* Mourns Late Activist, Yinka Odumakin
By Suzan Okenwa (Senate Correspondent, NASS)
Former Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, says the mounting challenges facing the nation could be effectively addressed if Nigerians unite in love, peace, and with every sense of justice and sacrifice as exemplified by Jesus Christ.
Ekweremadu stated this on Saturday in his Easter message to the Christian faithful, made available to the press by his Special Adviser on Media, Uche Anichukwu. He
regretted that the country had seriously retrogressed because love had waxed cold, while injustice was palpable, thereby resulting in bad blood, disunity, and incompetence even in the most critical matters that affect the nation.
“There was a sacrifice as symbolized by Good Friday before there was ever a resurrection as represented by Easter. Therefore, at Easter, we are reminded by the sacrifice of Christ, who paid the supreme price for the salvation of mankind that we can actually take Nigeria back to the pinnacle of glory if we sacrifice ethnoreligious and numerous other narrow interests for the collective good and progress of the country.
“This is a call for us to unite, love, and treat one another with every sense of justice so that the whole nation is effectively mobilized to confront and surmount our numerous challenges with the oneness of mind. It is a call to be our brother’s keeper in order to make the much-needed progress as a people”, he stated.
Ekweremadu wished Nigerians a hitch-free Easter celebration, urging them to also seize the opportunity to pray for the nation.
In another related development, Ekweremadu, at the weekend, condoled with the pan Yoruba group, Afenifere, over the death of the its spokesperson, Chief Yinka Odumakin, describing it as a heavy loss, not only to the Yoruba nation but also to the country as a whole.
Ekweremadu, who expressed sadness and shock over the death, said Odumakin was a courageous leader, federalist and soldier of democracy, who worked tirelessly for a peaceful, equitable, and prosperous Nigeria.
“This is hard to believe and it is a very grave loss to not only the Yoruba ethnic nationality, but also Nigeria as a whole. Yinka was a federalist, patriot, pan-Nigerian and a courageous leader, who longed for a peaceful, secure, equitable, and prosperous Nigeria and worked hard and tirelessly towards achieving it. He was a gallant soldier for democracy and will be remembered for his dogged battles in regard.
“It is sad that we have lost him, but it is even sadder that Nigeria is far from the egalitarian and prosperous nation he had hoped and worked for. My heartfelt condolences go to Joe and the family in particular as well as to the Afenifere family over the loss”.
He prayed for the peaceful repose of the soul of the deceased. NNL.