Easter: Alaafin urges Christians to embrace love, goodwill
The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade, has urged Christians to reflect the true essence of Easter by embracing love, appreciating God’s sacrifice for mankind, and extending goodwill to others.
- By Yinka Adeniran, Ibadan
The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade, has urged Christians to reflect the true essence of Easter by embracing love, appreciating God’s sacrifice for mankind, and extending goodwill to others.
In his Easter message delivered through his Director of Media and Publicity, Bode Durojaye, the monarch said the season should inspire acts of kindness, strengthen relationships, and renew hope for divine intervention.
He noted that genuine adherence to the values of Easter has the potential to transform the nation, foster unity, and promote a more harmonious society.
According to him, when love becomes the guiding principle, it can influence governance, improve leadership, and encourage responsible use of public resources.
“We love with the spirit of Easter in our hearts, governance would work, electoral reforms would be easier to accomplish, funds would be judiciously utilised for the good of the larger number, and leadership would love and cherish the led. That is the essence of Easter, which we commend to all Nigerians and indeed to all humanity at this time,” he said.
The monarch emphasised that love remains the central message of Easter, describing it as the force that led Jesus Christ to make the ultimate sacrifice. He added that such a sacrifice would not have been possible without a heart filled with compassion and selflessness.
Oba Owoade called on Nigerians to imbibe these virtues, stressing that doing so would not only deepen spiritual consciousness but also contribute to national development and social cohesion.
Alaafin noted, "At this time in our country, we commend this love to all citizens. Love that considers others first, love that prefers others above personal and selfish desires, love that seeks to emancipate, to unshackle and liberate. Love, sincerity of purpose, sense of commitment, and patriotism will take us above internecine killings and other divisive tendencies. Let every Nigerian imbibe all these.
"Banditry must be stopped for the development of our country because it fundamentally disrupts the social, economic, and political structures necessary for progress. It creates pervasive insecurity, destroying livelihoods, particularly in agriculture, which leads to food insecurity and deepens poverty. Furthermore, it stifles investment, undermines state authority, and forces the diversion of public funds from development projects to security spending."
He warned that there is an urgent need to collectively rise against the terror inflicted by those he described as blood guzzlers who have no regard for the sanctity of human lives, stressing that as citizens, "we must accept that collective sacrifice is inevitable, as peace has a price, and that price must be paid by all of us."
