As Christians across the world marked Easter Sunday with prayers and reflection, Senate leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, has urged Nigerian leaders to emulate the selfless example of Jesus Christ and rise above divisive politics that threaten national cohesion.

Bamidele, who represents Ekiti Central Senatorial District, in a statement through his media office, warned that Nigeria’s deepening security and social challenges cannot be solved by political grandstanding or sectional rhetoric, but by leadership rooted in justice, love, and shared responsibility.

“Jesus Christ’s life was defined by sacrifice, healing, and reconciliation,” Bamidele said in his Easter message released Sunday.

“He secured freedom for the captives, comfort for the sorrowful, and justice for the oppressed. That is the model of leadership Nigeria urgently needs.”

The Senate leader disclosed that the National Assembly is currently developing legal frameworks to establish state police, describing it as a decisive step toward tackling Nigeria’s worsening insecurity.

“The spate of killings in Benue and Plateau States stands in direct opposition to the virtues of peace and love that Christ preached,” he said. “We cannot continue to treat symptoms while ignoring structural failures. Creating state police will empower communities to defend themselves responsibly and constitutionally.”

Bamidele also sent a veiled but clear message to political actors exploiting Nigeria’s fragility for personal gain, accusing them of fanning the flames of division in the guise of opposition politics.

“When politicians push divisive narratives for selfish ends, they’re not practicing democracy — they’re fueling destruction,” he said. “Nigeria is our collective project, not a battlefield for political conquest.”

He emphasized that the 10th National Assembly is committed to building a strong federation marked by peace, prosperity, and progress, and urged all stakeholders, regardless of ethnicity, religion, or political leaning, to rally around that shared vision.

“Our differences should not define our destiny,” Bamidele said. “This Easter, let us choose healing over hatred, service over self, and unity over unrest.”