WE celebrate today Easter Sunday. According to Christian tradition, Easter is an event that commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave and his subsequent ascension into heaven. It is an event that is preceded by Lenta forty-day period of fasting and introspection in which Christians are expected to deny themselves the comforts of modern living at the same time as they are expected to be good to their neighbours. The Lenten season is climaxed by Good Fridaya sombre dayin which Christ was sandwiched between two anonymous armed robbers and nailed to the cross. He was to shed his blood for the absolution and remission of our sins and to rise triumphantly from the dead, as predicted by him and before him the Scriptures, on the third day which is Easter. Jesus resurrection as recorded by each of the four gospels is central to Christian belief because on it rests claims about Jesus divinity and various doctrines about salvation.For Christians the world over, therefore, this weekend celebrates the central mystery that defines the Christian faith - the suffering, death and resurrection from the dead of Jesus Christ the Son of God. It is from the miraculous event of the Resurrection of Christ that Christianity draws its essence and inspiration. Christians of all denominations are convinced that without the fulfillment of the promise Jesus made that he will rise from the dead after three days, Christianity as a religion would have no meaning, no legitimacy.The events celebrated at Easter are a testimony to the victory of good over evil, the triumph of light over darkness, and the conquest of wickedness, aggression, violence and death by the forces of love, peace, nonviolence and life. Indeed the life, death and resurrection of Jesus put together, are a powerful lesson on the efficacy of humility, service, self-sacrifice, and true love, by which one is prepared to die for his or her friends.As Christians celebrate Easter, the significance and symbolism of the festivity should not be lost in over-indulgence, merrymaking and display of finery but should be seen for what it is, a glorious outing after the capital punishment of an innocent man. Christ by his crucifixion had paid the ultimate price for his love of humanity. In the risen Christ, we see the silver lining behind the dark cloud as we realise that a life of sacrifice has its reward.Nigerians can learn a lot from the supreme sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Jesus taught a lot of lessons through his parables and miracles, but the greatest lessons he taught are the lessons of his own life. He taught his followers that there is no greater love than for a man to lay down his life for his friends. And that is exactly what he did. He taught them that those who seek to be first must make themselves last and servant of all. And that is what he did when he accepted a humiliating death in order that his people may live.Our experience of leadership in this country has often been one of primitive greed and selfishness, rather than service and self sacrifice. Far from denying themselves that their people may live, our leaders have often stolen food off the hands of their starving poor. Also, overwhelmed by the lust for power and the desire to control and dominate others, our leaders have often oppressed, abused and subjected their poor people to all forms of indignities.And in the urge to grab political power and to sit tight there even against the wishes of their people, we have recorded in our land too many cases of political violence, including assassination of opponents. All these are a marked departure, indeed an affront on the model of leadership and service demonstrated by Jesus Christ. These are some of the reflections that should dominate our celebration of Easter today.The Easter of this year is coming at a time when there is so much political violence and uncertainty. A presidential election that has been hailed by one and all as Nigerias best political outing so far has nevertheless led to rancorous reprisals in some parts of the country. As we celebrate Easter, let us not forget that many of our countrymen and women have suffered great losses in lives and property.Tens of thousands of our people have fled their homes and many have been killed. These atrocities occurring at a time when the elections have not even been concluded is worrying. Nigerian leaders and their followers should spare a thought for the nation and make sacrifices for her honour and glory. There is so much work to be done in this country in almost every department of human endeavour. Quarrelling amongst ourselves merely diverts attention from felt needs and drags the country backwards to a past most Nigerians no longer wish to remember. All should sue for peace in our country as violence ultimately does not achieve anything. Nigeria needs to build not to destroy.For the generality of Nigerians, after long weary years under the painful and embarrassing dispensation of monumental corruption and the profligacy of the privileged few, degrading poverty of the majority, infrastructural decay, widespread violence and social insecurity, Easter should rekindle in the believer the confidence that, all appearances to the contrary notwithstanding, evil can only dominate for a while, but will eventually crumble and give way to goodness, righteousness, justice and peace.As we celebrate Easter Sunday today, the challenge of authentic worship and true religious devotion is worth highlighting. Nigerians are known worldwide for their religious fervour, and perhaps as much as 90% of our people are unapologetically Christian or Muslim adherents. Christian Churches across the country are always full to overflowing with enthusiastic worshippers, prayer warriors and deliverance ministers. Today every other street in the Nigerian town or city is decked with a Church of one description or the other.On the surface level ours is indeed a deeply religious and spiritually conscious society. Yet the low level of social morality in Nigeria is cause for worry. The widespread corruption, indiscipline, ethnic bigotry, vengefulness, falsehood, fraudulence, injustice, violence and crime, portray the famed Nigerian religiousity as hollow, plastic and opaque. There appears to be in our society not only a widespread rejection of the life of sacrifice, such as Christians celebrate at Easter time, but worse still, an aggressive promotion of crass materialism and blind consumerism among those who claim to be inspired by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.The Indian sage Mahatma Gandhi once identified religion without sacrifice as a deadly social malaise. Yet an increasing number of Nigerian Christians appear to have settled for this kind of religiosity that is empty or devoid of any real spiritual content. Easter is the time to re-establish the fact that at the heart of religion is sacrifice, and that true religiosity is characterized by love and compassion, truth and justice, sacrifice and frugality, humility and discipline.As we approach the tail end of our general elections in the coming days, we call upon politicians of all persuasions and all faiths, whether Christians or Moslems to show forbearance and tolerance. They should be peaceful, like Jesus Christ, who among his many names is the Prince of Peace. May we remind the politicians that losing an election is not the end of the world. Christians and Moslems should practice what they preach. Politicians can assist in this effort by conducting themselves with decorum, being prepared at all times to subordinate their ambitions to the common good. If aggrieved, they should follow a civilised path to seek redress. They should desist from encouraging uneducated and unemployed youths to riot on their behalf bearing in mind that as leaders they bear prime responsibility for the squalid condition in which those rampaging youths find themselves. They should be seen to be making a sacrifice for peace and orderliness, whatever the outcome of the elections. This in truth is the message of Easter.
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