TOMORROW, Sunday, April 20, 2025, Christians in Nigeria expectedly will join their counterparts across the globe to mark/celebrate the great feast of Easter. Also called Paschal or Resurrection Sunday, the feast of Easter as we know is a Christian festival and holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day after his burial following his crucifixion by the Romans at Calvary c. 30 AD.
In reality, each time Nigerians celebrate this great feast, it’s not only a tradition but a ritual of the sort that torrents of messages from public office holders in Nigeria, religious, socioeconomic, and political leaders fly around the country.
Indeed, while it is important that Nigerians (both governors and the governed) adhere strictly to these expected ‘well said but not well done’ messages that shall soon flood the nation’s media space, it is, however, more important for all to recognize that we can make this year’s celebration most rewarding by graduating from the mere exercise of goodwill messages to reflecting about our nationhood and asking solution-oriented questions to enable us solution-oriented answers.
Among other concerns, we must ask; how as a nation, we can truly achieve a more people-focused leadership style in the country? Accelerate economic, social, and cultural development? Make promotion of peace our dreams? And the support of our industries and improvement of our energy sector our central objective?
Most importantly, for the sake of clarity, these questions could further be classified into two; one that focuses on entire Nigerians. And the second is majorly public-office holders’ specific.
Beginning with concerns that focus on entire Nigerians, we must, as we celebrate this year’s Easter, recognize that the future of our nation is full of opportunities as it is fraught with challenges. As it is said, “the destiny of the ship is not in the harbour but in sailing the high sea’’ and so shall our collective responsibility be, not to destroy this great nation but join hands to nurture and sustain it.
We must wholesomely admit that If we are able to manage the present disunity and re-order our tribal loyalty which is currently stronger than our sense of nationhood, and navigate out of dangers of disintegration, it will once again, announce the arrival of a brand new great nation where peace and love shall reign supreme. But, then, we can not achieve such a feat without admitting that no nation enjoys durable peace without justice and stability, without fairness and equity.
To, therefore, perfectly achieve this envisaged goal, this piece holds the opinion that individuals, communities; tribes/ethnic groups must stop flaunting the qualities that raised them above others.
As succulently warned by the sage, ‘never be so foolish to believe that you are stirring admiration by flaunting the qualities that raised you above others.
By making people aware of their inferior positions, you are only stirring unhappy admiration or envy that will gnaw at them until they undermine you in ways that you may not foresee’. It is only the fools who dare the god of envy by flaunting his victory.’
With this highlighted, let’s focus more on the concern that public office holders’ must also do away with.
First, our leaders must recognize and admit that globally, Individuals, groups and communities have a right in decision making, planning and implementation of programmes that affect them.
Secondly, government has a duty to enable people affected by its policies and programmes to participate in ways capable of transforming their social, political and economic conditions.
Also, within this period of reflection on Christ’s resurrection/demonstration of love, it is important for the haves, the advantaged and the rich to assist the have-nots.
To make this Easter celebration enduring as well as bear the expected fruit, let us be holistic in approach.
Let us commence first by restructuring the thought system as a people and through that process, restructure the nation.
This step is important as no matter how beautiful a policy appears, no matter how strong an institution tends to be, we always have deconstructionists who can undermine it.
Bearing this in mind, our primary concern should be to work out modalities for instituting a reorientation plan that will erase the unpatriotic tendencies in us as well as usher in a robust nation.
Let us bear in mind also that restructuring a political entity called Nigeria is important but restructuring our mentalities is not just essential but fundamental.
Undoubtedly, every generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfill it or betray it. Now that restructuring has graduated from mere rhetorics to become an issue of national concern, your responsibility and mine also come in double-fold. First, it is time for us to use our intelligence devoid of emotional attachment to ask solution-oriented questions in a solution-oriented manner.
In the same vein and and very outstanding, we should develop a ‘war room’ using our resolve and powers to fight the undemocratic and criminal tendencies in our consciences in order to usher in a truly egalitarian nation we all yearn for. This pivotal step must be taken as failure to achieve this may render our quest for a new Nigeria elusive.
Even at the risk of repetition, this piece insists that within this period and beyond, the haves must learn to remember and assist the have-nots; the vulnerable Nigerians, widows, orphans, out of school children, prisoners and those in the hospitals among others. God bless Nigeria and Nigerians!!!
