Nigeria is a multiethnic, multi-religious, multicultural, and multilingual country. The major religions are Islam and Christianity. There are also the traditional African religions practiced by some who are not Moslems or Christians. The 1999 Constitution, as amended, provides that the government “shall not adopt any religion as state religion.” In Chapter 4 of the Constitution dealing with fundamental rights, Section 38 (1) provides that “Every person shall be entitled to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, including the freedom to change his religion or belief…”
In recent times, there have been controversies over the role of religion in national affairs, including the 2023 Nigeria presidential election. The Muslim-Muslim ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is alleged to have helped President Bola Tinubu win the presidential election. However, the Moslem-Moslem ticket has not affected the religious sensibility of the Tinubu Administration, which has so far given prominent juicy appointments and positions to Christians.
The real problem with Nigeria is not religion, as every Nigerian is guaranteed the legal and constitutional right and freedom to practice his/her faith unhindered. The problem in Nigeria is abject poverty, high unemployment, massive corruption, nepotism, crude oil theft, perennial hunger, sectionalism, and human rights abuses. The problem with Nigeria is high-level impunity, disrespect for the rule of law, extra-judicial killings, greed, self-centeredness, justice for the highest bidder, and uncontrollable migration for greener pastures (known in Yoruba as Japa). A greatly polarized nation, the problem with Nigeria is a lack of patriotism, get-rich-quick syndrome, economic and sexual exploitation of children, massive inequality, dwindling economy, disconnect between leadership and followership, and more than 20 million out-of-school children.
Nigeria is a greatly endowed country. It used to be the largest oil producer in Africa and the 6th in the world. Nigeria has natural gas reserve worth 800 trillion US dollars, enough to meet the gas needs of Africa and Europe. It has several other minerals in commercial quantity such as gold, lead/zinc, limestone, cassiterite, clay, salt dolomite, bentonite, gypsum, kaoline, magnesite, lignite, uranium, bitumen, columbite, granite, gemstones, iron ore, and lithium among others.
Nigeria has an arable land area of 34 million hectares that can grow just anything. But millions of Nigerians go to bed hungry daily. Above all, Nigeria has a well-motivated, resourceful, and resilient population, which can harness these resources.
Amid this abundance, Nigeria is ranked as the “poverty capital of the world.” Today, acute poverty has destroyed the socio-economic fabric. Hundreds of Nigerians eat and earn their living from refuse dumps. Ninety percent of the wealth of this country is held by less than 10 percent of the elites.
The fallout is insurgency, banditry, terrorism, kidnapping for ransom, armed robbery, cyber crimes, and prostitution, among others. The 14-year-old Boko Haram insurgency was caused by youth unemployment, poverty, rights abuse, and rejection of a perceived corrupt system. While the government is trying to defeat Boko Haram militarily, the group is being replaced by bandits, terrorists, kidnappers, and other violent gangs and agitators.
So the government at all levels, federal, state, and local, including elites holding 90 percent of Nigeria’s wealth, must wake up to this clarion call and begin to address the real problems plaguing this country and its more than 200 million population. The government must, as a matter of urgency, initiate policies and adopt measures to revamp the economy, provide basic infrastructure, create jobs, provide skills, reduce poverty and hunger, and combat corruption.
The government must address the issue of more than 20 million out-of-school children, which has become a ticking time bomb and recruitment ground for insurgents and bandits. The economy has over the years been mismanaged and import-dependent. The political space is inundated with corruption and failed promises. With appropriate measures, insurgency, violence, and organized crimes, which are perpetrated by young people, will reduce.
These are the real problems of Nigeria and not religion or comments made by religious leaders in the exercise of their right to freedom of thought, opinion, and expression. The political leadership of this country has always been in the hands of religious adherents and faithful, but they have never used their faiths to promote the well-being, prosperity, and unity of this. Nigeria must apply its abundant wealth for the good of the people and the time to do it is now.
Please have your say on the role of religion in national development in Nigeria.
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