My Good People of Ekiti State
It is yet another celebration of the crucifixion, death and the resurrection of our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ which event occurred some two thousand years ago. That event, according to Christian belief, reconciled we mankind to God as the blameless son of God offered Himself as atonement for the sins of man. His sacrifice on the Cross, which Christians all over the world are celebrating today, is one of the sacred religious festivals believed to have given us an unmitigated access to the loving God.
As I felicitate with our Christian brothers and sisters, I wish to draw attention to the underlining message of the Cross that must not be lost to the accompanying festivities. The significance of the celebration to mankind is multi-dimensional; and I urge you all to let this reflect in our relationship with one another both Christians and the people of other beliefs.
Good People of Ekiti State, the passion and death of Jesus underscores the love of the Father who gave his son in love for us and the willingness of the Son to sacrifice himself for others to be liberated from the weight and shame of sin.
Having gone through the 40 days of fasting and praying, which in itself is a period of cleansing and purification, no time is better than now to purge ourselves of those weights that have impeded our progress as a people over the years by demonstrating love in its fullness not only to one another but also to our society. We are all familiar with the simple definition of sin as the failure to do what we know is right. By extension, these are the things that are unacceptable to our neighbours and the land. This is why all of us must do everything to right the wrongs of the past and demonstrate sustained commitment to move our state forward through brotherly love and sacrifice.
There is no doubt that these are tough times in our country. Intolerance continues to rear its head through sectarian violence. Yet rather than succumb to the wishes of the evil doers and feel threatened about these uncertain times, we must rise to the fact that these are trials that are supposed to strengthen our resolve to confront our challenges.
It is painful that peace has been so elusive in our country just because most of us have deviated from the pattern of living bequeathed to us on the Cross. We continue to cheat with impunity while many display pathologically insatiable craze for wealth at the expense of the larger society. The challenge of Easter is for us as Christians to rethink the reality of our faith. As Christians we must continue to uphold the principles of our faith as it relates to honesty, justice, integrity, accountability, compassion and the pursuit of the common good.
More importantly, good people of Ekiti State, the story of Easter is that of a character of relief that comes after anguish, pains, trauma, deprivations and sacrifices. Indeed before the joy that heralds the glorious morning of Resurrection, there was terror and thick darkness that were strong enough to swallow up the eventual joy of Easter. It is therefore necessary to remind you there is always a glorious dawn after darkness, and without the difficult challenges, the huge and insuppressible triumph of Easter would have been a mirage. I am glad that this is the spirit that runs through the veins of our forebears of which we have the enduring history of unquenchable and unstoppable quest to achieve success in the midst of hopelessness and despair. This has been our experience too. At every point, we have always come out triumphant.
This shows a glaring synergy between what Easter stands for and the glory that is ahead of our dear state, Ekiti, the Land of Honour.
I like to reiterate once again the commitment of our government to make life better for all citizens and residents of Ekiti. This is our primary concern as reflected in the quantum of projects being executed across the State and the way we are committed to the welfare of our people. I am confident that as Jesus rose, Ekiti will rise from the base to the top and our covenant to make poverty history remains a sacred and sacrosanct contract with our people and the land. This has been our guide in all our policy directions.
I appeal to residents to continue to live together in peaceful co-existence and harmony and to show love to one another. Let us all eschew bitterness as our common progress lies in peaceful existence anchored on good neighbourliness.
I wish you all a happy celebration.
Thank you and God bless
Last modified: April 8, 2012
