By Sanusi Muhammad
Religion is now one of the foremost lucrative businesses in Nigeria that is abused for personal benefit. Nigerians have since aligned with corruption and religion to make easy bucks than toiling the soil or submitting applications seeking for jobs in public and private sectors and even contracts.
The third easiest way to make cool money in Nigeria these days is to transform to either a bandit, kidnapper of cybercrime crook to make fast tax-free money. On the other hand, a political praise singer/thug to useless and empty political office seekers no matter how unqualified they may be because they possess stolen funds for spray and lubricating the itchy palms of the poor and the greedy without pains.
Let me drive a point at this junction, there is this retired federal permanent secretary who blasphemously believe the Almighty God is his playmate. Fortunately enough, nemesis caught up and forced him to join the league of 2023 gubernatorial aspirants of his state using the platform of an opposition party to deceive himself after shortchanging innocent suffering souls in the Niger Delta region. Believing that he had just retired, armed with part of the N5billion he stole while in service which ICPC later discovered, the clown had the temerity to even summon executive members of his chosen party, ostensibly to buy their conscience for endorsement as the gubernatorial candidate.
The fox was damned wrong, the least each of the ward executive members collected from the unrepentant hardened crook was N50,000.00 before given him a devastating blow below the belt that threw him in the court of the anti-graft agency. And the same rogue claims to be educated to doctorate degree level claiming to be a religious adherent. One wonders which of the renowned religions he truly belongs but definitely not Islam or Christianity. He may be in one of those Asian religions that are masters of deceit.
Today, in Nigeria, it seems there is a similarity between the popular saying about water, water everywhere, but no water to drink and the current trend of religious gathering in Nigeria of our time. The country holds its jaw along two religious groups in which their adherents hold the reins of power, hence dictate the political tone of the country. Of course, there are also traditional religions whose presence cannot be trivialized to the affairs of the country.
Looking around, there are thousands and thousands of places of worship across the nooks and crannies of the country. But it is saddening that, despite our claimed religiosity, corruption and other social vices are booming! It is pertinent to know that the number of Mosques and Churches have overwhelmed the number of industries and factories that should better the life of all.
One can vividly recall what one scholar said that “Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as extremely useful. The more one studies religions the more one is convinced that man never worships anything but his very self. Prayer does not change the Almighty God, but it only changes him who prays. Science can purify religions from error and superstition.
This shows that, it is faith that saves a man not a religion or religious organization. And it is glaringly manifested in the country’s leadership led by adherents of the two main religions even when nothing has really changed.
Little wonder, the late Bishop Desmond Tutu once said: “When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land…….. Then they said ‘Let us pray with our eyes closed’. ‘When we closed and finally opened our eyes, we had the Bible and they had the land’.
The pertinent question is what is the essence of having unaccountable places of worship when faith is not apparent? All renowned religions since creation preach peace, love and humanity, however these traits are hardly revealed in the lives of their worshippers as crime rates keep increasing astronomically on daily basis. Even, the believers of the three Abrahamic religions in their battle of holiness and purity find it difficult to coexist let alone to exhibit good character, be brothers’ keepers and humanness. Nigerians are in rat race for filthy wealth accumulation against the preaching of the religions they claim to belong. None of the two renowned religions subscribes to cheating, stealing or looting what belongs to others. The vogue in Nigeria is to loot what belongs to all under the guise of service, and yet, we claim to be religious adherents. The earlier the better we make a reverse to our traditional religions to save ourselves from further masquerading as Muslims or Christians. What we have today in most leadership positions are practical and real pagans and animists pretending to be Muslims and Christiansbusy building places of worship for selfish interest of exploitation and deceit.
A fertile land that is ordinarily most suitable for agriculture and industrialization so that the country can benefit economically by exporting products to the outside world and improve its civilization and development without depending on foreign aid and loans, have been converted to places of worship, hence the ranting about the high level of unemployment in the country
Nigeria should better wake up to the reality that neither religion nor places of worship saves the soul but faith and confidence in God. Places of worship can be erected everywhere but without sincere faithful to nurture those religions within the context of the scriptures. What justifies a man is his commitment to faith not to a place of worship, sect or religion that is grossly misunderstood and consciously abused for pecuniary interests.
Muhammad is a commentator on national issues
