Methodist Bishop of Diocese of Umuahia East, the Rt. Rev. (Dr) Ikechukwu Nkulo, has urged Christians to celebrate this year’s Christmas in sober reflection.
Nkulo made the appeal, yesterday, in his Christmas message to members of the diocese, saying the period calls for prayers, meditation and sharing of love and affection with others.
“We should use the period to reflect on the purpose of the birth of Jesus Christ, ponder on his teachings and the price He paid for the sake of humanity,” the minister said.
He lamented that rather than doing the needful, many professing Christians engage in sinful acts, crime and criminal activities which Jesus Christ preached against.
“To some, it is also a good opportunity for them to exploit others by either increasing the prices of their services, goods, or engage in hoarding to trigger artificial scarcity for their selfish end,” he added.
He explained that the way out of the situation is for Christians to adhere strictly to the teachings which centre on repentance, salvation, redemption and reformation into new life.
Speaking about the political development of the country since the return of democracy in 1999, he argued that not much has been achieved despite the huge expectations by the people.
“Our elections are still characterized by fraud, malpractices, violence, biased umpire and non-adherence to the Electoral Act among others coupled with allegations of perversion of justice by the judiciary,” he said.
On the detention of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu by the federal government, he said he had expected the Supreme Court would acquit and discharge Kanu of the charges levelled against.
“I believe his discharge and release will bring to an end some of the security issues and the sit-at-home observed every Monday in the South East to protest his continued detention,” he added.