During
my days at the college, my preferred companionship then were mostly
christian course mates, maybe because I am from the South-West and used
to associating with them or I was particularly more at home speaking
vernacular (yoruba) amongst my predominantly christian friends.
Halleluyah, Jesus is lord etc are so glued
tongue to my tongue, not
to mention a few verses of the BIble I can recite and even explain to a
lay, likewise my bosom friend professes Islam. Now, whose fault is it
that we both are good friends but yet of different religious calling? Is
it God? Or our parents?
A glance at religious crisis in Nigeria and
its immediate effects on both adherents of the two major religions in
the country leaves one praying it never started in the first place, as
the consequences in the near future are simply unimaginable. Let’s take a
look at Kano and Kaduna alone, between 1976, 1977, 1980-1981 and 1990
were religion was used in the destruction of hundreds of live and
property and places of worship torched. Enter the 21st to 25th February,
2000 Kaduna religious riot as a result of the introduction of the
sharia Islamic code, were it was reported from many quarters that over
2000 people lost their lives, thousands of houses burnt to ashes and
hundreds of vehicles torched and some vandalized. While a peaceful Jos
city, Plateau state was still wandering what went wrong with their
kindred in other parts of the north, from 2001 till date, no one has
known peace in Jos; Muslims, Christians, traditionalist or pagans alike.
One mass grave after the other and the end is not yet in sight.
Unfortunately, the Southern part of Kaduna is now the target of these
merchants of war, destruction and needless violence and the government
seems to be looking the other way as if to say-carry-on. Nigeria is
highly religious to a fault, how? You may ask, Now how can you explain
the use of stolen public funds for the building of a mosque or a church?
Will God bless any zakat or tithes given from such filth? What with the
hypocrisy in killings in the name of God, while still proclaiming the
supremacy of God. Here in Nigeria, you could be denied due promotion,
refused a scholarship, delisted from a university admission exercise,
rigged in or out of an elective office, blackmailed or simply get killed
in the vain name of religious bigotry. I know for a fact that, as a
devoted Christian or Muslim, one already posses a sure ticket to peace
and prosperity on earth and in the hereafter as long as one is not being
more Christian or more Muslim than either Christ himself or the prophet
Mohammed correspondingly . We all progress just a step at a time as a
country through our religious devotion, only to retrogress very many
steps backward in the name of religious intolerance. You will agree with
me that, our political leaders, elites and in particular the
crème-de-la-crè me of our society, be they Muslims, Christians or
whatsoever they profess actually blend well amongst themselves and never
remember their religious affiliations when they go about their billions
of naira importation businesses and looting of our common treasury with
so much impunity. While the downtrodden are up against each other in
the name of religion; killing, miming, burning and destroying our hunger
stricken selves for what? Poverty, you may say, but I think sheer
ignorance, ignorance of the true teachings of the holy books, may God
have mercy on all of us.
As religious discrimination hold sway here
in my dear country, the divide will continue to widen everyday to our
detriment if we do not as a civilized people living in the 21st century
accept that God (The God we all claim to serve and even fight for) has
decreed that we all shall be Nigerians and Nigerians of different faith
we shall be, live and die. Hence, the earlier we forget about either
Islamizing or Christianizing Nigeria and adopt a neo-nigerian religion
‘christlam’ for the sake of peace, harmony, development and for the
future of our children the better for all of us or we self-destruct to
our own peril. But our religiosity can actually help us grow as a nation
when we religiously go about our daily activities as good citizens
having the fear of God in our hearts as leaders and the led. Eschewing
corruption and being accountable, while we are at that at all levels, we
can be able to sincerely fish out the bad eggs amongst us no matter
their ethnicity or religion and forge ahead as one indivisible Nigeria
where government can lessen the burden of hunger on the citizenry and
the citizenry in turn prays fervently for their leaders for divine
wisdom. Then I see God healing our country and reassuring us that peace
and unity, those last word of the national anthem we as primary school
pupils usually sing at the close of our daily general assembly (and of
course after the usual Christian/ Muslim opening prayers). God bless
Nigeria, amen. We can make it.
tongue to my tongue, not to mention a few verses of the BIble I can recite and even explain to a lay, likewise my bosom friend professes Islam. Now, whose fault is it that we both are good friends but yet of different religious calling? Is it God? Or our parents?
A glance at religious crisis in Nigeria and its immediate effects on both adherents of the two major religions in the country leaves one praying it never started in the first place, as the consequences in the near future are simply unimaginable. Let’s take a look at Kano and Kaduna alone, between 1976, 1977, 1980-1981 and 1990 were religion was used in the destruction of hundreds of live and property and places of worship torched. Enter the 21st to 25th February, 2000 Kaduna religious riot as a result of the introduction of the sharia Islamic code, were it was reported from many quarters that over 2000 people lost their lives, thousands of houses burnt to ashes and hundreds of vehicles torched and some vandalized. While a peaceful Jos city, Plateau state was still wandering what went wrong with their kindred in other parts of the north, from 2001 till date, no one has known peace in Jos; Muslims, Christians, traditionalist or pagans alike. One mass grave after the other and the end is not yet in sight. Unfortunately, the Southern part of Kaduna is now the target of these merchants of war, destruction and needless violence and the government seems to be looking the other way as if to say-carry-on. Nigeria is highly religious to a fault, how? You may ask, Now how can you explain the use of stolen public funds for the building of a mosque or a church? Will God bless any zakat or tithes given from such filth? What with the hypocrisy in killings in the name of God, while still proclaiming the supremacy of God. Here in Nigeria, you could be denied due promotion, refused a scholarship, delisted from a university admission exercise, rigged in or out of an elective office, blackmailed or simply get killed in the vain name of religious bigotry. I know for a fact that, as a devoted Christian or Muslim, one already posses a sure ticket to peace and prosperity on earth and in the hereafter as long as one is not being more Christian or more Muslim than either Christ himself or the prophet Mohammed correspondingly . We all progress just a step at a time as a country through our religious devotion, only to retrogress very many steps backward in the name of religious intolerance. You will agree with me that, our political leaders, elites and in particular the crème-de-la-crè me of our society, be they Muslims, Christians or whatsoever they profess actually blend well amongst themselves and never remember their religious affiliations when they go about their billions of naira importation businesses and looting of our common treasury with so much impunity. While the downtrodden are up against each other in the name of religion; killing, miming, burning and destroying our hunger stricken selves for what? Poverty, you may say, but I think sheer ignorance, ignorance of the true teachings of the holy books, may God have mercy on all of us.
As religious discrimination hold sway here in my dear country, the divide will continue to widen everyday to our detriment if we do not as a civilized people living in the 21st century accept that God (The God we all claim to serve and even fight for) has decreed that we all shall be Nigerians and Nigerians of different faith we shall be, live and die. Hence, the earlier we forget about either Islamizing or Christianizing Nigeria and adopt a neo-nigerian religion ‘christlam’ for the sake of peace, harmony, development and for the future of our children the better for all of us or we self-destruct to our own peril. But our religiosity can actually help us grow as a nation when we religiously go about our daily activities as good citizens having the fear of God in our hearts as leaders and the led. Eschewing corruption and being accountable, while we are at that at all levels, we can be able to sincerely fish out the bad eggs amongst us no matter their ethnicity or religion and forge ahead as one indivisible Nigeria where government can lessen the burden of hunger on the citizenry and the citizenry in turn prays fervently for their leaders for divine wisdom. Then I see God healing our country and reassuring us that peace and unity, those last word of the national anthem we as primary school pupils usually sing at the close of our daily general assembly (and of course after the usual Christian/ Muslim opening prayers). God bless Nigeria, amen. We can make it.
