• First Lady urges citizens to show kindness, draw closer to God
• Mbah, others: Lent meant for showing compassion, shunning sins
The President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Archbishop Daniel Okoh, yesterday urged Nigerians to use the Lenten season as a time for reflection, sacrifice, and national healing.
In a statement he issued yesterday in Abuja, the CAN president extended prayers and goodwill to all Nigerians, regardless of their faith.
“Lent is a 40-day journey of sacrifice, prayer, and charity, echoing the time Jesus Christ spent fasting in the wilderness. For us in Nigeria, this season arrives amid challenges — rising living costs, insecurity, and daily struggles to put food on the table. Yet, Lent calls us to hope, urging us to look beyond our hardships and draw strength from faith and community,” he said.
Addressing Nigerians from different walks of life, the CAN president said: “As Nigerians, we understand sacrifice and endurance. Lent resonates with the patience of mothers stretching meals, the courage of fathers toiling under the sun, and the faith of children praying for a brighter future.”
Also, First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, yesterday urged Nigerians to show kindness, deepen their commitment to serving others, and draw closer to Christ during the fasting period of Lent and beyond.
In a message to mark the commencement of Lent, the First Lady emphasised the importance of love, repentance, prayers, and good deeds, urging Nigerians to embrace the season as an opportunity for spiritual renewal and selfless service.
“I urge us to use this period to draw closer to Christ, show kindness to others, and deepen our commitment to serving others,” she said.
Mrs. Tinubu also urged Nigerians to walk in the light of Christ with hope and compassion, reminding them that Lent is not just a time of sacrifice but also for reflection and renewal.
She added: “We should also remember our dear nation Nigeria in prayers for peace and prosperity, as we all build together a nation that will take her place among the comity of nations.”
Senator Tinubu wished Nigerians a blessed and spiritually fulfilling Lenten season, urging them to uphold the values of faith, unity, and goodwill during this period of solemn observance.
Also, Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah urged residents of the state, Christians, and other Nigerians to see this year’s Lenten season as a time for forgiveness, penitence, charity, empathy, and sacrifice.
The governor spoke at a holy mass to mark Ash Wednesday at the Government House Chapel in Enugu.
He said: “For us as Christians, this is a journey of 40 days that has just started today. This year’s Lenten season is of particular resonance because, as you know, it also coincides with Ramadan, and Ramadan is also a fasting period for our Muslim brothers. So, it is indeed a call to peace and unity for our country.
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“For Christians, Lent is a period that we have to forgive and love one another. It is also a period for us to sacrifice, be empathetic, moderate, and above all, give to charity.”
Also, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of Motailatu Church of God (MCG), Senior Superintendent Gabriel F. Akinadewo (Omo Jesu II), yesterday urged Nigerians to always seek the face of God in their affairs.
Speaking during an anointing service to celebrate the beginning of the Lenten season, the cleric urged the citizens to also repent from their wicked ways and ask for forgiveness “for our Creator to heal the country completely”.
Quoting Isaiah 59, Akinadwwo said: “The Lord’s hand is not shortened that it cannot save, neither is His ear heavy that it cannot hear” the cries of Nigerians.
He expressed worry that sins have separated Nigerians from God.
Also, the Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Ibadan, Most Rev. Gabriel Abegunrin, and the Bishop of Catholic Diocese of Oyo, Most Rev. Emmanuel Badejo, urged Christians and Muslims to ensure national transformation through prayers and exemplary behaviour.
Abegunrin urged Nigerians, especially those observing Lent, to desist from complaining so they would not lose all the graces attached to their fasting.
“It is to be noted that those who are above 60 years may not fast but we know that there were some who have grown so used to it, such that even at 80 they are still fasting. That’s a special grace,” he said.
Badejo said: “We are led to give up something to make up for our failing and obtain a higher good.
“This can mean forgiving those who hurt us, fasting and abstaining to provide for the needy, letting go of our pride and privileges to serve others, and giving up our comfort to make space for the weak and vulnerable.”