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Celebrate Christmas Despite National Woes, CAN Tells Nigerians

As the world marks Christmas today, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has called on Nigerians not to allow the difficulties in the country to deter them from celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.

The association also called on the nation’s leaders to live up to their responsibilities by tackling the nation’s woes such as the herdsmen’s attacks, kidnapping, ritual killings and armed robbery.

The President of CAN, Dr Samson Ayokunle, made the calls in his Christmas message on Sunday in Jos.

He said, “To us, the joy of Christmas is not limited to his (Jesus Christ’s) unprecedented and miraculous birth. It is built even more on the triumph of his death and the resurrection that gave meaning to his birth because it was his resurrection that gave us the hope against every hopeless situation.

“We identify with homes that are mourning as a result of the incessant attacks from the criminal Fulani herdsmen, kidnappers, ritual killers and armed robbers who are on the loose as we pray to God to console and comfort all the bereaved and we also pray for our leaders and all the security agencies to wake up from their slumber to their responsibilities before the situation gets out of hand.

“I am not unaware of the hardship Nigerians are facing today as many cannot travel for the Christmas celebration despite the holiday due to the fuel scarcity, unpaid salaries and other economic factors. But the major theme of the Christmas remains ‘fear not no matter what we are seeing or hearing.’ That was what the angel who broke the good news told the shepherds.”

He recalled that during the last week, the National Bureau of Statistics reported that due to the harsh economic situation in the country, no fewer than 3.67 million Nigerians lost their jobs last year.

“The International Monetary Fund’s verdict on Nigeria was also as hopeless as that of the NBS if not more, but our eyes are not on the government but on God who always fulfils his promises no matter the circumstances.

“Not a few of our youths lost their precious lives on the Mediterranean and in the modern day slavery in Libya in their futile attempt to escape the economic hardship in the country.

“My counsel to all Nigerians is, in the words of Apostle Paul, to “be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer (Romans 12:12). Our God is able, capable and reliable in all situations,” he added.

In his message, the Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Ibadan, Gabriel Abegunrin, called on Nigerians to celebrate Christmas in moderation and share gifts with love.

While lamenting that items meant for the Internally Displaced Persons camps got into wrong hands, Abegunrin said, “Christmas comes every year but we always have something new to say, especially because of the attitude of celebration. Christmas should bring joy to everybody but some people celebrate and end up in sorrow. Instead of celebrating with calmness, sharing, eating and drinking moderately, some people over-do everything.

 “The coming of Christ to the world is a gift to us. We should learn to give gifts to one another. When Jesus came, the world was spiritually and morally poor; there was so much cheating and dehumanisation in the society. Jesus came to liberate the oppressed and the down trodden. But he became a target because the rich did not want the order to change.”

 

 

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Copyright 2017 SIGNAL. Permission to use portions of this article is granted provided appropriate credits are given to www.signalng.com and other relevant sources.

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