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Can God Dwell In Nigeria?

Following the recent wave of jungle justice that has filled the news this week, I asked myself some critical questions. Will God really want to be associated with Nigeria?

Since God does not associate with evil and only resides where love is found, will he be comfortable dwelling among Nigerians.

Think about all the evil committed in Nigeria, you open the pages of newspapers or check the news online and its one bad news after the other on a daily basis.

• ·         Jungle justice
• ·         Kidnapping
• ·         Ritual activities
• ·         Corruption
• ·         Bribery, Fraud, Yahoo Yahoo, 419 etc
• ·         Breaking the Law
• ·         Rape
• ·         Unjust killings
• ·         Armed robberies
• ·         Greed
• ·         Backbiting (even in religious houses)
• ·         Selfishness
• ·         Domestic violence ( Spouses, house helps, subordinates)
• ·         Child trafficking/child abuse
• ·         Segregation of the poor and the rich
• ·         Husband and wife snatching (Laughed at this)
• ·         Bad attitude to work
• ·         Injustice at work etc.

(Feel free to add more.)

Religious Leaders and the Missing girls

I woke up this morning to comments and articles asking why religious leaders have not stepped into the issue of the missing girls. These claims are founded, considering the fact that religious leaders are highly respected and majority of Nigerians believe they can perform signs and wonders.

I found this particular article (See it here: Source) very interesting as the writer strongly believes religious leaders have the powers to pray away Nigeria’s numerous problems.

The truth is and I know it will hurt so many, but they CAN’T. I have said it before and I will continue to say it, what Nigeria desperately needs is effective poverty reduction policies that will better the lives of the common man.  If the Government implements at least two poverty reduction policies, we will start to see gradual changes around us. There is no magician anywhere in the world that can pray away our problems; we have to work hard for it. Several countries have done this in the past and it has worked for them. Why should our case be different?

I had a discussion with a group of friends recently and a friend of mine made it clear ‘ Good governance has nothing to do with religion’.  As a leader, you can pray to God quietly in your room to give you wisdom and understanding on how to rule, depending on your beliefs, but you can’t come out publicly and tell the citizens of a country that elected you into office that you are praying about issues concerning the nation. Most especially in the case of a country like Nigeria where little or nothing is being done to better the lives of the average citizen and our leaders keep filling their own pockets.

It is quite interesting to note that the mindset change this blog preaches is clearly evident in this article. Several Nigerians still believe a miracle or some kind of magic will turn our situation around, hence, the ‘I don’t care’ ‘at least I am praying’ attitude most portray. Only few people are ready to think critically about issues and not dismiss it with the ‘God will do it’ slogan.

Why do we carry around such deep spirit of entitlement from God?

Why are Nigerians so Religious? Part 2

‘It is amazing that people's understanding of God is reduced to the workings of a magician who turns tricks at their every demand. Nigeria has to do more to truly educate children otherwise it simply bolsters a cycle that leads to degeneration. Progress will require citizens who will think critically, ask the right questions, listen to the opposition, make the right demands and stand their ground when they need to. Ethical citizenship requires work. I often say I have no idea how Nigeria can be changed right now but education must be a huge part of the change that we hope for in the future’. – Jo

This article is inspired by the above comment left on my previous article ‘Why are Nigerians so religious? ‘.

When I read the comment, it struck me, another reason why Nigerians are so religious is due to our Cultures and Traditions.

Growing up, we were thought never to question any cultures or traditions passed down to us by our parents. Most times, we imbibe these cultures and as we grow older, we modify them to suit our lifestyles. This is exactly what has happened with Religion.

From generation to generation, religion has been passed down to offsprings with modifications applied here and there. Religion has been modified in Nigeria severally that we have lost the essence and true purpose of religion.

A quick reference to when missionaries from the UK brought religion to Nigeria and we will realise that it was all about service to humanity. They built us schools, hospitals and churches and cared for the needy in the society. They preached about loving our neighbours as ourselves.

 In their country today, they have continued the practise of true religion via charity organisations where the citizens volunteer in cash and kind to help the needy in the society.  Generations to generations have passed the true meaning of religion to their children as their citizens are always quick to offer help to anyone in need by donating cash and volunteering their time. The young ones have also imbibed this culture and always go the extra mile to support any cause they are passionate about.

Who is God to you?

This article has been inspired by the latest comments made concerning the missing girls by a Former Aviation Minister and Current Women Leader of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Mrs. Kema Chikwe , she said and I quote her ‘ There is not much we can do than to pray, because prayer is the answer to every problem’. The supposed statement was made at a prayer session held for national security at PDP’s Headquarters in Abuja.

Let me break it down, Kema Chikwe , a former minister in Nigeria famous for looting most of the funds allocated to the aviation sector. She is also a member of the PDP, a party responsible for the current situation we find ourselves in. The party is famous for rigging their way through elections, looting public funds, bloodshed amongst other evil acts that has left the average Nigerian helpless. It is rumoured that they know the forces behind Boko Haram and have decided to keep mute due to selfish interests.

Now, my point is Kema Chikwe and the rest of the PDP gang have the effrontery to come out and say they are praying to God about the missing girls and national security.

How much have we bastardized the name of God in Nigeria?

God has blessed Nigeria with innumerable natural resources, if these had  been effectively managed and used to develop our nation, we will be far ahead of  a country like UAE, but no, all our leaders (past and present)  have decided to ignore the masses and loot the proceeds of these natural resources to stash up foreign accounts for their generations unborn. They have also watched the destruction of the sources of livelihood of the average Nigerian (Casestudy – Oil in the South South) and kept mute due to greed.  In some cases, they get rid of Nigerians that may want to stand in their way of generating income from these natural resources.

 This picture summarises the current state of our nation due to the greed of our leaders.

Why Are Nigerians So Religious?

According to a report by the BBC news in 2004, Nigeria is the most religious nation in the world (Source)

I had a discussion with a dear friend recently and he asked a simple but powerful question 'Why are Nigerians so religious?

In my opinion, there are two main reasons for this, please see below my responses to him, feel free to disagree with me.

       My number one reason is Bad governance and the horrible state of the nation: You might not agree with me but the main reason for our high level of religious activities is bad leadership. The Government has failed us, nothing works, poverty is rife in the land and people feel the need to depend on the ‘supernatural’ for hope of a better life.

 A good example is travelling long distances in Nigeria, it is not uncommon for people to fast and pray for days before embarking on a long distance journey in Nigeria. Why? Roads are bad, drivers are unregulated, cars are not road worthy, insecurity on highways and nothing much is being done about these vices. Let’s assume for a second that all this is taking away and we have good secure roads,  will anyone really need to fast and pray to bind ‘blood sucking demons’ on Nigerian highways? What are the ‘blood sucking demons’? I am sure you will agree with me that I have listed them above. 

Do the people in government think? If the entire population whether employed or unemployed had access to at least food and shelter, what will that guarantee? It guarantees that the security issues in the country will be half solved.  Developed countries have welfare systems in place to cater for citizens; this ensures that no one has to go to bed without food except they choose to by wasting their resources. This doesn't totally eradicate the issue of crime but significantly reduces it. We need to start from somewhere.

When citizens have a better quality of life without the need to worry about the next meal, bad healthcare systems, bad infrastructure, insecurity of lives and property, injustice by employers and in general they feel valued as citizens of a nation, there will be less dependence on religion to solve any problems. Religion is then used for what it is really meant for which is ‘Service to Humanity’ and not for selfish gain or propagating ‘false hopes’ which is the case in Nigeria.

Every Nigerian is vulnerable; no matter your level of wealth or fame: you are vulnerable to armed robbery, accidents due to bad roads, illnesses due to pollution etc. In summary, the vulnerability of the average Nigerian means religious promises are very attractive as it gives hope of a better life and future, when the causes of vulnerability are resolved we start to see a shift in culture.

Re: Nigeria, An Open Letter to Religious Leaders

I will like to say a big thank you to the owners of the following blogs; www.stelladimokokorkus.com, www.diarybyemmy.com and www.misspetitenigeria.blogspot.co.uk for publishing my article ‘Nigeria: An Open Letter to Religious Leaders. I have read all the comments carefully, pondered on them and decided to address all the issues raised.

When I wrote the article, I expected a lot more lashing than I got, I am very aware that Nigerians and religion are intertwined and I joked to myself that if I survive this, it is meant to be.

I was pleasantly surprised by some of the comments and it gave me joy to know that several people understand. A comment from Nkem on Stella’s blog made my day , it summarised my analysis of the whole situation. She said ‘All the writer has done is challenge our mentality! The average Nigerian will not help himself but will wait for God even when God has given him the senses and resources to help himself’. My aim is to challenge our thinking and reasoning, we need to view things more physically and stop assuming everything is spiritual and requires prayers.  Let’s stop being ‘intellectually lazy’ and start being realistic. We need to ‘loosen up spiritually’because MOST situations require us to use our God given intellect to make choices and be responsible for the choices  we make, without laying the blame on spiritual forces.  This is applicable to our personal lives and to Nigeria as a nation. Let’s not go off topic.

Please be aware that I am not asking for religion to be taken away from our country, that is infact impossible as religion is deeply embedded in Nigeria. The point is how can we use it as a positive tool to turn the situation of the country around for good?

Firstly, what can religious leaders do?