As usual, Christians will today celebrate Christmas, the commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ, the progenitor of the Christian faith. Christmas is one of the important feasts in the Christian calendar. Over time, it has morphed into a global feast blurring religious and political boundaries. In Christendom, the Christmas or yuletide season has been characterized by sharing, joy, peace and happiness. It is also a season of hope, love and giving. In Nigeria, the event is marked with music, dance and merriment. As a result of the Christmas holidays, people use the occasion to travel to the hinterland to celebrate it with family and loved ones.
In spite of the high expectations of the Yuletide season, it appears that many Nigerians will observe a low-key Christmas due to the economic hardship in the country and rising cost of food items as well as soaring transport fares. With escalating cost of rice and other Nigerian staples, it is not in doubt that Nigerians will have a bleak Christmas celebration in this season. Sadly, scores of Nigerians died recently in Ibadan, Abuja and Anambra State while scrambling for rice and other palliatives being distributed by some organizations to cushion the effect of hunger and poverty in the land.
It is sad that many Christians will find it difficult to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ because of the prevailing economic hardship, rising cost of living, poverty, unemployment and worsening hunger. Not many Nigerians can afford 50kg bag of rice which is now sold at over N100,000. The cost of meat is also on the rise as well. Moreover, many Nigerian workers are yet to be paid the newly approved minimum wage of N70,000. The suffering in the land has become more pronounced following the removal of fuel subsidy and other unpalatable policies of the federal government, including the floating of the naira and unification of the foreign exchange market rates.
Therefore, we call on the federal and state governments to use the occasion of the Christmas to show love and compassion to the masses by embarking on pro-people policies that will ameliorate the hardship and suffering in the country. The growing poverty calls for planned and coordinated distribution of palliatives. Such palliatives can be sent to the homes of those concerned or channeled through community or faith-based organizations. Alternatively, some of them can be monetized and sent to the beneficiaries via their verified bank accounts to curb the recurring deadly stampedes at palliative distribution centres.
While there is nothing wrong with charity or philanthropy during festive seasons, there is need for such engagements to be orderly and coordinated. Having police and other security agents and medical ambulance can ensure safety and order at such events. Priority must be given to crowd control at such centres to avert lethal stampedes.
Nevertheless, we urge the Christian faithful to use the occasion to pray for peace and unity of the country as well as extend charity to the needy, the sick, the elderly and the less privileged in the society. Beyond the merriment and other worldliness associated with the season, we call on the Christian faithful to bear in mind the significance of the occasion, which is the birth of the saviour of mankind. They should not forget the reason for the event and the hope for mankind of the coming of Jesus Christ. Christians should put Jesus Christ at the centre of everything they do, including their relations with other Nigerians. The values represented by Christmas should guide their daily lives.
We also urge our leaders to imbibe the lessons of Christmas and let its values influence their governance decisions and distribution of democracy dividends to the citizens. Let them come up with good policies to reduce the general poverty in the country and improve the standard of living of all Nigerians. The government should inject more resources into health, education and the power sectors. If these three sectors are revamped, they will positively impact on the economy and other sectors and greatly enhance our human capital development.
