ALLURE and charm have departed Christmas. The jingle bells are rarely heard. Where they are played, the lowered decibels and the infrequency tell the story of the Christmas of the times.
It is in order to wonder where Christmas has gone. We are facing the reality of grave economic indecisions that have steadily drained Nigeria of the capacities to save her people from daily dalliances with different dimensions of deprivations. Statistics nicely record it as living below the poverty line.
As leadership neglect of Nigeria got worse we drew from individual reserve and resolve to still make Christmas special in defiance of the complications of being the world’s poverty capital.
Merry Christmas is now a greeting steeped in ordinariness. If there is a bold lie about Christmas it is the pretence that it is merry. A more likely reflection of the state of Christmas is merely Christmas.
Stripped of gaiety, unrestrained extravagance, without much to eat and drink, Christmas is no longer merry in deed and indeed.
Our faces once reflected the joy of the season. Gifts and cards struggled for spaces in our hearts and homes. We knew it was Christmas. We meant it when we greeted each other “Merry Christmas”. At Christmas hopes are high.
Commercialisation of Christmas is a global practice. In parts where statistics count, Christmas sales post strong indicators of the economy. Without scientific studies of the economic contributions of Christmas, we have at least explored the religious angles remarkably well.
We peddle miracles at Christmas and charge special rates for them. Few are complaining. People want to be counted worthy to have paid. Those whose miracles did not arrive, clerics claim, are faithless, but they should not be despondent.
Christmas ferries people post haste to the island of the New Year, which is only a week away. The New Year, we resolve, will be better. Prayer is the major plan to see to that.
Hope is important. Haste, hurry are even more so as we run through the year to breast the Christmas tape. One would almost think that Christmas was the elixir for the year’s issues, whatever they are.
Things seem impossible without Christmas. How do we show off our acquisitions in the year? How would the world know how we have fared, if we are not hosting one of those A-list parties?
Christmas is show time. People who have not eaten for weeks somehow get something to eat. Drinks are surplus. Everyone, almost everyone, manages to carry on with the air of abundance. The truth is usually revealed in the coming weeks, when the wastes of Christmas put some unplanned expenditures in perspective.
Christmas is dissolving into nothingness. The celebrations are muted. The joys of a distinct part of the year are shared with a searing fear of the unknown. Would a bomb go off? Would there be food (at Christmas!)? Would travellers arrive safely? Would salaries be paid? What happens next year?
Many are poor beyond being cashless. These days we worry whether we would be able to get cash – money we have in the bank – when we need it. We have a Christmas of worries.
How would 2024 fare? Would it benefit from the love Christmas preaches, though drowned in selfish pursuits?
These mundane issues are matters of the moment. Christmas is subsumed in them. People are afraid to be seen to be happy, otherwise they can court the wrong attention from those who count happiness as a sign that one is in government, the most flourishing enterprise in today’s Nigeria.
Christmas is declining; its emptiness is resounding from the depth of the abandonment of its simple message of love of God for mankind and the expected lesson of man loving his fellow man.
Yet the birth of Jesus Christ which Christmas marks still brings a unique, universal joy to this season. We should not waste it
The greed of Christmas, the lingering poverty around us, an economy with an uncertain destination, insecurity can make this season mainly, merely Christmas.
It is for us to make it a different Christmas by sharing whatever we can with those around us who are not sure of a meal, no matter the season, though their uncertainties are certainly beyond a meal. If we do, we would have ensured it is no longer merely Christmas.
Finally …
WE need to be careful with the law. When the Nigerian Bar Association sued Mrs. Paullen Tallen, a former Minister of Women for expressing her disagreement with a court decision on the APC governorship primary election in Adamawa State which law did she violate? At most contempt of court for calling the court decision that disqualified Aishatu Dahiru Binani, “a kangaroo judgement”. From which law did the judge pull out the decision to ban her from holding public office for 10 years unless she published an apology in two national newspapers?
FEDERAL Road Safety Corps officials seem to have no care for their safety the way they throw themselves in from of moving vehicles to stop them. The zeal appears to match the demands of the season.
SEASONS greetings for the people of the East come with higher transport fare, outrageous air ticket prices, and more security check points that are fully devoted to extorting people. Bosses of security agencies can at least call their people to order.
MUST the Federal Government mock our pains? Exactly how will it implement the 50 percent slash on inter-state transport fares? Will it deploy security agents at the parks? Or lower price of barely available fuel for buses? What sanctions will be applied to transporters who do not comply? Trains services will be free, but they do not run in the South East and most parts of Nigeria. Our government has mastered drilling publicity from celebrating its twist of momentary wakefulness to momentous nothingness.
THOSE who daily abuse the Constitution by referring to State Governors as “Executive Governors” could learn from a newspaper advertisement that congratulated a Governor who got an honorary degree. He was referred to as “Executed Governor”. Enough said.
.Isiguzo is a major commentator on minor issues
