CITIZENSHIP, NATIONAL LAWS VERSUS RELIGION
Safe Multi-religious Nation Impossible If Religion Rules
--Attorney Patryk Utulu

Religion is important to many Nigerians. Religious rights must be protected. But Nigeria is NOT founded on religion. Nigeria is a Federal Constitutional Republic. It grants freedom of religion and freedom of conscience to adopt, convert or opt out of a religion. Freedom OF religion also means freedom FROM religion. So, a Nigerian is free to practice one or more religions or to be agnostic or atheistic.

By law some nations are single religion nations, e.g.:
(1): The Vatican (Christianity)
(2): Thailand (Buddhism)
(3): Saudi Arabia (Islam)

Nigeria is NOT a single religion nation!!!!

NIGERIA IS A MULTI-RELIGIOUS NATION. The indispensable characteristic of mulltreligious nations is that national laws are supreme laws of the land. So the Nigerian Constitution and Federal Laws are superior to any religion and superior to any laws based on religion. Those who cannot accept this reality do not want to be Nigerians. It is not too late to emigrate to any of those one-religion nations.

It diminishes citizenship for a Nigerian to NOT be free (feel unsafe) to live in any part of Nigeria because of local religious laws. Citizens must respect local laws but Nigerian citizenship is superior to local religious laws. The freedoms granted by Nigerian citizenship cannot be abridged by local religious laws. A careful 30-year study of 50 nations shows that RELIGION TOPS LIST OF FACTORS that lead to national insecurity and civil wars. Religious extremism is fueling routine Nigerian tribal/regional differences to now-foreseeable point of national breakup.

WARNING: Nigeria will never again be stable or safe UNTIL OUR NATIONAL LAWS ARE FACTUALLY ELEVATED ABOVE RELIGIOUS LAWS. Those who want to live in denial can keep pretending that religion isn't fueling our tragedies. We can mask our shadow by hiding in a dark room but we cannot escape our shadow. Objective neutral observers can see that Nigeria's recent elevation of religious laws (to parity, and even) over national law created false expectations that fanatics now pursue in the tragic illusion of a one-religion Nigeria.

NIGERIAN SUPREME ICONS:
(1) Nigerian National Flag
(2) Nigerian Seal and/or Coat of Arms
(3) Nigerian Constitution

Religion is NEITHER a Nigerian icon nor a requirement for citizenship.

Patryk A. Utulu is a U.S.-based attorney and Strategic Communications Specialist
Global Defense Analyst and Global Events Commentator
Executive Vice President, Nigerian Diaspora-North America
Executive Director, The Center for Community Empowerment and Lifeskills, Inc.
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