By Vivian Onyebukwa
During the 2024 Mass at Holy Cross Cathedral, Lagos
The Archbishop of Metropolitan Sea of Lagos, His Grace, Most Rev Alfred Adele Martins, has charged Nigerian leaders to lead by example. He made the call during the 2024 Chrism Mass, which took place at Holy Cross Cathedral, Lagos.
He pointed out that the country is presently experiencing hunger, poverty and insecurity, adding that that the challenges are numerous.
He, therefore, asked the leaders to do everything within their powers to ensure that they make life better for the nation by making sacrifices, and also lead by example.
He said: “Yes, we have been told that it will take time for things to get back to normal. We have been told that we need to make sacrifices and indeed, we know, but it is important that those who lead us should be seen to be leading in making those sacrifices.”
He noted that where the sacrifices are only one sided towards the people, then they do not take what the leaders are saying seriously. “People will actually like to see that there is an effort to make sacrifices on the part of the leadership. Let these sacrifices be seen in the kind of emoluments that our leaders take home”.
He equally commended the priests for the good work they are doing all over the Archdiocese, but also reminded them to continue working with new vigour to the end.
He said: “They should strive to continue to be faithful to Christ and the commitment, oaths and vows that they take at ordination. Also, for the lay faithful, we only continue to ask them to pray for their priests because they are subject to all situations that all human beings are.
“And if there are needs for corrections, they should be corrected in love and in a way that is capable of bringing a positive response and never in the social media. It is not the best way to correct anyone. It never works”.
He described Easter as the fulcrum of all Christian activities, saying if there were no resurrection, there would not be a need for Christianity.
“It is that important. If Christ has died and risen for us, we must pay back to him by ensuring that we do our best to overcome our shortcomings that we have identified during lent and then start a new life at resurrection.”
In his homily, Very Rev Fr. Dr. Michael Nsikak Umoh, national director of Social Communication of the Catholic Church in Nigeria, described Lagos cosmopolitan, a melting pot of Nigeria, where all tribes and cultures converge to stir the economic heartbeat of the nation.
However, he noted that much as pockets of infrastructural developments are becoming visible on the terrain of this beautiful city, the handicap created by increasing poverty and inflation rates continually cripple and tamper the wellbeing of the majority of Lagos inhabitants, just as the story is the same across the spectrum of the nation.
“This point has been severally addressed by our Catholic Bishop Conference of Nigeria that most of our people currently live in excruciating pains due to the poverty and hunger in a country flowing with milk and honey.”
He stated that life in Nigeria is generally becoming solitary, poor, nasty and brutish with the concomitant effect of this sad situation being felt today in the parishes, where there are significant increase in the number of people who gather daily for help in the parishes thereby stretching the resources and efforts beyond their limits.
“We cannot but fulfil the mission of Jesus whose ministry we are called to as enshrined in the words of our Prophet Isaiah, which was read in our first reading and referenced in the gospel reading of today,” Rev Fr Umoh added.