By Ahmed Rahma
To celebrate the Christmas and New Year, the federal government has declared three days as public holidays. The days are Friday, December 25 and Monday, December 28, 2020, and Friday, January 1, 2021.
The holidays were announced on Wednesday by the Minister of Interior, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, through a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr Shuaib Belgore.
In the statement, Mr Aregbesola urged Christians to adopt the creed of Christ on faith, hope, and love, noting that, “We must emulate the life of humility, service, compassion, patience, peace and righteousness that the birth and ministry of Jesus Christ signified, this will be the best way to know Christ and celebrate his birth.”
The Minister added that peace and security are critical factors needed to enable the government to accomplish its mission of revitalising the economy, improving Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as well as generating employment opportunities for over 100 million Nigerian youths in the next 10 years.
He restated the government’s commitment to put an end to banditry, kidnappings, and other crimes and criminalities in the nation, calling on Nigerians to support the efforts of the security agencies by providing them with the information that will enhance intelligence gathering.
He, however, expressed confidence that 2021 would be a better year for all Nigerians while admonishing all Nigerians to remain focused, determined, patient and patriotic.
He wished all Christians and Nigerians a happy Christmas and New Year celebrations while urging Christians to use this period to pray for the country
Modupe Gbadeyanka 
Adedapo Adesanya