Continued from yesterday
I challenge all Nigerian Christians, to stand up and be counted on the side of righteousness, truth and justice. We must advance in our religious practices beyond mere ritualism and the shouting of slogans. Yes, we must rise beyond the noise making that characterises much of our religious enterprise today, and face courageously the truth of our national existence – an existence that has been so thoroughly jaundiced and so painfully blighted by the criminal exploits of the succession of punitive rulers that this land has witnessed for such a long time.

I challenge Nigerian Christians to address seriously the scandalous co-existence of poverty that has assumed the moral equivalence of war for the majority of the Nigerian people, side by side with the conspicuous consumption of a tiny cabal who appear to have captured and privatised the Nigerian state. We must work towards reversing this ugly situation in our society, if our religious enterprise is not to be a matter of mere lip service.

I challenge Christians in positions of leadership at all levels, who so often succumb to the lure of power and material wealth, while putting their professed Christian beliefs and values on hold. I challenge Christian politicians and office holders, to abandon the madding crowd, even as they wield ephemeral power, and return to the values, the virtues, and the principles that have been the distinguishing mark of authentic Christian disciples through the ages.

I challenge the Nigerian political elite in general, to begin to recognise that political leadership is service of the common good, and not a channel for abusing, exploiting and subjugation the people; that leadership is a call to the life of sacrifice, and not the criminal enterprise of stealing and looting of the resources of the land, such as has been so blatantly and recklessly displayed by political office holders in our nation’s recent history.

I challenge my fellow country men and women, especially the teeming population of Christians among us, to strive to accord basic human dignity, decency and rights to all citizens; rights that are too often trampled upon or denied, to satisfy the whims and caprices of a callous, insensitive and uncaring elite. Yes, I challenge those who hold in their hands the fortunes of the present and future generations of the Nigerian people, who today would rather sink the ship of state than relinquish some of the stupendous power and wealth they have unjustly and inordinately amassed, to recognise that when this season of madness is over, they would be called to answer fatal questions.

I challenge the “godfathers” and “powerbrokers” in our midst whose greed for money often rides in tandem with their lust for power and control, along with their elite collaborators, and their shameless gang of sycophants and praise singers all over the place, to look beyond the gains of the moment, and think of the multitude of Nigerians whose chances of meaningful existence are often truncated and aborted by what is often their reckless policies and thoughtless conduct.

I challenge the generality of Nigerians who are celebrating Christmas at this time, to recognise and uphold the sanctity and inviolability of the human person, for Christmas is about how the Creator Himself loves human beings and accords us such dignity and honour, that He sent His only Son into the world, to save them from the damnation that accompanies a life of sin and debauchery.

Those who claim to have faith in the incarnation should strive to live out and demonstrate to those around them, the way of love preached by Christ Jesus in his earthly ministry; the love which the men and women of the world have so often rejected to their own peril.

Nigerian Christians should reflect on the explosion in the number of Churches and their membership in the country, an explosion that is not at all matched by a discernible transformation in the social morality of individuals and corporate entities. We should reflect on the anomaly of an ever-increasing army of “cash and carry” prayer merchants, prosperity preachers and miracle speculators, whose compromised messages, seasoned with materialism and slanted with vainglory, only tend to disorient, mislead, and whet the already bloated worldly appetites of their teeming followers.

I challenge Christians to show practical understanding of the concept of sacrificial love as exemplified in the Incarnation and in the passion and death of Jesus Christ, a concept that is often regarded by many modern-day believers as an unwelcome disruption.

I shall end this Christmas reflection by challenging all Nigerians to come to terms with the social injustices that are inherent in the very structures of our society. I challenge the poor victims of Nigeria’s despoliation, to work towards eventually taking back their country from the band of callous and punitive overlords that have over the years subjected the people to so much pain and misery.

I challenge all our countrymen and women to come to terms with the negative customs, the sinful cultural norms, and the irrational prejudices that have held Nigerians back all this while. And I warn everyone that time is running out, and so we must now wake up from our slumber and abandon our accustomed but culpable apathy and despondency, and instead take responsibility for the future of our society.

We must begin to address courageously the injustices and injuries of our past and take urgent steps to redress those that are still ongoing. We must begin to call to account all those who at one point or the other have superintended the devastation of our national landscape.

We must begin to name and shame the destroyers of our nation’s patrimony, including a posthumous shaming of those among them that have passed on, and thereafter begin to seek forgiveness and reconciliation among the wounded and angry peoples of Nigeria.

We must begin to pursue the kind of healing and reconciliation brought about by Jesus Christ the Prince of Peace, a reconciliation which sheds domineering intransigence, the illusion of superiority, and all other pretensions; a reconciliation which is generous, flexible, and magnanimous; a reconciliation which constitutes the forerunner to for durable peace and stability.

On the first Christmas night, the angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest heavens, and peace to men and women of goodwill.” May we embrace the message of Jesus the Incarnate Son of God today, so we may experience in our own lives the good news that was first proclaimed by the angels to the Shepherds in Bethlehem. Amen.
Concluded.
Rev. Ehusani is of Lux Terra Leadership Foundation, Abuja.