THE FAILURE OF NIGERIA IS THE FAIURE OF RELIGION

The aim of this essay is to demonstrate that religion is a blight/affliction and a bane/curse rather than a blessing in our home. Nigeria will be a failed State if the religions Nigerians are practicing fail to deliver the people from destroying themselves. All religions are good if the worshippers can readily adhere to the proper tenets of that religion, to do what the religion is saying.  

A good religion consists of the Basic Instruction Governing Our Dealings With Others. We Nigerians are in the mess we are in because our religion is a farce. There is no end to words that stand for farce. A farce indicates how reckless our religions have become. A farce means our religious beliefs are in shambles; they are a travesty, circus, shame, mockery, charade, in ridiculous situation, an embarrassment.  

   

The Nigerian Muslims and Christians ought to spend considerable lengths of time, studying and pondering over the tenet of Islam and Christianity, respectively. They ought to sincerely ask themselves these questions: What is the tenet of my belief in Islam? Is Islam what it is propped up to be? How do I know I believe in true Christianity? Where is my religion taking me to? How is my religion helping  or destroying Nigeria?  What is the principle, theory, belief, precept, or rule behind the religion I adhere to?

Unfortunately, we Nigerians do not realize they have God-given us right to demand and expect a better response from their religious leaders concerning the what, how, where, and why of their religion. It is no longer “let’s worship anyhow as usual.” We shall continue to suffer unbearable pains so long as we ignore taking a good look at who we are, who we worship, how we worship, and for what reasons.

The words and conduct of our leaders and citizens do not reflect proper religious upbringing. Our leaders and citizens have fallen below what is expected of a meaningful religion in these trying times in Great Nigeria. Our leaders’ words and actions have left a lot to be desired. Our empty words and behavior show that, although we as Christians and Muslims tend to be ultra-religious and have erected beautiful God’s churches and Allah’s mosques at every corner or our nation, yet we have miserably failed to recognize the reality of our Maker (God or Allah). We have stubbornly refused and rejected the inspiration of God’s Word as reflected in the Holy Bible and Holy Koran. Whoa! Wretched are we!

When are we going to learn that all lives, (Nigerians, Europeans, Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Fulani and all of the Nigerian tribes ) are created by same one and only God and that we a have a body, mind, and soul (spirit)? When are we going to recognize that Chineke (God, Allah, or whoever you worship) had a divine purpose when He directed the creation of Nigeria from the ashes of the Scramble for Africa? A land mass became a protectorate 1901, a colony 1n 1914, and in 1960, an independent sovereign nation we now know as Nigeria.

The Spirit of God, which had carved out a piece of soil and named it Nigeria, has some doctrinal, spiritual, and moral intent for our nation. Doctrine is the policy, principle, set of guidelines, canon, or dogma that directed our development as a nation.  The Spirit is the strength, courage, character, guts, will, power of the mind, force, or fortitude that sustains us as a nation. Morality defines our ethics, goodness, decency, probity, honesty, or integrity. Why are going down the drain as a bunch of recalcitrant, intractable, refractory, irredeemable, or unmanageable savages?

When Nigerian Christians institute money as idol to be worshiped and establish human sacrifice as a vehicle to attract wealth or hold onto political power, it is an exercise in futility, discomfiture, awkwardness, mortification, or shame before the throne of the Great Almighty Jehovah. Believing Christians know that God is not Author of confusion; that He cannot heedlessly destroy His own creation with cause; and that doing so constitutes a violation of His own commandments/principles: “Thou shalt not kill,” and “Thou shalt have no God other than Me” True Christians know that their God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must do so in Spirit and in Truth.

When Nigerian Muslims mistake the early morning call for prayers for an invitation to celebrate the beheading of Christians; the kidnapping, the raping, and the  enslaving of young virgins who are forced to accept Islam or be killed,  and who are denied the freedom to worship God of their choice, that invitation is not of Allah.  Believing Muslims know that Allah does not countenance cruelty or violence done to others in the name of religion, and that Allah does not approve of evil done to others simply because He is Allah who does not and cannot entertain evil things.

Allah won’t tolerate the spilling of innocent blood on account of religion; Allah does not stand for violence; Allah will not put up with brutality; and Allah cannot approve of evil, including cruelty, viciousness, violence, or rough treatment of others. Glorious Allah does not have the stomach for confusion. Allah is not glad in the face of man’s inhumanity to man. Allah cherishes gentleness and benevolence, and Allah wants Muslims to employ gentleness, kindness, compassion, generosity, munificence, and goodwill in their daily dealings with each of God’s creatures, be it Muslim or non-Muslim.

We Nigerians of all tribes residing anywhere on the face of this earth are taking the opportunity to humbly appeal to our fellow countrymen and country women, Christians and Muslims, to live exemplary life of peaceful coexistence as God would want us to be.

“Dear Christians,  if the basic tenet of Christianity is to neglect the true worship of Jehovah and to prostitute after wealth and what money can buy, go ahead and pursue wealth to your satisfaction.” We know you would not be happy doing that because your conscience would not allow you to rest.

“Dear Muslims, if the basic tenet of Islam is to desecrate, vandalize, defile, or lay to waste a generation of non-Muslim Nigerians, go ahead and have your way.” We know you would not be happy killing and doing what Allah prohibits.

As for us, the responsibility to save Nigeria from Armageddon rests squarely on our own shoulders.  We must not allow religion to triumph over reason, money over manners, and falsehood and fakes over facts. We must stop going down the wrong path as a bunch of recalcitrant, intractable, refractory, irredeemable, out of control, obdurate, and unmanageable savages.

March 30, 2017

Submitted by Dr. James C. Agazie, jamesagazie@gmail.com; jamesagazies.blogspot.com