“I would like to transfer that cry from the moral zone to the terrain of religion. If we do not tame religion in this nation, religion would kill us.

“I do not say kill religion, though, I wouldn’t mind a bit if that mission could be undertaken surgically, painlessly perhaps, under anaesthesia, effectively sprayed all over the nation or perhaps during an induced pouch of religious ecstasy.

“However, one has to be realistic. Only the religiously possessed or committed would deny the obvious. The price that many have paid, not just within this society but by humanity in general, makes one wonder if the benefits have really been more than the losses.”

Soyinka said he often imagined what the world would be if religion had never been invented.

He said, “Can one think of any landscape without religious architecture?”

This is an attempt, an expression of deep frustration. It was simply an attempt to express what millions have felt with the same sense of helplessness. As for the custodians of religion, especially those called world religion, they cannot denounce the murderous tendencies of religion.”

no matter the internal wrangling, rivalries or controversies within any religion – what concerns us is that the innocent are often those who pay the highest price.”

According to him, religion is “simply the structuring of the unknowable to which human beings attach rituals, laws and taboos usually under a reverential relationship between mortals on the one hand and the unknowable supposedly supernatural on the other.”

CONTINUE reading..... http://punchng.com/dont-tame-religion-itll-kill-nigeria-soyinka/

Only religious bigots will say otherwise. What will it cost a true devoted apologist to be realistic or is it a sin to be?

bitter truth

Religion...if only we can be active in thinking and knowledge seeking the way we are in religion..then Africa for don pass Europe.

Religion is the leading cause of our problem in this country but unfortunately it can not be tamed, at least not in the foreseeable future. Or how do you tell a typical northerner or the always spiritual deeper life/MFM to cool down on religious issues? So for now the sensible ones would use religion to enslave the stu-pid ones till the stu-pid lots decide to get sense or die as slaves.

Seriously

...so says the man who introduced cultism into our campuses that has led to the death of millions of young ones.

eyeview:
...so says the man who introduced cultism into our campuses that has led to the death of millions of young ones.

Fraternities are not cults. Every American institution has fraternities.
Its only bad when they do things that are illegal, which is what most in nigeria do. They are all just a bunch of ignorant thugs. Gangs are not fraternities

I agree with you Professor!

I disagree with the way he meant it. Religious became a problem from when we start allowing our politicians To use it as a campaign tools; telling us how we should hate the other guy because he/she don't believe in our faith. Like seriously, the above Is what will kill us if we don't kill it.
So, there is nothing wrong in religion itself; it's humans that got it all wrong. Even Soyinka got it wrong for suggesting religion needs killing; an idea that's nothing different from Boko haramic idiology in principle. We can all believe in whatsoever we want to believe in and still live peacefully together; afterall, our progenitors are traditionalists.

I agree with him 100% . I've been labelled as an atheist because of this by some folks in school .

The ignorant and misunderstanding of men on religion is what is killing Nigeria precisely....

This is so sad!!! yet so true!!!

1.Religion in Nigeria is what makes a woman to be refused blood transfusion in the name of "our doctrine said that said that blah blah blah....................."

2.Religion is what also makes people send 3 year old children to the forest based on "my pastor said he is a witch blah blah blah................"

3.Religion is what makes a woman stay in an abusive mariage based on "my bible said that you cannot divorce except in the case of blah blah blah....................................."

4.And religion is what makes a man stop taking his cancer drugs in the name of "daddy G.O. said that I should demonstrate my faith by blah blah blah...................................."