This title was borrowed. Osaigbovo
Ighodaro, a fellow pen pusher, had used same for one of his piece. Yours
sincerely had looked for a perfect title but found none. Perfect titles reflect
the piece. ‘Unknown to a many writers, titles often turn out to be grim
albatrosses. Firstly because, most readers only read titles and move on to
other things. Hence your headline ought to represent your story. Woe betide, if
your title, which is your signpost, is hanging upside down (your error) or is
read upside down (the reader’s error)’.
‘Whosoever is at fault, the
writer is doomed because it comes crashing on him. The conjectures of your
title could be stretched far and wide in any direction that suits the reader. (Some
people have their imagination for breakfast)’. Hence this piece doesn’t in any
way means that Christmas celebration is dead. Now that we have read the above
explanation, let’s move forward.
Christmas is upon us again. Holiday
is at hand. Students smile, civil servants too. Business men are not spared
from the joy that rings the spirit. Their sales doubles and sometimes triples.
Churches organize harvests, they call it harvests of thanksgiving. Everyone is
in a rush. Prices of goods increase. Transport fares too. Yet no one complains.
The season never goes along without coming along with its thrills. The grim.
The multifaceted gluttony. The laughter. The dance. All these; in the name of
Christmas.
Friends re-unite. They tell
stories about January till now. They polish the stories to suit the audience.
Everyone laugh at the ingenuity of happenstance. They forget things do not
happen just like that; there are always two sides to a story. Yet they chose to
be gullible. It is a joyful gullibility. To the less privilege, Christmas
brings bliss and happiness, love and care. There is show of love, real love.
Orphanage homes are jam-packed. Prison houses are congested, this time not with
inmates but with kind hearted persons.
In the spirit of Christmas, many
hold God responsible for their successes. They give appreciation to Him for not
allowing the ‘ember’ months see their end. These appreciation goes into
churches in form of envelopes, as offerings. Some other times, they visit the
pastor to empty their loaded car trunk. Some send cards. Many others give
testimonies of victory and salvation from accidents, salvation from theft and from
sicknesses. Different types of salvation testimony is given but we often do not
hear salvation from sin.
All in the spirit of Christmas,
God is praised. He is praised by the pastors and members alike. The drunkards
and the harlots are not exempted. Politicians also sing praises for one reason
or the other. They join the troops that flock churches. Some deceive the pastors.
While some pastors willingly take part in the loot. That is, looting the
looters. All in the name of Christmas. The drunkards thank him for continuous
life. God gives all life but not for evil. The drunkard never knows that he is
on a short leash. The harlots still praise him but no one knows what for. Maybe
for life. Or for good health. They express false praise instead of genuine
repentance. Little wonder the literary icon, Sam Omatseye crooned “Even
deserved praise must be restrained hence it sounds like designed praise”. These
societal cancers praise God too much that we know it doesn’t comes from their
heart. It is a designed praise. Designed to heal their consciences.
Christmas has also been a pain
for some. It has divided homes. It has deflowered virgins. Some ladies use the
frill and thrills of the season to sell themselves cheap. Either for a lap of
flavored chicken or an expense paid visit to the cinema. Ladies make
unnecessary visits during Christmas. Hence they get unnecessary pains too.
And to our National figures, Dasuki
would have joined in the praise song if not for Buhari. Dopkesi would have led
the National mass choir if not for Dasuki. These persons will have no songs on
their lips. They have made others weep. The wives of the soldiers killed in the
fight against terror, the ravaged villages, the parents of the missing Chibok
girls, the Chibok girls; these are all in a sorrowful state because these two
and many others yet to be named decided to abuse and misuse public funds.
“Pleasure that is obtained by unreasonable and unsuitable cost” says Samuel
Johnson, “Must always end in pain”. They have had their pleasure, now is time
for the pain. These persons killed Christmas, the Christmas in North east.
Listen. Those who instead of
using the purpose of this celebration to draw closer to the celebrant but ran
farther in their taste for concupiscence. The ladies who offer their bodies as
a smelling sacrifice wholly and acceptable unto vain men. The men who frequently
hold meetings with alcoholic beverages. The politicians who use this season to
utilize looted funds as donations to orphanage homes. The governors who decide
to cut the minimum wage of its workers. The president who decides to retrench
2,000 civil servants. The pastors who refuse to rebuke the politicians in his
church for wrong doing. The parents who send their daughters abroad for
prostitution, so they could enjoy a better Christmas, a better dead Christmas.
These ones are the murderers of Christmas. They killed Christmas.
(Quote in first two paragraphs was culled from HARDBALL, The Nation
newspaper.)
