SIR: Nigeria is synonymous with deep divisions which cause major political issues to be vigorously and violently contested along the lines of intricate ethnic, religious and regional divisions. Therefore, the idea of a weaponized religion for political gain with incendiary rhetoric that stigmatizes and dehumanizes … in other words, spreading falsehood, hate, cajoling and deceiving innocent people based on their religion, ethnicity and nationality is a recipe for violence. 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.
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, as exemplified by the recent events in our dear nation Nigeria.
Ironically, in a Muslim populated Osun State, the PDP Governor-elect, Sen Jackson Ademola Adeleke and his deputy, Kola Adewusi, are both of the same faith. So also is Fr. Hyacinth Alia, the APC gubernatorial candidate in Benue State and he is doing well in his campaign.
Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir David Lawal, years ago at a thanksgiving event in Abuja in October 2015 to mark his appointment, revealed that he got the post with the help of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT) and Chief Bisi Akande, both of whom are Muslims. Now, the same Lawal, with Yakubu Dogara and some other disgruntled elements, have become the latest champion of religious and ethnic politics. This is certainly not how to build a nation of our dreams.
In my view, religion like all other personal and private convictions, are changeable and should not have any place in governance. As such, one way to correct and stop the spread of the faulty reasoning about religion and governance, is to begin to deemphasise and not reinforce the place of such personal and changeable convictions in governance.
It has therefore become imperative for us to constantly revisit and remind ourselves of the need to be proactive. That is, if you make yourself available to be bamboozled, cajoled, deceived or otherwise blackmailed into believing in the idea and imagination of a so-called marginalization, that will be unfortunate. We must not for any reason become one who is readily or easily made a victim of deception.
Nevertheless, the verdict of history, the verdict of posterity and the judgment of God will be very harsh with as many as are cajoling, deceiving and bamboozling innocent people with fake indices, phantom achievements and unverifiable claims.
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Richard Odusanya, odusanyagold@gmail.com