Lokoja
The annual Palm Sunday came to a standstill on Sunday in Kwara state due to lockdown brought about by the need to check the spread of Coronavrus in the state.
Duaglobalnews correspondent who went round Ilorin metropolis said no worshipper was sighted as the churches remained under lock and key.
Speaking with newsmen on the significance of Palm Sunday to christians the Senior Pastor Emmanuel Baptist Church, Sabo-Oke Ilorin, Revd. Olawuyi James, said the event as a way of declaring the victory of Christ over death.
He stressed the need for Christians to show humility and love to the needy, especially in this trying period,by providing for the poor as exemplified by Jesus Christ.
The Cleric, who also advised christians to always praise God, no matter what they are passing through, explained that God expects mankind to live a life of thanksgiving, adoration and praises.
James also appealed to the leaders to assist those in need who could not feed their families.
He, however, called on security agencies to be Godly in dealing with those who violated the stay at home directive so as not to add to their problems.
The cleric said: “The triumphant entry is a declaration of Christ victory over situation and circumstance of life, adding that during the period, christisnd usually give praises singing Hosanna to God.
“It is a declaration of victory, we must encourage our brethren that no matter the situation, darkness will not be forever, light will always shine at the end.
“Christ coming is a declaration of victory that is why it is called the triumphant entry, we believe that at the end we shall over come.
“In regards to the lockdown, my message to everybody is that, this is actually a time of love, a time to show love and a time to care.
” This lockdown is for a awhile, some people are hopeless and helpless now, it will not be the end, we should give everybody hope, that is my challenge to all of our leaders, they should send message of hope to everybody, message of love.
” We should be our brother’s keeper now, show love to everybody, we should care, we should not only show love by calling people , by interacting, we should show love by showing care.
“If there is something that we must always do now is to make sure that we provide for our neighbours, government must understand it is not shutting people down without making provision for them,”he said.
Although Kwara state has no case of Coronavirus COVID-19 cases, the country confirmed 224 cases and five deaths recorded as at April 5.
