A Nigerian pilgrim currently in Israel, Mathew Obaze, has decried the
commercialisation of the annual Christian pilgrimage by the Israeli
authorities.
Mr. Obaze, a pastor, who spoke in Jerusalem, said
that the main purpose of embarking on the pilgrimage was for spiritual
regeneration.
He, however, regretted that a lot of commercial
activities brought into the exercise were eroding its spiritual purpose,
adding that the commercialisation of the pilgrimage by the Israeli
authorities was a distraction to the pilgrims.
‘’The Israelis, I want to think that they are taking advantage of people coming into their country.
‘’While
we are here for spiritual assignment, they (Israelis) are seeing it
from a tourist perspective; so they are commercialising the whole
activities,” he said.
The Pastor said even the tour guards in Israel are mindful of the commercialisation of the pilgrimage.
‘’And
the tour guards, as they are leading the people, their activities are
directed toward commercial activities which is affecting the spiritual
benefit the people would have had,” he said.
The pilgrim said aside the commercialisation by the Israeli’s; even the Nigerian pilgrims were being distracted.
“On
the part of we the Nigerians, we are being carried away by the things
we see; the state of development; things that we don’t have in our
country.
“It’s like a kind of distraction; we are not being
properly guided towards the spiritual responsibility we are coming here
for,” he said.
The pastor, however, advised the Nigerian pilgrims
to bring their experiences in the holy land to bear positively on how to
make Nigeria a better place to live.
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