By Gilbert Ekezie
The diocesan bishop of Lagos and missioner, Anglican Diocese, Humphrey Bamisebi Olumakaiye, has admonished Nigerians to see year 2021 Easter celebration as a time to seek divine intervention for national challenges, repentance and to imbibe the spirit of godliness.
He said t is high time the government retraced its steps and focus on securing lives and properties, revamping the economic sector and invest more in the education of the teeming young ones.
Speaking during his Easter message in Lagos, Olumakaiye informed that Easter is a period God gave mankind another chance to reject “Barabbas” and choose Life and Peace.
According to him, the celebration is also the demonstration of divine love, which indicates that in spite of the monstrous miscarriage of justice, and cruel rejection of Christ’s love and person; he willingly chose to die for mankind.
On state of the nation, he expressed regret that Nigeria, now has a Federal Government that is seemingly insensitive to the plight of the common man on the street. “The entire nation has been ravaged by spate of violence, kidnapping and insecurity. However, when it is expected that the Boko Haram insurgents and perpetiators of other act of criminalities who were captured be seriously dealt with, it is robust amnesty programmes that is being offered to them. It then looks like ‘give us Barabbas,” all over again. Various texts in John 18: 40 showed that Barabbas was a thief, insurgent, and rebel; yet, the government of the day would rather free a rebel, an insurgent and a thief rather than a man whom Pilate in all his craftiness and wickedness declared that “I find no fault in Him”.
This the Bishop said, inegotiating with bandits and granting amnesty to insurgents are ndications that the Nigerian government, would rather side with insecurity and somewhat , sponsor terror, than signing alliance with the ‘Prince of Peace. ‘They would rather accept evil than good. They were in for unrighteousness and pervasion of justice , than acceptance of righteousness, peace and holistic transformation.”
The cleric called in Nigerians to ensure that those who have clean records, achieved much and are ready to serve with the fear of God , are elected to serve the country in 2023 election.