As the season of Christmas calls nations to reflection, repentance and renewal, Nigeria finds itself at a familiar moral crossroads. Christmas is not only a celebration of birth; it is a reminder of justice, conscience and accountability.
The Bible offers a lesson that feels uncomfortably current.
Zacchaeus was not condemned because he carried money away in bags. He was condemned because he used power, position and the authority of law to extort, and then hid behind that authority to justify his actions. His sin was not wealth, but abuse of office.
Today, many nations no longer suffer corruption only through crude looting. They suffer it through something far more dangerous: law-making without conscience.
When a law is publicly debated, duly passed, and later quietly altered before it is gazetted, that is not governance. It is theft in a suit. It is corruption with a pen instead of a gun.
In any society that takes itself seriously, such an act would trigger consequences.
The Speaker would step aside.
The leadership of the implementing agency would answer hard questions.
Oversight committees would accept responsibility.
The courts would act with urgency.
But in a country where the masses are exhausted, distracted or divided; where elites protect elites; and where power is routinely used to shield wrongdoing—nothing happens.
And so the modern Zacchaeus prospers. Not because he is righteous, but because silence has become state policy.
When citizens are too weary to demand accountability, and institutions refuse to discipline themselves, justice does not vanish. It is merely delayed.
History keeps records.
God keeps accounts.
Judgement does not require press releases.
Corruption is not only the stealing of money.
It is also the stealing of law itself.
As Nigeria enters this Christmas season, may we remember that no nation is renewed by celebrations alone. Renewal begins when conscience is restored, when truth is defended, and when power is reminded that it, too, answers to something higher.
May this season awaken our institutions, strengthen our resolve, and return justice to the centre of our public life.
Season’s greetings to Nigerians everywhere. May light prevail over silence, and accountability over convenience.
— M. Musa
Sub Zero ✔
Godwin Okafor is the Publisher & CEO of Naija247news Media Group LLC, an independent investigative news platform delivering accurate, data-driven reporting on Nigerian and global politics, economy, finance, and business. Founded in October 2010, Naija247news specializes in developmental journalism, providing timely insights and analysis to readers across Nigeria and the diaspora.
View Archive →Reported by Naija247news. Source: By M. Musa
