Do they know it is Christmas?

Today, 25/12/25, is the long-awaited Christmas Day. Unfortunately, the commercialisation of the fully religious and spiritual event has robbed it of its essence. We still remember that it is a day to sing ‘Joy to the world’ and say ‘peace to men of goodwill’.

The joy has been consistently diminishing in the recent past due to the increasingly grim socioeconomic realities of the people. The number of men (and women) of goodwill is also getting smaller and smaller, mostly due to our increasingly self-centred paradigm in this dog-eat-dog environment. This is also a period when all sorts of merchants, retailers and transporters sharpen their knives and cut the monetary throats of customers and consumers.

The entertainment and allied industry has also overwhelmed the entire commercial architecture (everything has an architecture nowadays) of the season, and people are so focused on that direction that they even forget that a new year, with its new expenses, awaits. However, whatever the case may be, Christmas is still a period of celebration when people rejoice and share seasonal joys. People still showcase new cars, new houses, new wives and new children.

People still feast within the limits of their capabilities (some even exceed their limits); children still don fresh wear, and many communities and organisations have their end-of-year celebrations and fundraising activities. But, as is always the case, there are people who do not remember that today is Christmas or that we are in the Christmas season.

In 1984, Bob Geldof and Midge Ure composed the song ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ for the Band-Aid charity group to raise funds for the famished victims of famine in Ethiopia. That was 40 years ago. Of course, ‘We Are the World’ by ‘USA for Africa’ was a greater hit and literally swallowed the efforts of Geldof and Co. Today, I am not writing about the famine in Ethiopia or sufferings in Africa; I am reminding us that there are many people in Nigeria TODAY who do not know that it is Christmas.

We may not be in a position to help some of them because it is already too late, but there are some that we can still help by helping them to remember, by actions, not mere words, that it is Christmas. The latter group includes the millions of poor and marginalised Nigerians, the unemployed, and the ‘citizens’ of our various IDP camps, some of whom are regularly attacked by heartless criminals, sexually exploited, discriminated against and defrauded by those who are supposed to take care of them. But there is another group.

“There are many others in our hospitals and prisons. Most of those in prison are awaiting trial, while a good number of those in the hospital do not know how their medical bills will be settled.”

A few days ago, a bright and promising seminarian from the Okeke family of Umudege Igbo-Ukwu was killed by a hit-and-run driver along the ever-busy Igbo-Ukwu-Ezeinifite highway.

He died, and for him, it is over. But how can the family remember that it is Christmas? Last week, a soldier was murdered, and 13 compatriots were kidnapped along the Okene-Auchi highway. That same last week, bandits murdered three people, including a police inspector in Nassarawa State, while a man was lynched after he had stabbed three worshippers to death in an Abuja mosque.

Some criminals attacked the ECWA church in Kogi state, murdered a worshipper and abducted others, just as some criminals abducted a team of EFCC officials as they were on their way to arrest a suspect in Kwara state, while 8 people were kidnapped by bandits who attacked a community in the same Kwara state.

Eighteen passengers were abducted on the Benin-Akure highway, near Obarenren village, and they just murdered the Vice Chairman of Bakuyum LGA in Zamfara State (MM Gwashi) after impoverishing his family to the tune of N15m for his release. Bandits abducted 28 travellers in Plateau State, demanding N1.5m per victim, while a whole family returning for Christmas in Ugwogo Nike in Enugu State was kidnapped.

The case of the family of Lawrence Iorwa is quite different. They lost their mother, and after her burial, a gang of criminals invaded and tortured them mercilessly, relieving them of the condolence purse contributed by friends and relatives. They lost their mother, they lost some money, and they are receiving medical attention, all at the same time. There are many others in our hospitals and prisons. Most of those in prison are awaiting trial, while a good number of those in the hospital do not know how their medical bills will be settled. There are even those who are sick but cannot seek Medicare because they are ‘itout’!.

Sure, there are many who no longer care about Christmas or any other worldly activities for now. These are the dead. However, their relatives are not in a position to remember that it is Christmas. There are some who are so down-and-out that Christmas is no longer their priority.

Those of us who remember that it is Christmas should please try to remind some less fortunate ones that it is Christmas. Even mere condolence and solidarity visits will do. There are some who are so lonely that a social visit is worth more than a bag of rice to them. Despite this unfortunate situation, I still sing Joy to the World and Peace to All Men of Good Will. If you are a man (or woman) of goodwill, CLAIM IT!

See you in 2026 while expecting those who remember that it is New Year on my birthday on 1/1/26.

 

Ik Muo, PhD, Dept of Bus Admin, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, 08033026625