In a few of hours, Nigeria and other countries in the same timezone will be agog. There will be euphoric yelling and excessive drinking. Fireworks will light up the sky, and the graveyard’s peaceful atmosphere will be disturbed by the noises of exploding firecrackers. It’s a ritual so predictable and time-bound that you can set your watch by it.
The only difference this time will be a drop in people’s firepower caused by the ailing economy. It would be foolish of starving people to spend their money on ‘fireworks and explosive entertainments’.
While crossover has become a ritual among Nigerian Christians, one source traces its origin to December 31, 1862, when Blacks all over America congregated in churches and private homes, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Emancipation Proclamation, which marked the beginning of freedom for all slaves.
So, as the clock struck midnight on January 1, 1863, Blacks across America burst into dances, prayers, and praise to God for freeing them free. By midnight tonight, a major chunk of the world will have moved from 2024 to 2025. But, looking critically, is there anything truly new about the new day or year? Will the sun change colour, or will it rise from the north and set in the south? We must recognise that the designations of days, weeks, months, and years are artificial demarcations created by men for the purposes of recordkeeping and regulation.
While we joyfully celebrate and congratulate one another on crossing that imaginary line, thinking philosophically about it can help us be more realistic in our expectations for the so-called new year. Except for those who have engaged in projects that will provide results in the new year, the false, recurrent assumption that a new year is ‘our year of breakthrough’ is, at best, superstition.
Inherently, there is nothing in what men term the new year that promotes or discourages achievement. Our success or failure is primarily determined by ourselves and the type of leadership we enthrone or accept in the country where we live, work, and/or conduct business.
To be clear, outliving December 31 confers neither longevity nor any exceptional advantage on anyone. Every day, approximately 150, 000 people die worldwide due to a variety of causes; the amount of people who crossed over on January 31 may still die on January 1, 2025. After all, religious leaders declared all past ‘new’ years to be ‘our year of breakthrough’, but many of us did not succeed.
Instead of abdicating our obligations to spirits, let us decide in 2025 to learn to have reasonable faith in God, work hard, work intelligently, and be good people, for it is the key to true success.
Happy New Year in advance!
