Christmas spirits

• Published date: 15 January 2023
• Publication title: Nigeria - The Nation

Ihad the great writer Charles Dickens in mind when I set out to write my last article, it's 'Do they know it's Christmas'. His fantastic book about the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future has always had my imagination in thrall and I thought that the opportunity of writing about his wondrous tale should not be missed. However, no sooner did I sit down to my self-appointed task than my will was taken over by a powerful spirit which directed my thoughts into channels which were as far away from the story of Ebenezer Scrooge as could be thought possible without leaving the country. I had not quite finished what I was writing before the realisation hit me that what I had written was at variance with what I set out to write. By which time it was too late for me to take any steps by way of redress. I threw up my hands in resignation and sent the errant piece for publication. One of my regular readers read the piece, gushed over it and then brought me back to hard ground by pointing out that when he read the title of my article, he immediately formed the opinion that Mr. Dickens was going to be brought onto centre stage and although he enjoyed reading the piece he still felt that there was something missing. I am writing this hoping that the spirit which forcefully steered me away from my chosen path last week will leave me alone this time around to satisfy my indulgence in the story of Ebenezer Scrooge. And that all those who thought that Charles Dickens should be made the guest of honour at my Christmas party would accept the apology that is contained in the body of this article.

The period in which Charles Dickens was writing was a time of great social instability in Europe as so many parts of what was regarded as the established order were in chaos, if not absolute ruin. The general disorder of the time was most keenly felt in France, a country which had not only booted out the monarchy but had deprived the king and his queen of their royal heads. Nothing could be more revolutionary than that, followed by those bloody events in Paris where the guillotine was working overtime in cutting off so many heads that the Place de la Concorde where executions went on day after day literally ran red with blood. No sooner was this period ended than the Napoleonic wars began and French troops under the command of Napoleon Bonaparté, an ethnic Italian from the island of Corsica marched through Europe destroying ancient royal families and putting humble French...