Christmas is a period of sober reflection, not crimes, sexual immorality--Umenzekwe

Hon (Chief) Modestus Umenzekwe (Onwa Achina), a Chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in this interview advises Nigerians to be modest in their quest for material acquisitions towards the celebration of Christmas. He also speaks on some critical national issues. Excerpt:

This is Christmas and the celebration is in the air, garnished with sweet harmattan breeze; it is indeed all over us. Basically what is your view of Christmas, how do you want Nigerians to celebrate it, especially in the face of presence of economic quagmire?

Thank you. Well Christmas is the period we thank God in a special way for the birth of the world’s Saviour, Jesus Christ. It is the greatest celebration we have in the world. During Christmas everybody, both Christians and non- Christians, men and women, participate, one way or the other, it goes with a lot of expenses, it goes with a lot of goodies, it goes with a lot of crimes, where people go out of their ways to measure up, to belong, but that is not what Christmas is. 

In as much as we are happy that Christ was born on the 25th December, we should be very careful in celebrating Him, in talking about him, and we should be very very modest, people must not go out of their ways to do all manner of things to raise money, to do one thing or the other, it is even a period to look at yourself, have I done well this year? Examine yourself, purge yourself, it is a period of what I may call, from my own judgement, spiritual cleansing and uplifting, to be close to God, but you see, people attach earthly things unnecessarily to it, to commit a lot of crimes. 

But in terms of hardship you are talking about, hardship has been there from time immemorial, and if there is no hardship, you will challenge God. In as much as I am not saying it must be, but if there is no hardship you will challenge God. Even now that there is hardship, you still see people saying there is no God. I had a professor friend, I stopped going to his house; he told me there is no scientific proof that there is God, and for me, that is a very deceitful ideology and it is baseless. And I wonder what he would be teaching his students.

So Christmas is a period for sober reflection, examine yourself, what have I done this year, have I done it well? Am I worthy to be part of the celebration, where did I get it wrong? That is the main thing to do in Christmas, but some people go out of their ways to do all sorts of things, to some people it is a time to commit serious sexual immorality, it is time to go to clubs to watch nude pictures and all that, some go to the beach and all that, to some it is the time they buy new cars, it is even a time women disturb their husbands, young girls disturb their boyfriends, and all that, so my advice is that it is a period of special prayer, to be happy in the inner mind in other to have a happier connection with God almighty.

As individuals we normally do what we call New Year resolution, what do you think should be the New Year resolution of the Nigerian leaders? Let our leaders make a resolution

I am not setting agenda for them, but I will advise that Nigerian leaders should pursue peace, because when you have peace, you have God, when you have God, every other thing shall be added unto you.

Six months of Tinubu’s administration, just recently his administration clocked six months, Chief, are you satisfied with this administration, where has he done well and what are those things he still has not done?

I will say that it is still young in the day to assess him. He is trying his best because most of those things were inherited, he didn’t create them. Let us give him some chance, the steps he is taking now, I believe, the results will soon start coming to ameliorate some of these situations, after all, when he started, the first month he started Nigerians were clapping that he was taking the right decisions, and he has not reneged on those decisions. So why not allow those decisions to permeate into the system in order to elicit the desired results?

Are you happy that 27 lawmakers defected from PDP to APC in Rivers State?

It is not a question of being happy or not being happy, defection has being there from time immemorial, not a question of being happy or not being happy because I don’t know the genesis of the problem in River State, and I find it very very difficult to go deep because I needed to get information from the lawmakers or the governor or Nyesom Wike. The only thing I can say is in terms of advice, whether they have defected or not, let there be peace. There are leaders in Rivers State, notable leaders in Rivers State; I know that a leader like Dr Odili is there. Coincidentally he is blessed with a cerebral wife that has been in the temple of justice; he should consult the president, because it is only the president, from the look of things, that can make a statement without being ignored, I want to appeal to Dr Odili particularly, because Rivers State sees him as a father, I equally see him as a father, the wife is a legal icon who has delivered landmark judgements in this country. I am appealing to him, to please consult Mr. President to know what is happening there, I don’t want to apportion blames to anybody. In as much as what is happening there is very very unfortunate and very very worrisome, so that it doesn’t escalate to anarchy.

There appears to be two major gladiators fighting for the soul of Rivers State, but many people are pointing accusing fingers at Nyesom Wike, Minister of Federal Capital Territory.  Why do you think Wike is behaving this way, if ever he is involved in the crisis in his state?

I have never told you that it is Wike, I have never said that, so asking me why do I think he is behaving this way is putting words into my mouth, remember from the beginning I said, I cannot blame anybody now, because  I don’t have the details. I have not heard from Wike, I have not heard from Fubara, the governor or any member of the House of Assembly. And that is why I said that the president is in a position to quench that crisis. That is why I said the much I know about Rivers State, Dr Odili is respected in Rivers State, everybody in Rivers State has respect for him, he is a father, if it is Wike, he is his son, if it is the governor, he is also his son, all the members of the House of Assembly, are his sons and daughters, let him call all the elders, let them find out what is going on, then meet Mr President.  Asiwaju is somebody that knows how to quench fire; that is why he is still relevant till today, even before winning the election he has been relevant because he knows how to handle crisis, he did it in Ondo recently.

In all these states he is the only person that can handle it. Something is going on in Kano, Nassarawa and other states, it is only Tinubu from my own judgement, I don’t know about your own judgement; that can handle it. So let them give him chance to wade in, and I know in Rivers, Odili and Aswaju can handle that, once they talk, all parties must abide and that is where the role of elders we have been talking about comes in. So for me to tell you now that it is Fubara or Wike, no, I don’t judge people like that, if it is the governor, something is fundamentally wrong why he is behaving like that, if it is Wike, something is fundamentally wrong why he is doing that. So, until I hear from two of them; and it is only Mr President that can hear from them expressly for now. So I am appealing to our Revered Asiwaju to quench that fire in Rivers State so that we can have Peace.

I was talking with somebody, he said our elders are lying in the presence of their children, and the country is going down owing to the fact that our elders are no longer saying the truth; judgements are no longer rendered on the basis of law but on what they christened technicalities. Truth has taken a flight from the land; in fact the issue of japa, going out of the country, is emanation of the fact that the people can no longer bear the impunity, the state of lawlessness and ruderlessness. So chief, is there any light at the end of the tunnel in this country?

Let me borrow a word from the former Minister of Works and Housing, Dr Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN, CON), in talking about your country, you don’t rubbish the whole system, as a leader, when you are leading the country or you want to lead, you don’t castigate the whole country. But do what you supposed to do as a person; that was the message he dropped, people go out there and run the country down; ever body must not japa, because I am hearing that language just recently, everybody must not go there. If all of us run out, who will stay here and correct the errors, let that correction start with us. Are you doing what you supposed to do in your family, in your kindred, in your village, in your town? Everybody is looking at the Federal Government, State Government, Local government, and all that, fine, they may have erred or got it wrong somewhere, but all of us that are condemning all of them completely, are we doing what we are supposed to do in our various vocations that would help those people, if I am doing it right and you are doing it right, the other man is doing it right, at a stage if the man at the head is not doing it right, he would change. So everybody is involved, both young and old, man and woman, boy and girl. In most cases you say politicians are bad, fine, but go to ministries, those civil servants, go there and find out what is going on. A politician would come and stay two, three, four years and go, all eyes would be on him or her, but go to those people that carry files, you would marvel. Nobody is talking about them. So outside here, we criticize, which is normal, a leader must be criticized constructively, but when some of us get in there, you would now see the rot. I was listening to a Television programme, where a Senator was being asked, Madam, where are we, she said, it is not easy oo. I have gone there and noticed that it is not easy. What we see outside is not what is inside there. She was very plain, very truthful.

So let us criticise constructively and leave the rest to God, after all, I can say that we are advancing, I said it somewhere and people started attacking me. I said why are you attacking me? Go and say your own. We never knew somebody would go to court to contest election but it is happening these days, people can get up and say, INEC, you have done this, you have done that, it wasn’t like that before. We never knew we would be out of the military to express our view, so these things are advancement in one way or the other.

Let that rebirth start with each and every one of us including myself talking to you.