By Bimbola Oyesola
Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, has charged Christians to uphold the hope and lessons, which the birth of Christ signifies, beyond the Yuletide celebrations.
In a goodwill message to Christians by his media office on Saturday in Abuja, Ngige described the remembrance of the birth of Jesus Christ as the most powerful message of hope, which brought liberation for mankind, and urged Christians to find in it a source of succou socio-economic and security challenges facing the nation.
The minister said God works in a peculiar way that is beyond human comprehension, as exemplified in Christ, who was born a king, the Messiah, yet suffered death for the redemption of mankind.
“The message, therefore, is that we model our lives after Christ and not allow it die immediately the Christmas season is over. In other words, we must not succumb to the challenges of the day.
“Christians must not despair or resign to fate, but be ever ready to work their way out of every tribulations, looking up to God for the seamless lead. The hope which Christmas delivers to our doorstep should help us uncover that the difficulties of the time should not form a distance between us and God.
Quoting Pope Francis in La Croix International, Ngige added, “God may not take away insecurity and unpredictability that breed fear and anxiety, but shares our experience of them. He offers a promise that all will be well.”
Further reflecting on joy as cardinal to Christmas, Ngige said the present hardship in the country gives President Muhammadu Buhari sleepless nights and assured that efforts are in top gear to lift the lots of the Nigerian workers and bring joy to them before transition to the next government.
He also urged Nigerian workers to pray for another President that will sustain the labour-friendly legacy of the Buhari administration.
Ngige equally advised wealthy Christians to remember the poor while celebrating the Christmas.
“Let’s not to seek the infant Jesus only in the beautiful figures of the Christmas cribs, the twinkly lights and the gaudy decorations in our homes and streets. Let’s also seek the ‘word that was made flesh’ in the poor and deprived Nigerians who go to bed hungry.”
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)’s President, Ayuba Wabba on his part urged Nigerian workers and people to resonate in the light of hope birthed by the love of God conveyed through the birth of His son Jesus Christ.
“It is the illumination of this hope that inspires confidence in our hearts that however dark our night as a country might be, light would certainly emerge and shine at the end of our tunnel,” he said.
Wabba said many Nigerian workers and ordinary people are currently going through the dark tunnel of soaring inflation marked by very steep increases in the prices of essential goods and services.
He said, “Many Nigerian families are going through the dark tunnel of general apprehension about their security and personal safety as criminals and terrorists hold sway in many parts of the country looting, raping, kidnapping, and killing. Many Nigerians who would be traveling this festive season would be going through the dark tunnel of bruised, broken and battered infrastructure especially roads.
“While the light of Christmas would be celebrated across many cities, towns and villages around the world with bright illumination which are bye-products of stability in public electricity supply, many Nigerians would be battling with queuing for hours to get petrol to power their generators.
“It is difficult to keep urging workers and ordinary Nigerians to hold on to the life buoy of hope in the midst of a burgeoning bay of darkness. Yet, hope is Christmas sublime message. It is only prudent that we take sinew from the knowledge that the darkest night usually births the brightest mornings. We believe that Nigeria’s brightest morning is just ahead of us.”
He charged Nigerians to see a turn around after the 2023 general elections.
“We urge our compatriots especially workers to be very deliberate in their engagement with the political process come 2023. Elections are the time to ask critical questions and make rational choices. Workers must identify with political party candidates who demonstrate commitment to lighting up the end of the tunnels of economic downturns marked by soaring inflation, widespread insecurity, deepening poverty, escalating crises of unemployment especially among the youth demography of our country, decadent physical infrastructure, and brazen corruption in high places.”