The birth of Jesus Christ, which will be celebrated next Wednesday, December 25, is the portentous event of the Incarnation, from which Christianity draws its essence. Christians the world over, will mark the birth of the Son of God and the Savior of mankind, whose spectacular life of virtue, revolutionary teaching and sacrificial death on the Cross of Calvary, form the basis of the over 2000-year-old Christian religion. Even in a world overrun by secularism and materialism and other social forces impacting negatively on religion and morality, a world witnessing an inexorable decline in Christian values and Christian worship especially in Western industrialized societies, the continued influence of Jesus Christ in a global context is unmistakable.
Across the globe, Christmas has come to be associated with the festive spirit, family reunions and the celebration of family life and friendship with the exchange of greetings, visits and gifts. It is that time of the year when many are inspired to stretch out the hand of fellowship and solidarity in charity and thanksgiving to all who have survived the stresses and the strains of the passing year. The legend of St. Nicholas, the patron saint of all generous people played out in the form of Father Christmas or Santa Claus, has always excited the curiosity of children, while Orphanages, Assisted Living Homes for the elderly and Prisons will often witness a boost in charity visits at this time.
For Nigerians, however, Christmas 2013 brings to a close a year of shocks and pains and blood and tears. Nigerians have been struggling to cope with bad governance, decrepit social infrastructure, worsening economic fortunes and widespread social insecurity. And as the year draws to a close, many are counting their losses with a fair dose of stoicism and characteristic hope. After the senseless campaign of bombings, mayhem and mindless slaughter by armed bandits and Boko Haram terrorists, this Christmas serves as a poignant reminder of the deadly introduction of an unmerited scale of violence into the social fabric of Nigeria.
In spite of the agony and the social chaos that have endured in the country, however, the celebratory spirit of the Nigerian will not be dampened. The incurable optimism in the Nigerian is what appears to have secured the peaceful quiet that prevails in many quarters amid the subsisting trauma of life in the country. Perhaps in the view of many, Christmas is too important a milestone in the Christian life cycle to be abandoned to the vagaries of disoriented and misguided groups who are reinventing and orchestrating a hate culture of intolerance for the country. Many Christians, even in the troubled cities of the North, will go out there to worship and to celebrate, if only to demonstrate to the terrorists that they do indeed have a substantial stake in this country, and that they cannot and will not be denied the peaceful conduct of their religious obligations and festivities.
The Nigerian condition has taken on a life of its own, however, somber such life. The virtual weekly targeting of civilian infrastructure school, markets, churches and security facilities by terrorists, with telling outcomes in fatalities and collateral damage, has occurred with embarrassing regularity. With hardly any effective protective measures to fall back on, innocent Nigerian victims of violence are left counting the cost. Nigerians have become accustomed to assurances and reassurances from the government of President Goodluck Jonathan, which often end up being reduced to the mere clearing of debris after each attack, while surviving victims lick their wounds and mourn their dead.
Nigeria’s social conundrum today is exacerbated by the heightened incidence of corruption and obscene display of stolen wealth by public officials without due regard for the majority of citizens who continue to wallow in poverty and misery. The result has been rising criminality by unemployed youths who have resorted to kidnapping and armed robbery, such that travelling home for Christmas has become risky and daunting as weathering the siege of war. The government has dropped the ball allowing the low-intensity insurgencies from MEND in the Niger Delta to Boko Haram in the North to fester, with the situation degenerating into a new stage of what is a long-drawn guerrilla war against the Nigerian State on multiple fronts.
That a band of insurgents can be allowed to run riot; challenging Nigeria’s national security, and advertising their brazenness to an already traumatized civilian population; is an affront on the government and the people of Nigeria that is inexcusable, and unacceptable. The continued success of kidnapping for ransom syndrome is a clear manifestation of the failure of leadership and the gross ineptitude and incompetence of the security agencies whose primary duty it is to protect the innocent citizen against the criminally-minded in society.
Christmas is, however, the proclamation of good news. It is a celebration of joy and of hope. The Christ, whose birth is marked every December 25, has given the world a roadmap to abundant life, peace and prosperity. Taken seriously and applied in our individual and corporate lives, the values preached by Jesus, namely sacrificial love, justice, compassion, leadership by service, forgiveness, humility and purity of heart, will transform Nigeria for the better. The disposition towards crass materialism, excessive wealth accumulation and blind pursuit of pleasure is clearly at variance with the spirit of this holy day.
And so beyond the festivities of Christmas, Christians in Nigeria are once again challenged to live up to the core values of their religion, and impact positively on their socio-cultural and political environment. There is need for sober reflection on the moral imperatives of the political and economic choices before the nation. The values for which symbolize the life of Christ – love, truth, justice, humility, service, self-sacrifice, forgiveness, remain elusive as Nigerians struggle for the soul of the nation. Incumbent and aspiring Nigerian leaders must abandon the path of selfishness, greed and inordinate ambition for power if the country would prosper. Christians and non-Christians alike must embrace the higher value of sacrificial leadership that make for lasting peace and prosperity.
Huhuonline.com wishes its numerous readers and partners, and indeed, all Nigerians, a Merry Christmas and a more peaceful and prosperous New Year 2014.
