Christians everywhere celebrate Easter today. Religious political and religious leaders have used the occasion to call for peace, tolerance and unity of Nigeria and the world over.
Pope Francis
The last words of Jesus Christ on the cross, “it is finished” mean “that the work of salvation is accomplished, that all of the Scriptures find their complete fulfillment in the love of Christ.
“How beautiful it would be if all of us, at the end of our lives, with our mistakes, our sins, even with our good works and our love for our neighbour, can say to the Father as Jesus did, ‘It is finished.’ Not with the perfection (of Jesus) but saying, ‘Lord, I did everything that I could. It is finished.’
“Sometimes, the darkness of night can penetrate the soul and we think, ‘there is nothing left to do,’ and the heart no longer finds the strength to love. But it is in this very darkness that Christ lights the fire of the love of God.”
President Goodluck Jonathan
“We must dedicate ourselves to the service of our country, continuing in love for one another even as Christ loved us. We must resolve to do what is right at all times, and uphold the virtues that strengthen our bond as a nation.
“Christians should emulate the sacrifice of Christ who laid down His life for the salvation of mankind. The significance of His death and resurrection manifests in renewed hope and joy to the world.”
President-elect Muhammadu Buhari
“Having overcome the anxiety and fear that tended to overshadow our efforts and commitments towards free and peaceful presidential and National Assembly elections, let us move forward in the spirit of the resurrection to rebuild our nation with the values of peace and love for one another.
“Our country depends on you – the Nigerian people to make Nigeria safe for all citizens and foreigners alike. I pledge that our administration shall strengthen all national institutions that promote harmony and national unity.
“As we do our best to heal our land, God, the most powerful will be on our side to rescue Nigeria from corruption, evil and anti-democratic forces that are pulling Nigeria down.”
Senate President David Mark
“Every Nigerian should believe in the indissolubility of the country despite the recent outbreak of many ethno-religious and other social crises in the nation.
“The challenges facing the nation, especially the outbreak of fresh ethno-religious conflicts in some parts of Nigeria are not insurmountable. All we need is sincerity of purpose and commitment to brotherhood.
“Religious and traditional leaders should continue to preach and demonstrate the virtues of peace, love, piety and peaceful co-existence in their communities. It is only through lasting peace that Nigeria can attain the much needed development.”
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar
“We now have no better choice before us after a successful and peaceful election than to cue into the joy and peace which the resurrection of Jesus Christ signifies to ensure that we prosper as a nation and rescue our people from poverty.
“Easter means new life, let us therefore, work together – Muslims and Christians so that peace and development do not elude our nation and our people.”
Adebola Ademowo, Dean Emeritus, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion)
“The crucifixion produced the dynamics and Jesus’ sacrifice empowers us to re-orientate our lives towards selfless living, caring and serving instead of self-dominance or self-protection.
“So as we celebrate, we have a duty to allow these virtues which the death of Christ secured for us to grow in us.
“I call on our government on the infrastructure challenge. Despite the huge investment on roads in the past decade, the impact is not felt and the situation seems to be getting worse, with huge losses to life and property recorded every year.
“Despite the relative improvement in power supply in the immediate past, stable power supply which is very critical to a conducive investment climate is still elusive and a great cause of concern to the society. Government needs to explore oil avenues to radically improve the supply and stability of infrastructure.
“One of the lessons we can derive from the cross is unity. The cross ultimately unites us as a body and member of Christ irrespective of our former religious faith and background before coming to the Lord.
“I enjoin all Nigerians to be united particularly as we write and experience another political history in the life of our dear country.”
Felix Omobude, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria National President
“Offences will come, people will hurt one another but at Easter, we must learn to forgive ourselves, whether between husband and wife or between children and parents or between political opponents.
“Sacrifice is what brings the blossoming, if we are going to live in harmony and peace, if we are going to live prosperously as a nation we must learn to sacrifice, everybody may not see things from your own point of view, everybody may not imbibe your religion, everybody may not be member of your political party, but our ability to be able to open our hands is what makes for greatness.
“Forgiveness is one of the things we need in this country. It is not the only thing we need, there are other things we must do after forgiving one another, but we must know that this nation belongs to all of us and we must contribute to build it.
“We must ensure that the rights of others are also respected, among other indices that lead to nation building.
“Every Nigerian must be a part to it, we must not destroy our nation, even if you do not seem to be in the mainstream politically today, tomorrow you might be. We must allow our nation to come first before individual aspirations.”