RELIGION AND STATE OF THE NATION By G. M. Sadoh The January 2012 nationwide strike action which lasted for six days, was tagged ‘Occupy Nigeria’ with the slogan “N65 or nothing”. For the entire duration of the strike, the aforementioned square was the meeting pot for the protesters where they unanimously made their demands known. Going by what was displayed at the park, one could easily label the protest a ‘carnival of sorts’ with a potpourri of fetish display, Islamic worship, Christian evangelism and other indigenous religion herd has a lesson to learn here. Your religion is your private business but the economy is everybody’s business. The Bible/Quran doesn’t promote war; we need to preach peace in our gendering. Some religious leaders have deliberately avoided some hot topics and conferences to suppress tension and instability they thought would derive from such events. The elements of tension and unrest from most religions have consciously avoided over the last 50 years are indications that these delicate topics are the key to peace Nigeria sought. A former Nigerian Prime Minister, Sir, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa once said that Nigeria can work better if Nigerians are willing to learn and respect their differences. The differences in languages, cultures, religions, traditional institutions and so on are not the barriers to national unity but, some unfaithful mindless few with thoughtless disregard for national unity who are responsible for brewing tension and unrest; armed with religion and greed. Christians and Muslims could have avoided incessant troubles if the bright idea of Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa has not been neglected. Tafawa Balewa’s ideas would have formed the basis of national integration and national consciousness, shaped by the supremacy of a Nation state that would protect the interests of all ethnic nationalities and their religious beliefs as long as they are not inimical to national interest. Christians, Muslims and other indigenous religion flock can live in peace and harmony if the said bodies preach messages to stop those who want to use religion as instruments of exploitation and trouble making. Nigeria is a nation state where all tribal and religious wellbeing are treated with similar importance. Many religions preach peace yet, the paradoxes of peaceful religions are now the pathways to complex blind spots for trouble making. The basic principles of Christian and Islamic religions are peace and attainment of heaven. Those who are curious would not dither to ask if these religions are adding peaceful values to national unity or draining national resources with the controversies they generate. If the idea of Peace is prioritized by those responsible for molding the minds and behaviours of their followers, religion would be seen as a spiritual entity free from politics and materialism. The height of religious politicking amongst religious leaders in recent times are now causes for concern among those who have not make up their mind on the faith they want to belong. Religions would remain a constant source of human miseries and drain of national resources when violence messages are mixed with peaceful doctrines.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 09:18:22 +0000
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