2023: Archbishop of Lagos Tasks Electorate on Need to Vote

Mary Nnah

The Archbishop Of Lagos, His Grace, Most Reverend Alfred Adewale Martins, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure no Nigerian was deprived of the right to vote during the forthcoming elections, saying that INEC as well as the electorate should do everything possible to ensure they exercise their electoral rights by voting in the 2023 elections.

“We ask INEC to please ensure that people vote, in that people who have moved from place to place would not have lost the opportunity to vote because of their movements,” Martins said.

Speaking during the celebration of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos 2022 Chrism Mass at Holy Cross Cathedral, Lagos on Thursday, Martins cautioned that it was possible the citizens will be reluctant to vote in the forthcoming elections due to the fact that the efforts they made in voting in the leaders in the past did not yield dividends of democracy.

He noted however that they should not allow the present situation in the country to dissuade them from exercising their rights to vote as this will determine their future.

He said, “We know the 2023 election activities are already in the air and the politicians have already started doing their things. We know that much of governance has already been put on autopilot and politicians are doing what they know how to do best. We know that they are asking for our votes.”

“However, there is a strong temptation for us to say that our past efforts to voting¸ did not make our lives better, so why do we need to waste our time again? The temptation is to throw our hands up and surrender, but I urge you not to throw up your hands in surrender. It is true that there is the insecurity of lives and property, perhaps worse now than before.

 The so-called bandits are everywhere almost operating as if there are no checks of any sort on them, adding lots of challenges to our national and individual lives. I just want to ask that we do not allow any of these to stop us make the due preparations to take part in the forthcoming elections, rather, it is necessary we get our voters’ cards ready so that we can join and do that which is necessary.”

Speaking further, he said, “We may not have the kind of Federal Republic that we desire, we want a new structure but this is what we have now, I ask that we do not allow anything to stop us from doing the needful as far as the elections are concerned.”

While calling for prayers  for the nation, he said, “I call upon you all to pray for Nigeria and our leaders, and I ask you all to please ask our politicians pertinent questions on what they need to do and how they will take care of our challenges.”

The cleric stressed that it was not enough to hear promises being made but was  also important to interrogate how exactly those promises will be fulfilled, adding, “I believe that all of these are part of what we need to ensure that the elections are fruitful to our nation, individual lives and for the future of our country.”

Recalling an incident that occurred at one of its parishes that brought about ethnic and tribal sentiment, an incident, he said was grossly exaggerated on social media and spread far and wide, he called on the members of the church not to allow tribal or ethnic sentiment to override their unity as a body of Christ.

 “Politicians and those that have agendas that are different from that of the church, waiting to take advantage of any fault line that they find in our society, must all know that we are united by the blood of Christ, which is thicker than the blood that runs through our veins. The waters of Baptism have made us united into one family. All of us must be concerned about the growth in our faith, evangelism, and efforts to live holy lives so that all of us will make it back to where we came from, that is from God, our Father.

“In the Holy Catholic Church, I ask therefore that we must be balanced in the choice of hymns and choruses that we sing at our church services – we must be charitable in the comments that we make about one another and we must make everyone of every language group feel welcomed and part and parcel of the life of our church in the archdiocese.