THE ROLE OF RELIGION IN POLITICS – NIGERIA’S SCENARIO

As the 2015 general elections rescheduled for March 28, 2015 and April 11, 2015 gradually approach, some political parties have adopted very worrisome political campaign strategies aimed at instigating unwarranted division of Nigerians along ethnic and religion line.

Nigeria as a state is very volatile when it comes to issues relating to religion and it becomes gravely baffling when government that is supposed to be the unifying force begins to instigate religious disaffection amongst its citizens by its (in)actions. This is particularly evident in the desperate attempts to mix politics with religion by some agents of the two (2) leading political parties in order to score some political points.

Religion by definition is a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs. It’s a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects. While politics on the other hand is science of government; It is that part of ethics which has to do with regulation and government of a nation/state, the preservation of its safety, peace and prosperity, the defense of its existence and rights against foreign control or conquest, the augmentation of it strength and resources, and the protection of its citizens in their rights, with preservation and improvement of their morals.

Whereas politics is meant to regulate social behavior so that man can co-exist peacefully and gainfully; religion regulates individual behavior and the belief of a higher power. Its therefore suffice to state that politics and religion play important roles in the way people live and societies operate.
Civilization has availed people the liberty to think and believe anything they want. Moreover, they are free to practice a high degree of ethical pluralism in their life i.e. they are free to ‘do their own thing’. But that freedom does not imply total ethical anarchy. Not everyone can ‘do his own thing’ in every area of life, so government exists to set some limits to human behavior.

Government is to bear the sword and thus must stipulate some minimum level of morality when there is a threat to life, liberty or property of citizens. A rapist is not free to ‘do his own thing’ nor a terrorist or an armed robber. At this point the government must step in to protect the rights of citizens.

Religion and politics have been bound in a passionate love-hate affair almost from the beginning of history. One may ask; should religion and politics be mixed most especially in a secular state like Nigeria? And if they are mixed, would the mixture be like manna from heaven or a powerful poison that burns everything it touches. Bearing in mind the volatility of Nigeria and the havocs religious crisis have wrecked in the country.
Religion and politics wield power and an alliance of the power was meant to be the best way to exercise absolute power on people. (Aymen Zaben 2012).

Researched have over the years revealed that during the middles ages, the church was a formidable power, one that was potent enough to even threaten the monarch. To keep itself strong and viable, the church encouraged feudalism and discouraged independent thought. However, massive corruption and abuse of power by the church led to popular dissent and revolution. Records have it that Martin Luther King was one of the most prominent figures of this dissent.
Coming back to Nigeria, the unfolding events as we approach the March 28, 2015 and April 11, 2015 general elections have indicated that the church and government of Nigeria have refused to learn from history. The continues instigation of religious disaffection by politicians in their political campaigns in attempt to make some political gains while invariably dividing the nation along ethnic and religious line poses a dangerous threat of grave magnitude to the peaceful co-existence amongst the diverse interest groups that make up this entity – Nigeria.

More befuddling is that Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and its leadership have allowed themselves to be dragged into the antics of politicians who are ready to explore any means to score political goals. The allegation of N6,000,000,000 and/or N7,000,000,000 bribe monies purportedly to have be given to CAN leadership by the presidency aimed at wooing the Christian body to support and canvass for votes for the re-election bid of President Jonathan is perplexing. Also bewildering is the purported ‘whatsapp message’ being circulated and alleged to have originated from CAN leadership warning Christians not to vote for a Muslim Presidential candidate in the forth coming election, that a vote for a Muslim president is tantamount to automatic islamization of Nigeria. This message was also sent to my mobile number. One begins to wonder, could it be that the Nigerian government and religious leaders (both Muslim & Christian) have forgotten that Nigeria is a secular state as routed for by our founding fathers?

In the western world, the experience of the middle ages and the teachings of ‘free-thinkers’ like Rousseau gave birth to the phenomenon of secularism. A true secularism seeks to keep the state/country independent of religious influence. Individual has the right to practice their own religion while the state will not be swayed and/or swindled by religious motives or ideologies. Having lived through the detrimental effects of mixing religion with politics, the west was now ready to let religion and politics rule separately.
Howbeit, reverse is the case in Nigeria. The politicians haves succeeded in manipulating various religious bodies/leaders into instigating religious sentiments just to grab power on religious ground. Nigeria is a country where religion can make the most education individual portray the behavior and attitude least expected from the worst illiterate. The incumbent Vice President who is also the Vice Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) was recently caught on video instigating religious concerns in one of his political campaigns in Kaduna State (another religious volatile state). It is so unfortunate that those who are supposed to engender peaceful co-existence in the country are the very ones causing great disaffection amongst the diverse groups in Nigeria.

Everywhere else in the world political campaigns were supposed to be issue-based. Conversely here in Nigeria, it is all about character assassination of political opponents and inciting of ethno-religious sentiments. Latest events further revealed that our very revered national institutions such as Army, Police Force, CAN e.t.c have been dragged into politics to further the political gains of certain politicians/political parties.

It is wise to opine here that Christians should beware of certain Christian leaders in CAN who have soiled their hands and stained their garments with bribes. Same counsel goes to Muslim adherents. These bribes have beclouded their sense of judgment and sound reasoning. Some of these religious leaders are spiritual charlatans and demagogues looking for religiously gullible and fickle minded individuals to spiritually exploit in order to advance their material benefits.

We have to allow our conscience determine the direction of our votes irrespective of our religious and ethnic affiliations. Let us vote for the best candidates who can upturn the present precarious state of the nation as regards the economy, security, power, unemployment e.t.c.

We must as a matter of urgency vehemently reject every attempt by politicians to divide this nation along ethnic and religious line. Religion and politics must be kept separate. Religion is meant to unite a people with similar beliefs into a ‘moral community’ e.g. Muslims, Christians e.t.c. while politics is meant to unite all people of a country like Nigeria into a single community regardless of ethnicity, personal beliefs and practices.

By: E.E Agwu

Lagos, Nigeria

They are 2 separate things and shouldn't interfere with one another.