…Nigeria seized with despair – Catholic bishops
‘… Season for sober reflection, not fanfare’
…Rising insecurity worrisome – Businessman
As Christians in Nigeria prepare to celebrate this year’s Easter insecurity, inflation, disruptions in power supply, exchange rate wahala and high cost of transportation, among others, appear to have all conspired to make the celebration another gloomy one, BENJAMIN UMUTEME and PAUL OKAH report.
In years past, the Easter season was usually evoked a time of celebration for both Christian and non-Christians as they scheduled events for the holiday. However, the situation has continued to change over time with many families unable to share in the Easter joy following myriads of challenges. From insecurity to high cost of living and unreliable power supply among others appear to have conspired to take their joy away.
Nigerians bemoan hardship
For Harrison Ikechukwu, a resident of Jikwoyi,
what was supposed to be a period of celebration was being viewed by many with reservation. In a chat with Blueprint Weekend he said, “The Easter was not pocket friendly.”
Ikechukwu, who is a plumber, said, “For me, this Easter will come and go like any other day. Several of my clients are yet to pay me several weeks after I completed their jobs. The complaint is that they don’t have money. So, you can see why I said the Easter will come and go like any other day.”
For Mrs Blessing Benjamin, she was is yet to feel that a major celebration like Easter was coming up. According to Blessing, who manages a poultry farm, it seemed as if people would not celebrate Easter this year.
“By this time last year, many families had made payment for chickens, but it is not so this year, it has been the same story from many of them; ‘things get as e be’.”
When reminded that her price might be scaring people of, she said: “Everybody in this country knows that the price of goods is not the same as it was last year, so, I cannot sell my birds at a loss,”
Insecurity as a factor
Speaking with Blueprint Weekend, a businessman in Abuja, Mr Peter Chukwu, said though he was interested in travelling home to celebrate Easter the rising cases of insecurity in Nigeria, especially the South-east, had prevented him from travelling to Anambra to celebrate with his family.
He said: “I like Easter for what it stands for. It is a period to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The activities for the celebration usually commence from the Palm Sunday, which we marked a few days ago as Catholics.
“Staying in Abuja for years, I usually use this period to travel as a result of too many activities in the village, especially family meetings, weddings and other social activities.
“However, the rising cases of insecurity recorded in different parts of the country are matters of concern. Because of the killings and kidnappings going on, I have decided not to travel this time around. My state is affected much as there is always news of killing and other forms of violence being perpetrated by unknown gunmen.
“Anambra is no longer what it used to be. I don’t want to become a victim by travelling to be kidnapped or killed by those I don’t even know how they get their information.
“My people have a saying that precaution is not cowardice. I am just taking precaution by deciding not to travel home this time around.
“However, since there is no end to Easter celebrations, I hope that the security situation will improve so that I can travel next year.
“Already, I have made excuses to those at home and even sent money across to those I was supposed to attend their social functions. They all understand. Even God himself understands that we can worship Him and celebrate anywhere we are, we don’t necessarily have to travel home before celebrating Easter. Hopefully, things will return to normal in Nigeria and we will resume celebrating Easter in peace.”
High cost of living
Also speaking, a civil servant, Mrs Rita Asuquo, said the high cost of living has prevented her plans of travelling with her family to celebrate Easter in Cross River state.
She said: “Our world is changing. Easter and all forms of religious celebration are no longer enjoyed because of rising cost of living. The situation has become so bad that we can no longer afford the things that usually made celebrations of this nature memorable.
“In the past, people looked forward to celebrating Easter with friends and family members because things were affordable. However, the situation is no longer the same.
“Presently, people are struggling to feed and provide for their families. You can hardly find families inviting friends to come and celebrate with them as a result of the rise in the cost of food items.
“Almost everything in the market today has doubled in price, when compared to what was obtainable last year and years ago. Which one will I mention or leave out? Is it the price of rice that is now N700 per mudu? Is it beans? Is it chicken or food condiments? Yet, there is no increase in salary. We are still receiving what we were paid years ago as civil servants.
“We didn’t travel home on Christmas as a result of not being able to afford many things that would have made the celebration memorable. We then expected to travel this Easter to Ugep in Cross River state, but this year has been crazy.
“My husband is a businessman while I work as a civil servant, but the cost of transportation and food items are just no longer tolerable. Instead of travelling unprepared without four children, we have decided to travel in December.
“Honestly, my prayer is that the government should introduce policies that will checkmate the rising cost of living because the situation is no longer funny.”
Easter for sober reflection
On his part, a teacher, Mrs Edwina Ogochukwu, said that Easter was not the priority of many people like Christmas and has characteristically decided to celebrate with her family in Abuja.
She said: “Christmas is a great time to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and is usually marked with fanfare. However, the same cannot be said of Easter as it is usually a time for sober reflection on the death and resurrection of Christ and the significance of the resurrection to mankind.
“It is not a surprise that many people pay more attention to Christmas than Easter. In fact, Easter is usually boring to many people, unlike Christmas, so you may not even notice that there is a celebration, except for the holiday by the federal government and closure of schools for just a week.
“Nevertheless, the many negative issues going on in this country will take the shine of this year’s celebration. In the past, as a child, we usually looked forward to Easter, especially due to the role we played in church activities. However, as a parent, I no longer consider it of any consequence.
“For one, the cost of living is just too high that I don’t know where we are headed as a country. Unlike in the past where you would cook and invite neighbours to come and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ with you, it is all man for himself now as even insecurity is not allowing for better celebration.
“This year particularly started on a bad note. We were greeted by fuel scarcity in January, February and March, which caused a rise in transportation, rising in price of goods and services and other negative trends.
“People are just recovering from the aforementioned, including a collapse in the national grid that plunged Nigerians into darkness, so not many people will even pay attention to the celebration of Easter.
“As it is, many families are struggling to survive and won’t bother about expenses if they can help it. However, it is a political period; so many things will hopefully change for the better.”
‘Celebration in dismal atmosphere’
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has said that Nigeria was currently seized with despair occasioned by massacres, inflation and industrial action by university lecturers across the country.
CBCN President, Most Revd Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji, made this known in his 2022 Easter message to the nation, Friday, through the National Directorate of Social Communications, Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Abuja.
He said, “As a nation, we are celebrating Easter this year in a rather dismal atmosphere that breathes pessimism and despair. The growing insecurity of life and property in the country is compounded by the rising wave of mindless massacres of innocent citizens from unscrupulous terrorists, causing bereavement, trauma and uncertainty.
“Economic hardship with soaring inflation continues to sweep across the nation like wildfire and seems to reduce millions of our country men and women to a life of wanton suffering and distress.
“The ongoing strike of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is thwarting the academic ambitions of many Nigerian students. In some parts of the country, workers are owed arrears of salary, while retired senior citizens eke out existence without regular pensions.
“Many young people are deeply wounded and degraded by unemployment and poverty, a poverty that breeds crimes and seeks relief in hard drugs.
“The appalling economic condition is worsened by the present scarcity of fuel, which is as puzzling as it is frustrating. This horrible state of affairs is driving many compatriots to a feeling of cynicism as they gaze at a gloomy future that seems to promise them little or nothing.”
The CBCN also said the 2023 general elections should not be regarded as a do-or-die affair; calling on politicians to ensure that there was no bloodshed during the polls.
According to the Catholic Bishops, “As we draw closer to another period of general elections, which are often characterised by bloody conflicts, we urge everyone seeking an electoral office to embrace the spirit of sportsmanship and not to see a political contest as a do-or-die affair.
“We also implore one and all to make a personal commitment to non-violence. This is because violence only breeds violence. The vicious cycle of violence results in utter destruction and is never a solution to any human problem.
“Accordingly, far from fighting and killing one another as a way of settling differences, we should say no more bitterness and killings.”
Notwithstanding the challenges bedevilling the nation, the Bishops stated that the central message of Easter is that when the pressures of life seem heavy; there is a light at the end of a dark tunnel.
“This message of hope underscores that even though the forces of evil might seem at times to have an upper hand over the good, on the long run the good will triumph over evil. Accordingly, far from yielding to pessimism and despair, we should face the future with hope and optimism, and always try to persevere to the end in hard and difficult circumstances,” CBCN stated.
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