The offensive Stirling Bank advert
Following the offensive Easter advertisement that has pitched Sterling Bank against the Christian community in Nigeria and beyond, the Christian Association of Nigeria, (CAN) has advised Christians to stop patronising banks and other financial institutions that have hatred for the Christian faith, as some of them are anti-Christian organisations that have no respect for Jesus Christ.
The advice was sequel to an advertisement of the Sterling Bank comparing the Resurrection of Jesus Christ to ‘Agege Bread’. The Easter message titled ‘Like Agege Bread, He Rose!’ has generated a lot of backlashes from Nigerians, who questioned the rationale for comparing the resurrection of Lord Jesus Christ with Agege Bread.
The message was designed in a banner and shared on the social media pages of the bank.
Mr Abubakar Suleiman, the Managing Director of Sterling Bank
In a statement on Wednesday, signed by its national publicity secretary, Joseph Bade Daramola, CAN urged Christians to be wary of banks and other financial institutions that have hatred for Christian faith and called for immediate sack of Abubakar Suleiman, the Managing Director of Sterling Bank for ‘hostility and hatred’ against the Christian faith.
Describing the advertisement as a blasphemy, CAN further declared: “This is insulting, ridiculous and a mockery of Jesus Christ. We advised Christians to be wary of the bank and other financial institutions they are patronising.”
The statement continued; “The attention of the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has been drawn to an ungodly, wicked, insensitive, and deliberately provocative advertisement of the Sterling Bank comparing the Resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ to ‘Agege Bread’ amidst the Easter celebration.”
CAN said in case the management of the Sterling Bank was not aware, the resurrection of Jesus witnesses the immense power of God Himself. The Christian body stressed that to believe in the resurrection is to believe in God, adding, “If God exists, and if He created the universe and has power over it, then He has the power to raise the dead. If He does not have such power, He is not worthy of faith and worship.”
CAN declared: “Only He who created life can resurrect it after death, only He can reverse the mystery that is death itself, and only He can remove the sting and gain the victory over the grave (1 Corinthians 15:54–55). In resurrecting Jesus from the grave, God reminds us of His absolute sovereignty over life and death.”
The association also noted that the purported apology by the bank did not come from a penitent heart. The apology partly read: “…let the one who has never sinned cast the first stone. For our recent errors, we sincerely apologise. Forgive us in the spirit of Easter.” Many readers have also described the apology as “offensive and insincere.”
Wondering how someone in his right mind described the risen Christ as a loaf of bread, CAN advised Christians against banking with banks and other financial institutions that have hatred for the Christian faith and by extension, “Our Lord Jesus”.
“We learnt that the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) has reportedly intervened in the matter with a view to impose some sanctions against Sterling Bank. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) is waiting for the decision of the organisation.
“However, in the interim, we call for the immediate removal of the Chief Executive of Sterling Bank; Mr. Abubakar Suleiman with his Management whose actions have clearly shown their hostility and hatred for the Christian faith,” the statement added.
