As Christians globally mark Easter today being Sunday April 5, Nigerian faithful are celebrating the triumph of the risen Christ following His resurrection from death.
Easter, a celebration of the power to live above death, is characterised by the three-day activities of Calvary as a pointer to the power of divinity for man to live a righteous life.
The celebration also calls on lay faithful and leaders across different sectors of the economy to reflect the true essence of Easter through decisive actions that protect lives and promote justice.
Responding to call for uprightness
For Christians, the call for renewal is a central point in the celebration of Easter.
The significance of the Easter season is marked by sacrifice, hope, redemption, and the triumph of life over death,
It is expected that that triumph should inspire Nigerians to embrace love, justice, and courage in the face of ongoing insecurity.
“The unrighteousness in Nigeria is huge and no nation can become great with the quality and quantity of corruption and other evils that have overrun this country,” Charles Ighele, presiding bishop and General Superintendent, Holy Spirit Mission (The Happy Family Nation), said.
He however disclosed that the good news is that Jesus has empowered everyone that believes in Him with the power of righteousness that will enable them to do what is right.
Ighele said that the life that Jesus lived on earth, His death on the Cross, His burial, His resurrection and His being seated on the right hand of God.
According to him, the resurrection is the overpowering of the unrighteousness that Adam brought to reign over humans on earth and the empowerment of the humans who believe in Jesus with the power of righteousness.
“I call on Nigeria’s elites and citizens to repent and put God first in their lives and decide to do only what is right in the sight of God.
“With the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, Nigerians can decide to do what is to make this nation to be great,” Ighele said.
Celebration overshadowed by grief
On Palm Sunday, the first day of the ‘Holy Week’ about 27 Nigerians were killed in an attack on the Angwan Rukuba community in Jos.
“The sanctity of human life remains sacred, and no society can thrive where bloodshed becomes routine,” Christian Faith Reporters Association (CFRA) said in a statement signed by its President, Adeola Ogunlade.
The group of Christian journalists stated that a period meant for peace and spiritual reflection was marred by violence and loss of lives, and expressed solidarity with families who lost loved ones in the attacks.
The group called for justice for victims, stressing that their pain must not be ignored. “Even in the darkest moments, hope must not be extinguished.”
CFRA also called for collective resolve to reject violence and work towards building a nation anchored on justice and righteousness.
The group expressed the optimism that Nigeria can overcome its current challenges through unity and purposeful leadership.
The priestly vocation
Adewale Martins, the Catholic Archbishop of the Metropolitan Sea of Lagos, said the priest was not set apart for himself, but rather consecrated for others.
Martins made this known in his Chrism Mass message titled, ‘The Priesthood: A Mystery Reposed in a Man.’
“This is the wonder and the weight of our vocation: that we are called to pursue holiness not as an ornament, but as a necessity; not as a private devotion, but as a pastoral obligation.”
According to Martins, the priest’s life becomes a bridge through which grace passes, and a vessel through which Christ continues to sanctify His people.
Paul Oriole, a Catholic priest, wrote during the 2026 Chrism Mass, “What is taken by God is no longer entirely its own. The priest does not belong to himself in the way he once did.”
Titled, ‘The Cost of Glory of Wearing the Stole’, he stated that the priest’s life becomes available in ways beautiful and demanding – while his time is interrupted, and plans revised.
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