On Monday, about 100 victims of the Sunday morning attacks by terrorists on four villages in Plateau State were given mass burial by their communities. Many are still nursing the injuries sustained from the attack even as many people in Kukawa, Gyanbahu, Dungur and Keram villages have been rendered homeless because the bandits set their houses ablaze.
Many victims of the March 28 Kaduna train attack are yet to regain their freedom despite appeals by their families for the government to see to their release. Hundreds of people have been killed in the Christian dominated Southern Kaduna, Niger State and other states by terrorists. The South East is also dealing with its own peculiar insecurity challenge which has claimed lives. In fact, as some people put it, the country bleeds.
In the midst of all these, does the message of today’s commemoration of Good Friday make any sense?
Believers of Jesus Christ see this day as very symbolic in the life of the Christian Church because it stands as the key that opened the door of salvation. They believe that on Easter day, the door of salvation was made open for people which gave humanity the opportunity of becoming Christians, but the key to that door was Good Friday.
Good Friday therefore brings a message of hope to suffering Nigerians with the assurance that the whole problem will one day come to an end; that as Jesus crucified on Good Friday conquered death and resurrected on Easter morning, there will certainly be light at the end of the tunnel. Good Friday is also a day that reminds Christians that they must die, and offers them the opportunity to reflect on where they will be after death and how they have contributed both individually and collectively to the current poor state of Nigeria across all sectors.
On this special day, the bible readings focus on how Jesus was betrayed by one of his apostles, Judas Iscariot, for a mere thirty pieces of silver, the rejection and denial by the people who had been with him and followed him everywhere, people He had fed, clothed, healed and taught and who had, a few days earlier, celebrated his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, shouting, “Hosanna in the highest”. We see the denial of Peter who had earlier sworn to follow Him even if all the other apostles desert Him.
Today, Christians of various denominations troop to churches, some who for several reasons cannot make it to their places of worship will get glued to their television sets to participate in Good Friday activities, including the last station of the Cross for the Lenten season (for Catholics), the veneration of the Cross among others. Often, one wonders what better society it will be, particularly in Nigeria, if Christians who make up a large proportion of the nation’s population will put the lessons of Good Friday into practice instead of seeing it as a mere annual ritual.
To what extent has this impacted on the lives of Christians in the country? Do they recognise and accept suffering and pain, as a will of God for their salvation or reject them as “not their portion?”  Often, we have heard some Christians including some renowned leaders, claim that suffering is not from God but from the devil. Today’s remembrance, therefore, presents these and other Christians a good opportunity to reflect on the significance and centrality of the Cross in their lives.
Jesus was a selfless leader, who bore all these travails for the unwavering love he had for mankind, capping it with a shameful death on the Cross, even though He committed no crime. Can we find such altruistic leaders among Christians in Nigeria? As leaders in our homes, offices, societies, churches and other spheres of influence, can the believers of Christ in the country say they sacrifice all for the people they lead or is it the other way round?
In Ephesians 5: 1-2, St Paul said, “be imitators…and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God,” Jesus submitted his own life to sacrificial service under the will of God (Luke 22:42), and he sacrificed his life freely out of service for others (John 10:30). He came to serve (Matthew 20:28) although he was God’s son and was thus more powerful than any other leader in the world. He healed the sick (Mark 7:31-37), drove out demons (Mark 5:1-20), was recognised as Teacher and Lord (John 13:13), and had power over the wind and the sea and even over death (Mark 4:35-41; Matthew 9:18-26).
Yet, in John 13:1-17 we saw him giving a very practical example of what it means to serve others. He washed the feet of his followers, which was properly the responsibility of the house-servant. He did that out of love, a show of a leader who was ready to render service for his followers when the need arises, a leader who wanted to set an example for his followers to follow.
Can it be said that Nigerian Christians and non-Christians who occupy leadership positions both in religious and secular organisations display this servant-leader style that Jesus teaches? A situation where they lord it over their followers or subordinates, abuse their offices, take undue advantage of the poor to enrich themselves and oppress the people does not show that they are true imitators of Christ. Sometimes when you see the arrogance and mannerism of some Christian leaders, you wonder where they learnt their own version of Christianity from.
Our country today is in dire need of direction. Darkness seems to have covered the land. There is an unprecedented level of insecurity in the land. No one is happy, no one is safe.
Four days ago, families of passengers abducted from Kaduna bound train earlier mentioned, gave the Federal Government 72 hours ultimatum to ensure all those still in the hands of their abductors regain their freedom. Up till now, we have not heard the news about their release. Leah Sharibu is still in captivity in addition to several other abductees across the country.
Corruption and rabid treasury looting, injustice and ethnicity are the order of the day. Poverty, lack of employment and hunger are now the lot of majority of the populace. But the question is, are Christians playing any role to remedy the ugly situation in the country? Do we not think that if the Christians among the leaders live according to the teachings of the gospel and fail to join the bandwagon in a life of debauchery the story would have been different? We were told that the followers of Jesus were first called Christians in Antioch because their deeds were similar to those of Christ. Can the same be said of Christians in Nigeria, some of whom cheat in the markets, sell fake and adulterated goods and commit other atrocities to make money? How has their adherence to the life and teaching of Jesus impacted on the national ethos and values?

By: Calista Ezeaku