By Gilbert Ekezie
Nigerians have been urged to unite and work assiduously to build a peaceful and united country, particularly at this period of growing insecurity, fear and anxiety in the land.
This was the submission of the Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Most Rev. Alfred Adewale Martins in his 2021 Easter message to Nigerians.
In a statement signed by the Archdiocesan Director, Social Communications, Rev Fr Anthony Godonu, Martins called on the country’s leadership at all levels to be more proactive and sincere in tackling the numerous challenges plaguing the nation such as insecurity, endemic corruption, economic woes, ethnic agitations, worsening unemployment, amongst several others.
He said Government’s failure to urgently address these problems, is capable of plunging the entire nation in the path of disintegration.
Martins congratulated Christians and indeed all Nigerians on the successful completion of the 40day Lenten season; a period set aside to prepare them for the celebration of Easter, the most important Christian feast.
He urged Christians to allow the spiritual gains of the Lenten season to continue to take effect in their daily lives.
Martins stressed the need for all Nigerians to continue to live in true brotherhood, adding that that can only be reinforced when there is love, mutual respect, tolerance, care for human life and promotion of justice for all of God’s children as taught by Jesus Christ, as he demonstrated in his life in the world.
Martins expressed dismay over what he described as the failure of those in government to address the grave level of discontent across the land and the inability of security agencies to nip the activities of criminals in the bud and identify their sponsors in order to deal with insecurity. ‘The growing restlessness in the land and the perceived inability of government to address major contentious issues of national importance, could well herald a deadlier wave of disaffection than that of the Endsars protest of last October. We give thanks to the Almighty God for yet another opportunity to celebrate the risen Lord at this Easter celebration , despite the global pandemic. The fact that we are still among the living at this time, is a privilege; it shows that God still has some special purpose for us, as individuals and as a nation. Our prayer is that the Spirit of God may use us as instruments of peace and unity.’
He noted that Nigerians are indeed experiencing challenging times, and cannot remain complacent to the demands of the times. ‘All of us, the leadership and the followership have a date with destiny; to build a country we all can be proud of. In the first instance, our leaders need to work more assiduously towards offering good governance for which they were elected in the first instance. They must show more sincerity and resilience in their fight against insecurity and provide the enabling environment for all hardworking and progressive minded citizens to profit from their honest hard work without any form of harassment or intimidation. All criminals, be they bandits, kidnappers or herdsmen must be made to face the law. There should be no selective justice. A situation where only a few privileged Nigerians close to those in authority seem to be enjoying all the goodies at the expense of the majority, does not augur well for our collective wellbeing. No individual or ethnic group should be above the law or made to feel superior or more privileged than others.
‘There should be equity and justice for all; after all, the country belongs to all of us.”
The Archbishop also called on Nigerians to actively seek to hold their elected public officers accountable for good governance, within the provision of the rule of law. “Nigerians must put pressure on the Federal Government to deal with situations that have led non-state actors into taking the security of their communities in their hands , thereby fueling ethnic tensions and the resultant problems. “