peace, and hope for the nation.
“This is a period of excruciating pains for Nigerians arising from poverty and hunger, banditry, kidnapping and other terrorist activities and we expect those who rule the land to make the required difference,” he said.
