Denouncing God can be a
dangerous thing in Nigeria , where religion is
the rhythm of life.
Atheism, considered blasphemy by many, is a
largely underground movement that's hard
to quantify but increasingly reported among
millennials.
Atheists come together in private on
WhatsApp groups and use pseudonyms on
social media sites to share ideas.
The Nigerian population of nearly 200 million
is split almost evenly between Muslims and
Christians with sizeable followers of
traditional spirituality.
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"As a clergyman, this makes me sad that
today we have people in Nigeria going in for
atheism," Gideon Obasogie, a Roman Catholic
cleric tells A Jazeera. "The effect of this will
be terrible. For one who says there is no God,
he can do all kinds of horrible things … I feel
this will lead to anarchy and chaos. The rise
of atheism in Nigeria is not wonderful news."
In recent months, Nigerian atheists have
registered three pro-secular organisations:
Atheist Society of Nigeria, the Northern
Nigerian Humanist Association and the
Nigerian Secular Society.
"We need these organisations as a space for
people to come out," says Mubarak Bala, who
helped to register the groups.
Bala attracted media attention in 2014 after
being admitted to a psychiatric hospital in
Kano by his parents when they found out he
was atheist.
He says his father and uncles held him down
for 30 minutes and forced him to take
medications given by the psychiatrist, who
told him "everyone needs God".
"People began secretly contacting me, telling
me that they too, don't believe in Allah. Even
Christians told me they don't think Jesus is
God and they just have questions about the
whole religion thing," Bala said.
Most keep their beliefs secret.
Bala is the only atheist who allowed Al
Jazeera to use his real name.
Al Jazeera travelled to three cities - Kano,
Kaduna and Abuja - to meet some
"undercover" atheists in their twenties and
thirties.
Kenneth: 'My family told me I am
possessed'
"I grew up a rebel. I grew up a black sheep in
the family. If I go to church, I go because I
am forced to go to church.
I've never believed anything, so at a point,
the pastor of the church I was attending with
my family told me that I am possessed with
an evil spirit because I was always
questioning God and the Bible.
Kenneth said he's always been the black sheep of his
family, asking controversial questions about religion
[Chika Oduah/Al Jazeera]
As an atheist in Nigeria, you will be
ostracised.
Up to today, I have many people who keep
their distance from me simply because I ask a
lot of critical questions about religion. Many
of them don't even know I'm now an
atheist."
Jiddah: 'I realised Islam didn't have
my interest as a woman'
"I've always had questions, unanswered
questions right from childhood.
It's not like I was the ideal Muslim girl,
because I did a lot of things that Islam did
not permit me to do such as wearing men's
clothing - meaning trousers - going clubbing,
having premarital sex.
Basically, I realised Islam didn't really have
my interest as a woman. As a child at the
Islamic school, I would always ask, 'Where is
God? Why can't we see him or her?'
What I got was a beating, serious flogging
because you shouldn't ask such questions.
The breakthrough came I guess when I met
Mubarak [Bala]. I found him on Facebook
and I sent him a friend request.
(Note: Before receiving death threats, Jiddah
said she would use the site to criticise Islam
and had 8,000 followers. She has now closed
her account.)
Then, we began to talk about religion.
Mubarak would say, 'It's just like me telling
you there's a cat right here and you can't see
it. Why would you believe anything like
that?'
So gradually, I just rid myself of that belief in
God and it's been liberating.
But it's heartbreaking because you really
want to talk to your friends about these
things and explain to them because you want
them to feel what you feel. But you just
can't."
Shehu: 'A scholar can declare you an
apostate'
"In Islam, I used to see stuff that didn't
correspond with reality. I tried to study Islam
but I kept seeing more and more things that I
just couldn't believe I was reading.
I went to school in Malaysia and learned
about intellectualism and what I learned
blew my mind. I was learning about science
that broke down the myths of religion.
Things just became clear.
I came out and told my father, thinking he
would understand. It backfired.
Shehu said he was beaten in school by a teacher at the
age of 11 for challenging religious doctrines [Chika
Oduah/Al Jazeera]
We come from an Islamic royal family in
northern Nigeria.
My dad, he went to the NGO I was working
at. He was a board member and told them to
fire me. So they did.
Then he brought a woman for me to marry
so I could just conform and be normal.
My dad prevents me from telling anyone
about my beliefs. Here in Nigeria, a Mallam -
a respected Islamic scholar - can declare you
an apostate as an atheist and order you to be
killed, just like that. So I'm undercover."
Peter: 'Why is it that Christianity had
to come through conquest?'
" My mother was quite religious. Every
Sunday, we'd go to a Catholic church.
The religion, Christianity itself, came in
through several tools. Slavery, colonialism
and of course, the subtle colonialism, which
is missionary style.
So my question has always been, why is it
that something that I need had to come
through in such an inhumane way? Why is it
that it had to come through conquest?
Peter, an IT professional, was raised by a mother who is
a member of the Roman Catholic Church [Chika Oduah/
Al Jazeera]
Some people were put to the sword and they
had to take it whether they liked it or not.
For my safety … if folks find out I'm an
atheist, I could lose out on work
opportunities (Peter is an IT professional). If
people here in Nigeria find out I'm atheist, I
think that would be the death of my
reputation. Religion is a scam."
Freeman: 'The killings here over
religion do not help'
"The killings that happen so much here in
Nigeria over religion do not help.
I came back home one day from school and I
learned that a lot of houses had been brought
down by our people, Muslims, just thinking
that they did that for God.
I watched somebody being burned to death
on the road. I was coming back from school. I
actually had friends, my Muslim friends, who
went out to kill Christians and they asked me
to join them and they actually believe they
were doing it for God.
They said it's God's wish. They said that's
what God wants them to do and that it's also
what the Quran says. It really makes me
upset."
Nasir: 'My father said I should leave
or he'll kill me'
"I am against Islam entirely. Not just the way
it's practised, but against it fully.
My parents, they know I don't believe in God.
My father is an Islamic scholar and one day
he called me and my mum, and he asked if it
was true, [if] what he was hearing about me
being an atheist is true. I said yes.
So, he brought out a knife. He wanted to kill
me. I was telling him, 'Wait let me explain to
you.'
He said, 'How can you explain to me?'
Nasir's father tried to kill him when he found out he no
longer believed in God [Chika Oduah/Al Jazeera]
I was scared actually and we were struggling,
me and him. Then my mother seized the
knife. My father said I should leave the house
or he'll kill me at night. So I left the house
and started living at my workplace.
My father sent me away and then a relative
talked to him and told him I changed my
mind and told him that I'm no longer an
atheist. But my father knows that's not true.
Some of my relatives keep me away from
their children because they say I will corrupt
them."
Ayuba: 'It would break my mother's
heart if she knew'
"My mother will call me and say, 'Have you
been giving your tithes to the church?'
Like, if you don't pay, then you're stealing
from God and God will punish you for that.
So, it's like a way of indoctrinating people,
trying to put fear in people.
Ayuba said he always felt different from other people.
His mother is an avid church-goer [Chika Oduah/Al
Jazeera]
I grew up in ECWA (Evangelical Church
Winning All, formerly known as Evangelical
Church of West Africa).
The whole story of the Bible and creation, I
don't know. My mother, it would break her
heart if she knew I am atheist."
Abdul: 'My father started preaching
against me'
"I told my father that I don't believe in
prayers any more. He was grooming me to
become a mallam, an Islamic scholar, like
him.
He never encouraged me to go to Western
schools. Even when I went to university, I
just did it on my own.
He started preaching against me a few years
ago.
He's an Islamic scholar so people listen to
him. Him preaching against me, you know,
someone could take action to harm me.
Abdul says his life is at risk. His father, a Muslim
scholar in northern Nigeria, condemns him in his
sermons because he is an atheist [Chika Oduah/Al
Jazeera]
In his sermons, he would say, 'Just imagine,
my son went to Western school so now he
believes there is no creator. He thinks he is
smarter than all of us and he gets his notions
from a computer,' because he used to see me
on the computer.
I see my father and other religious people as
victims of their beliefs. I had to stop going to
my family house."

https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/nigeria-undercover-atheists-words-180917212711132.html

Seun your people are mentioned, come and contribute in this matter.

life is weird so is spirituality.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y201QzDdzbg

This is the sad truth about most of us atheists who are in nigeria. You risk your life and reputation, you can't tell your family for fear of ostracisation. The only family member that knows I'm an atheist is my brother, and that's because he too is an atheist.

Cc seun lalasticlala mynd44