Man is said to be both a physical and spiritual being. In this corporeal frame, he is conscious of the need to prepare for the hereafter. He believes that if he is to escape the punishment of his evil ways in this life in the hereafter, he must cleanse himself of all forms of misdeeds. The strength of religion is mostly drawn from the moral force.
Over 13 religions of the world, including Christianity and Islam, are founded on the need “to do unto others what you want others to do you”. If this earthly life is to serve as a dummy run of what is to come; then, those who believe in the concept of a divine power ruling over the affairs of men are conscious that religion draws their relevance on doing good, justice and equity for all.
The relevance of religion has always been assessed on various perspectives. The Evolution Theory as propounded by Charles Darwin has often stood against forever immutable creation by a divine force as attested to by some religions. In a word ruled by the powerful, the commoners have often embraced religion as a consolation for the hereafter. Roman philosopher, Lucius Annaeus Seneca, once declared: “Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful”.
It is for the strict ‘useful’ content of religion that in Nigeria, politicians have found in religion a diversionary tool in order to deepen our fault lines for their personal advantages. In the wake of the Muslim-Muslim ticket adopted by the All Progressives Congress (APC), analysts, some of them Christians, have rationalized the same-faith ticket. While some have been quick to recall the past where same-faith arrangement held sway, especially during the Gowon era, they simply forgot that the military era was not a democratic government.
These analysts have also reminded us that in 1993, the same-faith ticket trounced the Tofa/Ugoh ticket. Curiously, they forget to tell us what happened to the ill-fated ticket. The memorabilia of that June 12 episode is the GCON award bestowed on the surviving running mate of Chief MKO Abiola, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe, who was known to have abandoned the struggle. The truth of the matter is: 1993 won’t be the same with 2023. The issues that defined the emergence of the same-faith ticket are not the same.
The entire focus in 1993 was to end military rule in Nigeria. Amidst the deep distrust over allegations of religious killings in Nigeria, enthroning the same-faith ticket may provide oxygen for a final inferno on account of religion. The manipulation of ethnic and religious sentiments remains a grave threat that we need to salvage our nation from the slippery slope of national catastrophe.
More than any time now, the terrifying havoc unleashed on citizens by groups opposed to the secularity of the Nigerian state should be combated if fears over religious domination are to be eliminated. When a government appoints over 70 percent of same-faith and from the same region as heads of its security organisations; it becomes clear that there is cause for concern. It is clear that our politicians have not only mismanaged our diversity; they have also exploited them to divide and ruin the unity of our nation.
Many emperors, philosophers and great thinkers, among others, have always seen religion as a popular tool in the hands of the powerful to control the populace. French Emperor and one of the world’s greatest military leaders, Napoleon Bonaparte, aptly captures religion as the moral force “that keeps the poor from murdering the rich”. While religion could serve as a powerful moral force for good, those who seek the destruction of society often deploy it for manipulation. In modern democratic society, the enthronement of religion in national life has the potential of torpedoing the ship of state. Where religious champions are incapable of destroying a nation; they frustrate any attempt at managing such a nation for peaceful co-existence.
Last week’s appearances of some clerics dressed in ‘Bishop’s regalia’ at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre made a heart-wrenching sight. While their appearances may have been deemed a product of negotiation, the uproar that trailed the event reflects the seeming anger in the land. For a nation that has suffered human deprivations and her many communities turned into killing fields on account of faith by enemies of the state, desperate citizens must not be distracted by the shenanigans of politicians.
For those who insist that religion does not matter in a country whose streets are dotted with mosques and churches at every corner of our streets; they lie. If religion does not matter; the grisly murders and hair-rising destruction of Nigerian communities by groups purported to be fighting for their religious beliefs should be ignored. How these insurgents whose mission has been made clear could beat all the water-tight security points to storm the Kuje Prison and release their members and commanders remains a troubling prognosis. President Muhammadu Buhari had kicked against the same-faith ticket in 2014. What has happened to warrant a change? Would General Buhari who wept his way to power in 2015, now allow a permutation that is capable of throwing his party into the dustbin of history?
The good thing about democracy is the right to choice. Whatever happens, the Nigerian people, if votes are allowed to count, will have the final say. The interests of the elite of any political party are often strange and most times incomprehensible. Those opposing the same-faith ticket may still be the same championing its triumph. That explains why the protest against the same-faith ticket by some religious clerics from the two religions may not change anything.
Sadly, democracy is not about religion. The irrelevance of adherents of a particular religion in a party is a measurement of their influence in terms of their strategic thinking. If a Muslim-Christian ticket is all that was required to move Nigeria forward; President Buhari and his deputy, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, would have taken us to the Promised Land. The duo may not have led to the defeat of Boko Haram, at least adherents of Islam and Christianity seem to derive psychological assurance that it wound render null and void any possible dominance of one religion over the other.
In the final analysis, those to resolve the matter are members of the political class. Having impoverished the citizens, the only way to cover up their misdeed is to feed them with the stale food of religious domination. Since religion, according to Karl Marx, is the opium of the masses, nothing excites some religious adherents more than to see the contemporary contest for the soul of Nigeria dressed in religious garb. It takes only the discerning to decipher the hidden motives of these political manipulators. Sadly, the discernable in both religions are too few, with their number heavily decimated under the present framework.
The current brouhaha over Muslim-Muslim ticket is hinged on the refusal of APC to pick a Northern Christian to serve as deputy to Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu. BAT’s choice should not be a troubling matter. It does not call for a public quarrel. If you don’t agree; go to the party that will serve your interest.
The truth is that most Christian politicians, especially in the North, go into politics for only appointments. Once in the corridors of power, they want to be the only cock that crows. While others are busy trying to build their communities, these Christian politicians are busy weakening and uprooting those they see as political enemies. Their relevance is only demonstrated by the number of properties they acquired while in office. To most of them, political appointments are personal rewards that must be enjoyed by only them and their immediate family members.
After serving out as elected or appointed public officer, what does the Northern Christian politician bring home? A little fat bank account with no community developments! A few years down the road, the fat account is easily depleted as he quickly turns into a husk of his former self. With nothing left to show of the assumed glorious past he spent hunting and hounding down perceived enemies, the Christian politician returns to his benefactors, often the kind hearted Muslims, for rehabilitation and succour.
For those having issues with the Muslim-Muslim ticket, you cannot expect someone to treat you differently the way you treat your own people. When you honour your own people; others will do the same to them. When you run down your own people; don’t expect others to exalt them. We live in a society where what goes around comes around. The dread of the past is beginning to haunt those who think individualism surpasses conformity.
