By James Eze (eziokwubundu@gmail.com)
The governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano has urged Nigerians to strengthen the bonds of the nation’s unity with love this Christmas.
In a Special Christmas Message from Awka, the state capital, Governor Obiano observed that the feast of Christmas offers Nigerians a chance to reflect on the imperatives of national unity and the need to reach out and touch one another with love.
He observed that Christmas reminded him of the APGA slogan of “Be they brother’s keeper,” as it emphasis brotherly love, peace and sharing of gifts in the spirit of love that Christ exemplified in his salvific role to mankind and maintained that only love would help the country to overcome the many challenges that beset her at the moment.
“Christmas reminds us of the overriding importance of love in the affairs of mankind. There is no greater act of love known to man than the birth of Jesus Christ. That is why Christians across the world use the feast of Christmas to reflect on God’s love for His Children and seek new ways to heal our world with love,” Governor Obiano reflected.
According to him, “Nigerians should use the opportunity of Christmas to reflect on our national unity and seek new approaches and solutions to the numerous problems that beset us as a nation. If we seek hard enough, we will all come to the conclusion that most of the challenges we have with regards to unity can be solved with love. With love, we can consign our differences to the margins of our existence.”
Reflecting on the many difficulties the country has faced in recent times, Governor Obiano observed that the incendiary rhetoric between Nigeria’s many ethnic nationalities and the frequent bloodbath occasioned by religious and tribal hostilities would all take the backseat if Nigerians choose love as their defining ethos.
“We must replace the language of war with the language of LOVE. We must reach out and touch one another. We must demonstrate love for one another, for family, for friends and for Nigeria. That, to me, is the message of Christmas,” the governor declared.
The governor observed that this year’s Christmas was a special one for Anambra State because of the mass return of its prominent citizens who now feel safe enough to come home and re-unite with their families and friends in the spirit of the season because Anambra is the nation’s safest state.
The governor however warned Ndi Anambra to be careful while celebrating with their loved ones so that there would be no loss of life to over-speeding vehicles and drunk drivers.
“We want everybody to enjoy this Christmas. This Christmas should be one of the best for so many reasons. We have made enough arrangements for security. We have a helicopter keeping watch over our skies and sophisticated security cars prowling our roads and highways. So, Anambra is safe and the people should enjoy themselves,” he declared.