A Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. Gerald Tanko, has called on Nigerians, especially politicians, to emulate the lifestyle of Jesus Christ, who cared for the poor.
Fr. Tanko, who spoke during the Mass to commemorate the second Sunday of Advent at the Society of St. Paul, Obawole Estate, Iju, Lagos, declared that Jesus was a politician while on earth, but he did not oppress the poor.
He said, “Man, by nature, is a political being; so, God, who came down in form of man through Jesus, played his politics, but his style was to fight for the oppressed, the poor and the rejected.
“Politicians should play the game of politics the way our Lord Jesus Christ did. His emphasis was truth and social justice. He served the people with conscience and gave hope to the hopeless. He did not abuse his powers but served the least person and the downtrodden.
“Jesus did not
“You should not use the money entrusted to you for the service of humanity for your Tanko, gains, if you do so, you are bringing curses upon yourself.
“I have spoken to the politicians, but what about other categories of people? John the Baptist was asked by different categories of people what they should do to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord Jesus. He told the first category that he who has two coats should give one to he who does not have. What was he saying? He was talking to us.
“Those of us who have clothes that we have not put on for years should give them out to those who do not have. Why are you keeping clothes that you can’t wear anymore? Give to the needy. You are wasting your time if you do not give to the poor.
“How about food? Are you eating when your neighbour or brother is hungry? You have not prepared for the coming of Jesus if you are not sharing.”
The reverend father went on to admonish the congregation on the spirit of generosity this yuletide, with an example from the Saint of Calcutta, Mother Teresa.
“Mother Teresa once gave some portions of rice to a hungry woman and the woman shared the portions into two and gave to another woman who had no food. When she was asked by Mother Teresa why she did so, the poor woman said that the woman she gave some had nothing to eat. That is the spirit of Christmas. You must be charitable.
“The second category of the people were the tax collectors. He told them to collect not more that it was appointed. What about the uniformed men, soldiers, police, customs, FRSC, LATSMA, Civil Defence, etc? John the Baptist was talking to you.
“Do not oppress or exploit the people. Do not collect bribe. If you are exploiting the people, you are bringing curses upon yourself. If you are a customs officer, don’t collect bribe to bring in arms and ammunition that hoodlums would use to kill people. If you are a police officer, do your policing with conscience and the fear of God. The bribe you collect is a big curse on you.
“Bank managements are not exempted. Stop using your female staff as bait. Don’t drive them crazy. Stop exploiting your staff. How about the civil servants? Civil servants should not collect bribe before they push people’s files to the next table.
“Medical doctors should not lay emphasis on deposits when a patient is at the point of death. In an emergency time, save life first. Life is more precious than money.”
Fr. Tanko buttressed his words with a personal experience: “Recently, we rushed a man who fell at a construction site to the hospital. When we arrived, the hospital was asking for one deposit or another. Before we could complete the payments, the man gave up the ghost. We knew the man was dead but to justify what he did and to exploit us the more, the doctor started doing surgery on him, but later told us that the man had died.”
“Businessmen and women,” the cleric added, “you should respect the ethics of buying and selling. You should not buy a pen for N10 and sell for N1,000 You are a robber if you do so. Stop cheating your customers. Don’t sell fake and expired products, especially food and drugs, to people. Don’t sell fake vehicle parts to people as you may be killing people if the vehicle has an accident because of the fake parts you sold.
“Artisans, carpenters, mechanics, tailors, and so on should be genuine in what they do. You should learn your work properly. If you are a mechanic who specialises in one vehicle type, face that vehicle and don’t be a jack of all trades. Don’t use fake parts to repair vehicles for people.
“I may have left out some people, but you know yourself, don’t do what is not right.
“Husbands, wives and, children should carry out their responsibilities very well. If we do the right things, we will beat our chests and say, yes, we the for the coming of Jesus.”
On the economy and other challenges of human existence in Nigeria, Fr. Tanko said, “I know that times are hard. Nigerians are facing challenges. People are thinking of what to buy for Christmas. Some are thinking of house rent and children’s school fees. Ladies are praying, looking for life partners. Kidnapping, armed robbery,
“The Boko Haram group is terrorising the North-East. Nigeria can be compared to the time of of Prophet Zephaniah, during the reign of Josiah. Jerusalem was facing hard times. There was too much corruption in the city of Jerusalem. The leaders were corrupt, prophets were corrupt and almost everyone was corrupt such that Zephaniah was talking about the destruction of the city.
“His prophecy was that of doom and gloom, but all of a sudden he started preaching a message of hope. He started preaching that people should rejoice as a king would be born. The same message is what God has brought to Nigeria.
“Nigeria should rejoice for the Lord God has promised to fix things in order. God is telling us that our situation will not end in sadness but in a joyful mood. The Lord is telling us to rejoice that Emmanuel has come to save us. God is with us.
“After Prophet Zephaniah, St. Paul wrote from prison to tell the Philippians to rejoice that the Lord was at hand. If Paul who was in prison could write a message of hope, I wonder why you are afraid. God knows your problems, he is coming to attend to you. But you would be wasting your time if you do not give. Giving is what God needs to bless you as he comes this Christmas season.”
