President Buhari: asks Nigerians to emulate Jesus Christ

President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed disappointment over the orgy of bloodletting, violence and kidnapping that has characterised Nigeria and urged the citizens to turn a new leaf in the spirit of Easter.

In his Easter Sunday message to Nigerians, President Buhari said the violence, executed often on parochial, ethnic, religious and political  sentiments has become ” embarrassing and utterly unacceptable”.

“Our unfortunate notoriety in recent years as a country where the blood of men, women and children are wantonly and callously shed in frequent orgies of criminal, political, ethnic and religious violence has become very embarrassing and utterly unacceptable”, he said in the message.

“My administration is determined to achieve greater peace and security across our nation by ending the avoidable conflicts and crises that hinder our national progress.

“I ask for greater support from all Nigerians in this regard. We must put a stop to politically motivated killings. Our communities must be made safe again for all inhabitants to live together in peace and harmony.

“Our armed forces, police and other security agencies are being progressively reformed, repositioned and empowered to win the war against terrorism and make mass killings, abductions and other criminal atrocities things of the past in our beloved country.”

“Let us all also play our parts as patriotic citizens and do all that we can to ensure that we make Nigeria a safer, more peaceful and happier place for its people and others,”he said.

Buhari urged Nigerian Christians and indeed all Nigerians to imbibe the essential message of Jesus Christ and truly learn to love  compatriots “as we love ourselves”.

“Indeed, we will surely make faster progress towards the achievement of the peaceful, united, strong, progressive and prosperous country we all desire if, as a nation, we eschew all divisive, parochial, ethnic and religious sentiments and rivalries, and begin to live more harmoniously with our compatriots, as Jesus Christ and the founders of the world’s other great religions enjoined mankind.

“Faith, belief and the fulfilment of expectations are also key themes of the Easter celebration. I urge you all therefore, to continue to have faith in the future greatness of our country and to believe that the CHANGE my administration promised will surely come to fruition.

“That CHANGE, which we all yearn for, will certainly occur more rapidly if we all place the love of our country above selfish personal and group interests.”

Buhari also gave an assurance that his government will faithfully  implement the 2016 budget recently approved by the National Assembly to achieve faster economic growth and development.