- Our politics is a clash between right and wrong, justice and injustice, love and pain – Bishop Kukah
- In-coming governments must take Nigeria from the currently polarised, divided situation to unity –Archbishop Martins.
- We need faith, prayers to surmount unfulfilled promises, insecurity, lawlessness, joblessness – Archbishop Okeke
- Rise up to a new life of reconciliation, no division – Bishop Badejo
- Become witnesses to God’s victory over sin, injustice, hatred, sadness – Bishop Adesina
The Catholic Bishops have urged Nigerians to come together in a spirit of hope, peace, unity and reconciliation despite the country’s rising frightening challenges across all spheres of life. These were the messages Most Rev. (Dr.) Alfred Adewale Martins, Archbishop of the Metropolitan See of Lagos; Most Rev. Matthew Kukah, Bishop of Sokoto; Most Rev. Emmanuel Badejo, Bishop of Oyo and Most Rev. (Dr.) Francis Adesina, Bishop of Ijebu-Ode gave their respective congregations and Nigerians in the wake of Easter, humanity’s journey, marked by hope and new beginnings. The prelates called on Christians to use the Easter season to reconcile with one another, professing that Easter brings love, peace, amid eschewing social vices. The high ranking clerics decried insecurity in the country and sufferings by the citizens. They enjoined the citizens to have faith that problems, even those that seem insurmountable, would be tackled with constant prayers. Archbishop Valerian Okeke, Archbishop of Onitsha and Metropolitan Onitsha Ecclesiastical Province has said with a common resolve, faith in God and prayers, Nigerians can weather the myriad of daunting challenges that they face as a nation.
He made the call while delivering his Easter Message on Sunday at the Cathedral Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity, Onitsha. Citing Biblical instances that illustrated miracles facilitated by faith, Archbishop Okeke related the faith events in the scriptures to the nation’s present challenges, as he stressed the need for faith in God’s abilities and consistent prayers in solving the nation’s problems. “In our world today, especially in our country, Nigeria where so many things are far from what they are expected to be, one needs faith to move on without stumbling. Where there are so many unfulfilled promises, insecurity, lawlessness, joblessness, disregard for due process….and many more, one needs faith to draw near to God, believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek him (Heb. 11:6). “One needs faith to move on with life without losing hope, without distraction and without losing focus. “One needs faith to believe and sing with the psalmist “our God is in Heaven; he does whatever he wills” (Ps. 115:3). “We need the faith with which Jesus commanded the wind and there was a great calm on the sea (Mtt. 8:26). The faith which healed the leper who approached Jesus with the request if you will…. I will be clean (Mtt. 8:3). The faith that healed the servant of the Centurion (Mtt 8:10ff).
The faith which healed the blind man Bartimaeus with the words. “Go, your faith has made you well” (Mk. 10:52). The faith that healed the woman already sick for 12 years; “Have no fear… your faith has saved you” (Mtt. 9:22). We know that faith is a condition for miracles and faith is nourished by prayer.” He urged Nigerians to back up their prayers with hard work in their respective career and business initiatives to ensure national development. “As we walk by faith according to the Apostle Paul (cf. 2 Cor. 5:6), we need to heed the admonition of St. James that faith without good work is dead (James 2:17). “Faith beckons us to do our duties with dedication, with truthfulness and integrity. When we do our duties in faith and follow it up with prayers, God will lift us up beyond human abilities. Jesus Christ assures us that if we have faith, we can move mountains (cf. Mtt. 17:21).
Faith shows itself in good works.” Most Rev. (Dr.) Alfred Adewale Martins, Archbishop of the Metropolitan See of Lagos, in an Easter message issued by Very Rev. Fr. Anthony Godonu, Director of Social Communications, called on all 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 enjoined the political elites, especially those recently elected in the 2023 general elections 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. According to him, 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. The statement read in parts, “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. “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. “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. Let all leaders of different levels and positions do away with narrow parochial, ethnic, religious interests so that we may be set on the path of greatness. We must realise that individual personal good, security etc. 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.” In same vein, Most Rev. Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo, Bishop of Oyo, in his homily at Our Lady of Assumption Catholic Cathedral, Oyo charged Nigerians to embrace the Easter moment of reconciliation and rise up to a new life devoid of disunity and social vices. The prelate stressed, “Easter is good news, no matter how bad things are around us.” He described the power of resurrection and its superiority over forces of darkness.
“Life overcomes death, good wins over evil and truth triumphs over the falsehood of sin. After 40 days of penance and fasting Easter calls us to live holy lives and pursue justice. We must shun all the conspiracy, false witnessing, fake news, betrayal, character assassination and murder of Good Friday, so rampant in our world and embrace the truth, compassion, and forgiveness of Easter Sunday. The Bishop of Oyo emphasised, “Reconciliation, no more division”. He explained, “Easter is the accomplishment of the mission of Jesus to reconcile the world to God. He died on the cross and resurrected for all, without discrimination. Let us all therefore embrace the Easter message of reconciliation. Let us fight the falsehood and division which are destroying families, relationships, associations, parties and country and stop demonizing one another. The ethnic profiling, which makes other people look evil and undesirable is a sin against God and humanity. Jesus condemned sin but never the sinner. Let us emulate him at Easter.” The cleric called on the Nigerian people to follow the road Jesus travelled to his resurrection. Bishop Badejo added, “He was fully obedient to God who sent him. He was focused on his mission. He went about doing good, He fed the hungry, opened the eyes of the blind, cured the sick, stood for justice and preached peace through forgiveness. He laid down His life in service to others. He said I have come to give life, life to the full (Jn. 10:10).
That is what all leaders must do. Same for all good citizens. If we all could obey God’s law written in our hearts and live like Christ our world would be paradise.” Most Rev. Matthew Hassan Kukah, Bishop of Sokoto’s homily portrayed the holistic view of the state of the nation, owing to the after-effects of the 2023 elections coupled with divisive politics and need for national reconciliation. According to Bishop Kukah, the 2023 general elections may go down in Nigeria’s history as the most divisive poll since the return of the country to the civil rule in 1999, as he lamented the deepening trust-deficit, widening ethnic division as well as the worsening deep-seated phobia of one tribe or religion against another. The Bishop of Sokoto said, “Nigerians now look back with utter shock as they survey the debris and litter of mangled bodies, destroyed ballot boxes, stolen or torn ballot papers. Yesterday’s dreams turned into a nightmare. With dawn came ethnic and religious profiling, new productions of hate speeches, threats, and gas lighting. The social media gradually became the conveyor belt for the diffusion and distribution of hate. “The questions are more than the answers: What happened? Where did this hate come from? Has it been living within us? How did we not see it coming? Were we just blind or did we get carried away by the promises of INEC? Were we convinced that we had crossed the threshold of ethnic and religious bigotry? Did we think that the political class had changed its ways? Were we really in a Democracy? Where and why did all go wrong? Can we learn from this? Can we gather the debris and like a game of puzzle start to put things back? How can we climb out of this valley of dry bones? Are there lessons that the cross and resurrection of Jesus can teach us?” he querried.
“I say Yes”, he answered. “I recall the 1959 Documentary, The Hate that Hate Produced, which was made at the height of the gospel of hatred that the Nation of Islam deployed as a means of mobilising for the redemption of the black man in America. The Nation grew out of a selected narrative and juxtaposition narratives of the black experience, deliberately calculated to generate and re-enforce a sense of victimhood and anger at oppression by whites. The idea then was to justify violence against the white person who was presented as the devil. The proponents of this message were later consumed by the same hatred which gradually infiltrated their own ranks. “The question that followed was, who is to blame for the hate that hate produced? Hatred has no redeeming values. The current state of hate does not define us and we need to slow it down. We must listen to one another and seek reconciliation. In the end, only true Christian love can redeem us.” Bishop Kukah likened the politics in Nigeria to a struggle between good and evil. His statement read in parts, “Every election brings more frustration and anger, and the victims all turn on themselves. The circles have gone on and on. Little wonder, fewer and fewer citizens want to risk their lives for what promises them only blood, tears, injury and death. While citizens seek outlets to express their grievances, they often find that the doors of opportunity to express their dreams are blocked. “Misuse of power by the political class creates the conditions for violence. Citizens struggle to use their votes to choose those they can trust, but the violent insist on taking power by the means they know best. It is therefore a mistake to think that violence occurs because Nigerians do not love themselves due to differences of ethnicity or religion. “No, violence occurs because the politicians do not love and respect us. We need more respect. Our politics is therefore a clash between right and wrong, justice and injustice, love and pain. Violence is often the last gasp of victims who can’t breathe.” The prelate enjoined Nigerians not to relent in their quest for a new Nigeria.
“Our dream is merely in suspense, a punctuation mark in the book of our unfinished greatness. Let us see this as a detour, a diversion. We still have our roadmap in our hands. It is time to return to the highway so as to choose a road less travelled, a road of hard work, sacrifice, dedication, and hope. “The ugliness of yesterday must not define us. We must finish this journey together. We shall neither relent, slow down nor give up. The resurrection is a promise that despite the seeming hopelessness, God’s plans cannot be frustrated. Those who position themselves at night with stones to guard the entrance of the tomb will find themselves confounded at dawn by an empty tomb. A new Nigeria will emerge from the tombs of our seeming helplessness.” Most Rev. (Dr.) Francis Obafemi Adesina, Bishop of Ijebu-Ode admonished Nigerians to embrace Jesus’ invitation to become witnesses to God’s victory over sin and death, hatred, sadness and all forms of abuse.