The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Most Rev. Alfred Adewale Martins, has urged the Federal Government to make sacrifices for the nation by reducing foreign trips and put in place policies that will impact positively on the lives of the masses.
The cleric made this call in his 2023 Christmas message signed by the Director of Social Communications, Rev. Fr. Anthony Godonu.
Congratulating Nigerians on the grace and privilege of being alive to witness yet another Christmas, a period that we are all reminded of God’s uncommon love for humanity, the cleric urged Nigerians to remain positive and continue to contribute their quotas towards ensuring that the country overcomes its current challenges and becomes great again
The man of God pointed out that God has a special love for Nigeria and Nigerians and that is the reason they must never be afraid to work towards actualizing the country of their dream.
He lauded their resilience and steadfastness despite the myriad of challenges confronting the country over the years, noting that the present challenges facing the country would not be an exception and are not insurmountable.
Archbishop Martins enjoined Nigerians to always focus on the saving grace of God who through His son Jesus Christ has come at Christmas to atone for their sin and bring them to eternal life, stressing that the grace is always available for all of God’s children, irrespective of their religion, tribe, or creed.
He said,“In this season of Christmas, I give thanks to God and congratulate Nigerians for the grace and privilege of being alive to witness yet another Christmas, a period that we are all reminded of God’s uncommon love for humanity. He exhibited this divine love for us over 2000 years ago by the coming of the only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ, who left his glory in heaven to be born of a Virgin so as to save humanity from the shackles of sin and bring us to a life of abundance. This love of God for us is selfless and is a perfect example of how we must show love for one another. When we love and care for each other, as Jesus continues to do, we will be able to live together in peace and harmony like true brothers and sisters.
“In this season of joy, therefore, I wish to urge all Nigerians to set aside all the bitterness that characterizes inter-tribal and interreligious relationships and work together to build a truly great country that we will all be proud of.”
Martins equally commiserated the families of over a hundred people who were recently killed in the military erroneous airstrikes in Tundun Biri in the Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Northwest Nigeria.
He prayed to God for the speedy recovery of the injured and urged the military authorities to ensure a thorough investigation into the incident in order to avoid such recurrent incident.
The cleric also urged the political Leaders and all those in positions of authority to lead with the fear of God and put in place policies that will impact positively on the lives of the majority of the people.
Calling on Nigerians to make sacrifice for the restoration of the nation, the prelate urged government to lead by example, by reducing the cost of governance by avoiding frivolities such as foreign trips that create a Deja vu feeling in citizens while they had been expecting new ways of doing things.
