As Christians in the country join their counterparts across the world to celebrate Easter, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, has called on Nigerians to imbibe the spirit of unity, tolerance and peaceful co-existence as panacea for overcoming the nation’s current challenges.
Ambode gave counsel during his Easter message to Lagosians; he said that such fundamental values would go a long way in promoting and strengthening the foundation of love, peace and harmony in the society. He added that the season should serve as a reminder to all of the selflessness, love, sacrifice and tolerance of Jesus Christ throughout His earthly sojourn.
In a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Habib Aruna, the Governor said: “Remembering that foundation is particularly meaningful this Easter because our nation is facing challenges that we can overcome if we choose to, by exercising collective tolerance and be ready to make sacrifices”.
He noted that this season calls to mind the selflessness, love and tolerance which were the hallmark of Jesus Christ’s life during His sojourn.
Meanwhile, the Governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano has called on Christians across the world to seize the moment of deep reflection that Easter usually brings to reawaken their humanity and re-establish the presence of God in their lives.
In a Special Easter Message in Awka, Obiano observed that the complex challenges that face modern Christians has serious-ly eroded the values that once sustained the essence of mankind and weakened the connection between many Christians and Jesus Christ and calls for rigorous self-interrogation and re-awakening.
And the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has called on Nigerians to emulate the virtues of forgiveness and self-sacrifice as exhibited by Jesus Christ in order to move the nation forward. Ekweremadu, in his Easter message, said recrimination, forgiveness, and selfishness were major clogs in the nation’s wheel of progress.
He said: “The Easter celebration is another reminder that forgiveness and self-sacrifice remain indispensable factors in nation-building. I, therefore, call on the Christian faithful and all Nigerians to imbibe Christ’s sense of self-sacrifice by putting the nation’s interest above personal and other narrow interests.
In his own message to Nigerians, the Governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, said that only a total rebirth in national consciousness and values would deliver Nigeria from its many challenges. Aregbesola, said renewal, a crucial theme in the celebration of Easter, should make Nigerians rediscover themselves for the purpose of their creation in the first place.
He called on all, especially Christians, to use the period to pray to God for Nigeria to come out of her present economic challenges.
Aregbesola, who described Easter as a period of sober reflection, enjoined Nigerians to live in peace and harmony at all times despite the present economic hardship. In the same vein, the Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi, has called on the people of the state to always meditate on the central message and the purpose of the birth, death and resurrection of Christ by ruminating on the essence of Easter.
Umahi called on all Nigerians to pray for the country and always remember that the Jesus Christ died for because of his love for humanity and that his resurrection shows that there is hope for humanity. He also used the opportunity to praise Ebonyians for their unflinching support for his administration, noting that the successes he had so far recorded would not have been possible without them.
