By Chidinma Ewunonu-Aluko, Ibadan
The Archbishop Emeritus, Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, His Eminence John Cardinal Onaiyekan, has urged Nigerians to live in harmony toward achieving the desired results as the nation is preparing for the 2023 general elections.
Onaiyekan gave the admonition on Saturday at the 2022 Harvest Thanksgiving Mass and Bazaar of the Catholic Diocese of Oyo, held at St. Bernardine Catholic Church, Owode in Oyo Town.
The archbishop emeritus, also urged Nigerians to always be honest and transparent in all their dealings.
He called for a change of attitude among Nigerians from the leadership to the followership.
“We need to start doing things right, if we must make progress; the country should also change its idea of politics.
“Politics is not all about personal enrichment, but selflessly serving the people; it should be total service for the people; so, we need politicians with a new mind,” he said.
Onaiyekan, also enjoined the church and Nigerians in general, to imbibe the culture of giving thanks to God in spite of all odds.
The cleric said that gratitude to God would be rewarded with salvation, which according to him, is the most important thing in the life of an individual.
He cited the leper in the Bible who came back to give thanks for being made whole as he obeyed the instructions of Jesus Christ.
“God loves us with His faithful love, because He is full of mercy. He will continue to be faithful to us so long as we continue to praise Him, no matter the situation,” he said.
Onaiyekan further urged the church to continue to stand on the foundation laid by Jesus Christ to stand firm till the end.
According to him, only God brings growth and Jesus is the only foundation on which the church should stand.
He also enjoined them to imbibe the culture of giving generously and cheerfully, as a way of appreciating God and telling Him that all that they had were given by Him.
“We should continue to celebrate God’s faithfulness and goodness for our church, family and country at large,” he said.
In his remarks, the Host Bishop, Catholic Diocese of Oyo, Most Rev. Emmanuel Badejo, thanked His Eminence, Onaiyekan for gracing the occasion and all who contributed to the success of the programme.
“I pray for all who came, those who have goodwill toward us; this harvest will sprout fulfilment and good health in us and produce prosperity, contentment as God promised us,” Badejo said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the programme witnessed prayers for the country, especially for peaceful and successful conduct of the forthcoming elections.
(NAN)
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