Yesterday, Christians the world over celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ, the son of Mary. Immense Preparation went into making sure that it remains a day to remember.
Despite the economic crunch in Nigeria, the day was spent with people visiting gardens, eateries, parks, pools with their loved ones. Money posed no barrier as wines, juice and expensive spirits were downed.
During the celebrations, the philosophies of Christ were neglected and were not rekindled. In a world that needs a Christ-like figure, priority was given to the unnecessary and the important was not considered.
Christ preached love as an important virtue but nowadays, our dogs are more loved than our neighbours. It is not out of place to see a house, with music blaring from it's interior, having abundance of food and a nearby house, almost desolate, lacking what to eat. what then is the celebration about?
Jesus also told us to love our enemies. In this age, that is more than an uphill task. We would rather see our enemies bombed to hell than forgive them.
"For I was an hungry, and ye gave me no
meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink" (Matthew 25:42).
The above verse perfectly sums up the situation we find ourselves in. In typical Nigeria, the rich are getting richer and the poor keep falling into the pit of destitution. Even looters of the nation's treasury are unconcerned about the Nigerian masses (many of which live below a dollar per day), banking the stolen money in foreign countries. This is however not the case during elections, sharing our money and raw food as they canvass for votes.
Also, a golden rule is to treat others as we want to be treated. It is a far cry from what is obtainable today. People treat others with disdain, while demanding respect. We look down on those who have no education, considering ourselves superior. Why then the celebration?, if Jesus' legacies cannot be practised.
Another evil we have embraced is hypocrisy. This is widespread and can be noticed in all aspect of our lives. Pastors, Imams are at best sanctimonious, preaching one thing and practising the opposite. Our news dailies are awash with these 'holy men' perpetuating one evil or the other. Our Politicians and office holders are master manipulators, embezzling money they swore to protect. Police stations have become banks, with DPOs as bank managers and IG as managing director (see Tafagate ).Another example is that of Ibrahim Lamorde, an erstwhile EFCC boss. Stealing a stolen money,he was accused of diverting 1trillion naira of recovered loot.
The world would become a better place if these virtues are practised. They seems to be forgotten and constant reminder is key. Days like this affords us the opportunity to extol Christ's legacies. It is my hope that as we keep reminding ourselves, we will be able to imbibe these virtues in our quest to become better individuals.
