Nigerian Christianity confronted a number of attempting moments this 12 months, however the hill on which the Christian Affiliation of Nigeria President, Archbishop Daniel Okoh, has chosen to die this December is a mere movie title. In all of the media reporting of CAN’s umbrage with “A Very Soiled Christmas”, a movie produced by fashionable actress Ini Edo, there’s zero indication in any respect that Archbishop Okoh had seen the movie and located the offence within the narration. He reacted—actually, overreacted—to the mere movie title that related “grime” (and its filthy connotations) with the Christmas season. Till CAN talked about it, no Christian I do know misplaced sleep over that movie title. What’s immediately apparent right here is that CAN is performing like these Muslims who routinely discover offence in cultural references to their faith. They’re those who feign aggrieved whereas additionally being the aggressor, and the remainder of the world has realized to tiptoe round them to stop an outbreak of violence.
If that group of Muslims finds something even mildly offensive, all they should do is yell, and the police IG is not going to relaxation till all the equipment of the police has been ceded to rectify their resentment. If their perturbation is just not addressed, they could set the world alight. Christians, however, are simply not as threatening, and it’s extremely unlikely that even their substantial aggrievement will obtain as a lot institutional consideration. That’s the reason it’s mildly disturbing to see CAN burn up its social capital pursuing non-issues like this one. Even when the CAN management succeeds in getting the artists to vary a movie title, what does it translate to past mere symbolism? I’m not saying they haven’t any proper to be offended in any respect (particularly if the reference is considerably vulgar), however why not maintain your powder dry for severe issues reasonably than merely nitpick?
The battle CAN is preventing to protect the sanctity of Christmas and stop it from turning into a meaningless metaphor is not less than greater than a century overdue. Thanks to numerous globalising forces, Christmas has turn out to be a common cultural competition and not the unique protect of Christians. In Eric Schmidt’s Client Rites: The Shopping for and Promoting of American Holidays, he particulars the evolution of Christmas within the West, demonstrating how the occasion progressed from a spiritual observance to a cultural competition. Even way back to the nineteenth century, when Christmas started to evolve with shopper tradition, individuals have been jittery that “Christ” was being faraway from “Christmas”. Additionally, regardless of the frequent reminders that “Christ is the explanation for the season”, Christmas stays permeated by the consumerism that largely demystifies any declare to the sacred.
Right this moment, Christmas is well known worldwide (together with in Muslim international locations) and never merely by Christians. In fact, Christmas retains its historic connection to Christianity, which is why some Muslims throw a match after they see fellow Muslims take part celebrating the competition. As an example, some individuals have made it their calling in life to perch yearly on the Instagram web page of footballer Mo Salah each December to gripe when he posts a photograph of his household surrounded by the trimmings of Christmas. To such people, Christmas stays a Christian factor, and any Muslim who participates is a sellout. Nevertheless, if you look past these idiosyncratic cases, Christmas has turn out to be a normative cultural apply that may be celebrated by nearly anybody. Its symbols are not unique to Christians, nor does a movie titled “Soiled Christmas” essentially reference faith.
What, exactly, is “Christian” in regards to the varied symbols and actions we’ve come to connect to Christmas—from Santa Claus to the intense Christmas lights, the colors purple and white, Feliz Navidad, the infinite procuring actions, colourfully wrapped items, and even the well-known adorned Christmas tree? It’s noteworthy that the colors purple and white, which have turn out to be synonymous with Christmas, originated in Coca-Cola’s Nineteen Thirties adverts. Even the entire thought of Christmas itself was a reclamation from pagan festivals.
Christmas has come a good distance, and quibbling over a movie title is choosing the improper fights. There’s nothing within the CAN’s argument that means that Ini Edo denigrated the religion practices of Christians. Why the fuss? There are Christian our bodies beneath CAN’s umbrella that don’t even rejoice Christmas in any respect, so why act as if what the movie has finished is an egregious violation of a competition universally held sacred amongst Christians?
As an artist of a few years standing, I anticipated Ini Edo to have stood for her artwork by making reasoned arguments to CAN reasonably than a tearful enchantment. What’s the level of an emotional case when you’ve gotten a robust rational floor to face on this subject? I perceive that her monetary investments have been at stake and she or he was understandably frazzled that she can be financially ruined over a trivial matter, however she has come too far on this trade to not have mastered a correct defence of her artwork by now. Artists ought to be taught to face as much as non secular whims and never capitulate to them when challenged on the appropriation of spiritual symbols. I used to be disillusioned when fashionable musician Davido, who had drawn the ire of Muslims over a music video his label had launched, retracted the track in 2023. Realizing the Muslim propensity for violence, he thought it was greatest to withdraw the video, whose offence consisted of a bunch of individuals dancing in entrance of a mosque. But when our fashionable artists can not stand on their very own two ft and mount an mental defence of their artwork, however as an alternative capitulate to the philistines, what we’ll find yourself producing can be impoverished artwork.
Lastly, I fairly perceive that CAN, by taking offence, needs to say respect for Christians just like how Muslims preserve theirs by way of varied types of violence. From their al-majiri military that may simply lynch you within the streets to their educated class who can petition the police IG to arrest you, these individuals have the affect that the remainder of us don’t. On account of their tendency in the direction of extremism, they’ll compel anybody to take away any cultural reference they deem offensive. If that they had been those to ask Ini Edo to vary her movie title, the response would have been very totally different. However on the finish of the day, so what? We’re additionally witnesses to the place this form of affect has landed them. You solely must take a sweeping take a look at northern Nigeria, the place that extremism thrives, and you will notice how far violent behaviour has taken them. In Nigeria at present, they’re the worst off by each measurement. So, sure, they’ll make the police journey throughout state traces to arrest and incarcerate a person for burning a replica of the Quran, however additionally they can not commute that energy into human improvement. On each index, the area is poor, backwards, and trapped in a perpetual cycle of dependency and distress. From the menace of avenue urchins to poor instructional achievements, banditry, terrorism, and cycles of social failures, their woes are seemingly never-ending. They’ve the ability to destroy, however hardly the ability to create. Sure, they’ll command our nationwide consideration by lynching somebody on video and getting away with it, however what else can they do? Energy that can’t impact something worthwhile is powerless. CAN ought to recognise that the political energy wielded by these extremists is nothing to be desired.
