THE way Nigerians are scrambling for rice, you will think that Christmas, the annual Christian ritual of celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, is only about rice. It is also not about drinking, clothing and merry making alone. Christmas is more than the rituals and ceremonies mankind associate with it.
Beyond the revelry of the occasion, Christmas is a season of love and peace. The birth of the savior brings peace to men of goodwill. The birth of the messiah is a promise God kept with mankind. As a child, Christmas evokes feelings of joy and happiness. We long for it and prepare well for it. To witness the Christmas is always a prayer point of most people.
The weather is at its best during Christmas in my part of the country. It is the season that those living outside the region and the country usually visit home. It promises happy reunion with our relations that reside in other parts of the country and abroad. It is a season for eating of plenty of rice and watching of masquerade displays. Whether jollof rice or fried rice or rice with okpi stew or rice with ofe akwu, Christmas rice is the best. Every Christmas adds new cloth to my ward robe. Such cloth is usually worn with relish and showmanship especially if it has many colours. We usually go the last mass at Christmas so that neighbours and friends will see us in our new attires. What is said inside the church does not bother us. We are interested in the outward show of the occasion, the thrills of banger and other ceremonies.
It is a season of gifts and goodwill from friends and relations. At the eve of Christmas we sing our obungwogwo songs to neighbours and they throw coins at us which we later share. We eat rice in other seasons but that of Christmas is so special and tends to taste better. Even during the Nigerian Civil War, Christmas did not lose its shine despite the deprivations and bombings of the time.
We were told that soldiers celebrated the season in the trenches. So in a season of love, warring factions forgot their differences and enjoyed the day of love and peace. That is the magic of Christmas. That is the miracle of the season. Even worshippers of traditional gods join in the celebration of Christmas. There is a saying in my area that during Christmas the number of Christian adherents increases.
But this year’s Christmas is like no other in the history of the country. For Nigerians, it is Christmas in a season of recession. The way Nigerians scramble for rice this reason illustrates the bleak nature of the celebration. While some Nigerians can buy a bag of rice, majority go for half bag while others go for a quarter of a bag.
Yet some others go for a tin of rice while others go for a paint measure of rice depending on one’s purchasing power. Others go for a mudu or derika of rice, all in the spirit of ‘man must wack.’ They do this because their kids must eat rice during the season. The kids do not know that there is recession.
They cannot understand that things are hard or that there is inflation in the country. The gloom of the season is boldly written in the faces of the masses. You can see such faces in Mile Two, Oshodi, Ibadan, Akure, Benin, Onitsha, Aba, Kano, Jos, Abuja, Calabar and Port Harcourt.
All over the country, the story is the same. People are suffering. Nigerians are angry and hungry. Prices of goods, especially food items are rising every day. It is certain that many Nigerians cannot afford good rice meal this season except someone gives them during the festive season.
For this category of people, they do not know it is Christmas. The poor among us will not know it is Christmas. Likewise those in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) Camps will not have a feeling of Christmas. The less privileged won’t know it is Christmas either. They should be made to feel that Christ was also born for their sake as well.
As you celebrate the yuletide season, it is important that you spare a thought on the less fortunate members of the society. As you eat nkwobi, isiewu and drink nkwu elu with ugba, or mmanya ngwo remember the poor, the needy and the aged. As you eat your fried rice and drink your champagne, do not forget those in the various IDPs camps in the country, especially those in the North-East. Don’t forget those in the Motherless Babies Home, the orphans, the widows and widowers.
The Christmas theme of peace to men of goodwill will be meaningless and elusive to this category of people if they do not have anything to eat and cheer about this season. As you watch the mmonwu masquerade display in the public square, don’t forget those living in war zones and pray for them as well. Remembering them is part of the celebration of the season.
Let our political office holders look with pity upon the sufferings of Nigerians this season. They should spare a thought on them and remember that the same God created them and the suffering masses. Let our leaders start doing something to improve the welfare of Nigerians, the main reason for the existence of any human government.
It is tragic that our politicians are living in opulence while majority of the citizens are living in abject poverty. The leaders and the led should eat on the same table. None should eat the meat while the other eats the crumbs that fell from the master’s rich table.
Our leaders should be humble. They should be full of humility. They should be exemplary in conduct as well.
Although Christ was a King but he was born in a manger. He was born by poor parents and from unknown town. These are worthy examples our leaders should emulate. Although eating rice is part of Christmas, it is not only a rice affair. Beyond its rituals, is its spiritual significance.