•Vexatious Easter messages
The recent trend of business brands displaying disregard for the values and religious inclinations of their customers is becoming increasingly deplorable.
1.Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS)
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) on Sunday shared an Easter message in a flier via its X account, reports The Nation.
The message, which sparked widespread condemnation from many Nigerians who viewed it as disrespectful to the significance of Easter, reads: “Jesus paid your debts, not your taxes.”
Reacting, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), demanded a public apology, noting that the message was offensive to the Christian faith.
However, yesterday, Dare Adekambi, Special Adviser on Media to the FIRS Chairman, Zacch Adedeji said its intention was not to denigrate the message of Easter but to engage taxpayers and remind them of their civic duty.
The service rendered an “unreserved apology” to CAN and Nigerians, adding that the agency had no religion and had no intention to offend adherents of the Christian faith.
The statement reads: “Our attention has been drawn to a statement by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) about a flier posted on our social media platforms with the headline ‘Jesus paid your debts, not your taxes.’
“As a responsible government agency, we would like to say we did not put out the flier purposely to denigrate Jesus Christ or detract from the huge sacrifice He made for humanity. We are acutely aware that the essence of the Easter period is to celebrate this huge sacrifice.
“The message was our way of uniquely engaging taxpayers, to remind them of the need to prioritize payment of their taxes as a civic obligation.
“Yes, we would say the message ruffled feathers in some circles. The unintended meaning/insinuation being read into the post was not what we were out to communicate as an agency.
“Good a thing, this much is acknowledged by CAN in its statement wherein it said, ‘We recognize that the intended message may have been to creatively engage taxpayers…’ We wish to offer our unreserved apologies for this misinterpretation.
“FIRS, as a responsible agency, has no religion and will not bring down any religion or offend the sensibilities of adherents of various faiths in the country.
“Our goal is to assess, collect, and account for revenue for the wellbeing of the Federation. It is an investment in the country’s progress when citizens pay taxes. Once again, we wish to apologize to CAN and Christians who felt offended by the unintended consequence of our message on Easter Sunday”.
Here are others that published contentious Easter messages:
2. Sterling Bank
During Easter 2022, Sterling Bank posted a celebration message to customers and followers.
The celebration message was titled “Like Agege Bread, He Rose!”
It generated a lot of backlash from Nigerians, mostly Christians.
Majority of users demanded that the post be brought down immediately and an apology be tendered by the bank.
It was observed the Easter message was designed in a banner and shared on the social media pages of the bank and subscribers’ mails.
However, the management of Sterling Bank Plc apologised to Nigerians over its comparison of the resurrection of Jesus Christ to the rise of Agege bread.
The bank reacted to the outcry by pulling down the banner on its social media page, replacing it with another banner and tendered an apology.
The apology banner reads: “…Let he who has never sin cast the first stone.” For our recent error, we sincerely apologise. Forgive us in the spirit of Easter!”
The bank added: “Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
“We humbly celebrate His resurrection, the defeat of death and the hope of salvation.”
3. Peak Milk
FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc, makers of the popular Peak milk brand, in Easter 2023, came under heavy criticism by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and many Nigerians for symbolising Jesus Christ’s crucifixion in a manner the body interprets unacceptable.
In the controversial advert, the company used the crucifixion of Jesus Christ as a metaphor to promote their product on Good Friday, a move that CAN described as: “totally unacceptable” to the Christian population.
The company had depicted Jesus’ crucifixion using a can of evaporated Peak milk and a nail used to punch the milk. The advertisement reads: “Bruised and Pierced for us. #GoodFriday.”
However, FrieslandCampina apologised to CAN for using the crucifixion of Jesus Christ as a metaphor to promote their product on Good Friday.
The social media advertisement was subsequently withdrawn.
The Director of (Corporate Affairs), FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc, Ore Famurewa, acknowledged the sensitivity of the social media post, “considering the sobriety of the season.” She also stated that it was not intended to make “light of the significance of the season nor to inordinately exploit the unmatched sacrifice of Jesus Christ.”
