The Nigerian Constitution provides for the freedom of thought,
conscience and religion as a fundamental human right. Under the
Constitution, everyone has the right to observe, practice and adhere to
his/her own religious creed, in private or in public in so far as such
practices do not infringe upon the fundamental human rights of
individuals.
The constitutional guarantee was dictated by the multi-ethnic nature of
the Nigerian State where people from irrespective of their religious
inclinations, ethnic backgrounds and languages are free to interact and
live in any part of Nigeria. The Constitution does not impose any State
religions on any individual, as it is done in theocratic states.
Nigeria is a secular State with a secular constitution and the state
sponsorship of pilgrimages is an aberration of the secular status of the
State.
Pilgrimage is a journey to a sacred place. A pilgrimage is a term
primarily used in religion and spirituality of a long journey or search
of great moral significance. Sometimes, it is a journey to a sacred
place or shrine of importance to a person's beliefs and faith. Members
of most every religion participate in pilgrimages. In order to
facilitate annual pilgrimages to Mecca and Jerusalem, the Federal and
State Government established the Pilgrims Welfare Boards in the States
that profess the two orthodox religions in Nigeria: Christianity and
Islam. But nowhere in the Constitution is it stated that government
shall be responsible for sponsoring pilgrimages to the holy land in
either religions. It is not an obligation but a duty done by adherents
of both religions.
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In the Oriental World, pilgrimages associated with Taoism,
Confucianism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism and Hinduism are not sponsored by
the State but by individuals. Recognizing the fact that religion is an
individual commitment to deity, pilgrimages are seen as individual
endeavours. This is not to say that a benevolent administration, with a
buoyant economy cannot subsidize the cost of such pilgrimages.
Basically, however State sponsorship of hajj or pilgrimage in any
religion is discretionary. Sadly, In 1989, Nigeria was smuggled into the
Organization of Islamic Conference in spite of the multi-religious
nature of the State. The adoption of Sharia negates the supremacy of the
constitution under which every other law subsumes. That was why civil
society and other advocacy groups lampooned the introduction of Sharia
with a view to unmasking the suffocating veil of this vile and evil law.
It is therefore, unconstitutional for State Governors to sponsor
religious pilgrimages.
In Islam, he hajj is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. The five
pillars are the five duties that every Muslim must follow in order to be
a true follower of Islam. It is the pilgrimage to Mecca - the holiest
city for all Muslims in the world. Every able bodied Muslim is supposed
to make at least one trip to Mecca in his lifetime. However, if he can't
do it himself, he could have somebody else go on his behalf. In fact,
Islam supports that an individual should not make the pilgrimage to Hajj
if it causes inconvenience to his family members or friends.
The Pilgrimage to Mecca, therefore, is one of the essential
constituents of the Islamic faith with the important, provision that its
performance is possible and accessible in any given circumstances. The
Pilgrimage to Mecca is also a sign of unparalleled magnitude. It
provides unimpeachable proof of God’s existence, for it was as a result
of His wishes that Prophet Ibrahim left his spouse and infant son in
this desolated desert. Prophet Ibrahim got reward for this unstilted
submission to Allah, by a promise from Him to make this uninviting land
into a place of promise and plenty.
It is well illustrated in the Koran how a Muslim should carry out the
pilgrimage as an article of faith. When a saint arose, he tried to
locate the cobbler and found him out in a remote corner of the country.
This person told the saint that for years he had been yearning to
perform the pilgrimage and had saved the certain amount of money for
this purpose. However, on the eve of his departure for Mecca he heard
the cries of children from neighbouring houses for want of food and
nourishment. He was so moved by the plight of the children that he gave
up the idea of Hajj and gave the money instead to the mother of the
children. This illustrates that God is merciful and shows mercy to those
who do likewise to his creatures. Thus participation in the Hajj can
acquire greater significance and meaning if it inculcates in the person
the virtues of sympathy and compassion for the needy in society.
In Christianity, a pilgrimage to the Holy Land is the pilgrimage par
excellence. It is a journey to the very source of Christianity, to the
very place where "the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us". Visiting
this pre-eminent spiritual destination is truly an experience of a
lifetime and something not to be missed. The pilgrimage affords the
person a unique opportunity to see the places where Jesus walked and
walked his talk and performed miracles.
For Christians, Jerusalem's place in the life of Jesus gives it great
importance, in addition to its place in the Old Testament, the Hebrew
Bible. Jerusalem is the place where Jesus was brought as a child, to be
presented at the Temple (Luke 2:22) and to attend festivals (Luke 2:41).
According to the Gospels, Jesus preached and healed in Jerusalem,
especially in the Temple courts. At the end of each of the Gospels,
there are accounts of Jesus' Last Supper in an 'upper room' in
Jerusalem, his arrest in Gethsemane, his trial, his crucifixion at
Golgotha, his burial nearby and his resurrection and ascension. But in
all the significance of Jerusalem and the individual’s perception about
salvation is a personal experience. Human beings therefore need to be
aware of the essential transience of this world and its pleasures.
Christians are therefore encouraged to see themselves as 'pilgrims and
strangers on the earth', 'temporary residents' whose true home is in
heaven. During periods of exile, pilgrimage to Jerusalem took on
additional emotional and spiritual significance. As the most important
part of an pilgrimage is its spiritual education that you receive.
In Nigeria, there is nothing to show that the pilgrimages have had
any positive impact on the well being of society. The practice has been
that the same group of corrupt power holders compile a list of unworthy
disciples to embark on pilgrimages. The state sponsorship of pilgrimage
has been so politicized that people now use it as a means of obtaining
money, while the spiritual essence of the exercise is lost. If the
pilgrimages were having some positive effect on the public morality,
government would have been encouraged to assist pilgrims. But this is
usually not the case. There is no established relationship between
pilgrimages and morality in the Nigerian society.
Pilgrimages to holy places do not translate to economic growth. In a
Country like Nigeria, which is wrestling with power supply and the
provision of social amenities, it is immoral for government to spend the
tax payers money to sponsor pilgrimages of very few people. After all,
pilgrimages will not contribute to the achievement of our national
vision 20: 2020 or the Millennium Development Goals. The sponsorship of
pilgrimages is not part of the seven-point agenda of the present
administration. Nigeria faces very fundamental development challenges
such as diminishing standard of education, poor healthcare system, and
other social services.
Nigeria is a nation known for religious extremism and there have been so
many religious crises in Nigeria. Nigeria has recorded more than 1,350
religious crises since independence. From the Maitasine riots to the
Boko Haram, what Nigerians have benefited from are the monumental
destruction of lives and property. The implication is that Religion has
never helped the economy of the country. The spate of religious riots
have done violence to the economy of Nigeria. Anytime there is crisis,
government and philanthropic organizations are compelled donate relief
in cash and materials. These could have been spent in shoring up some
critical sectors of the economy.
The most recent crises are the Kano, Bauchi and Jos crises which led
to monumental destruction of lives and property. If the several
pilgrimages we have made in Nigeria cannot bring about peace and
stability. On the contrary, religion has precipitated serious crisis
that has caused the populace pains, loss of lives and property. I accept
the Marxian view that religion is the opium of the masses. If it were
not so why would any right thinking person kill in the name of religion?
I strongly canvass the view that States should stop the sponsorship
of pilgrims and deploy such resources to develop other critical sectors
of their economy. Already, the Edo State Government has taken the lead
and we expect all States in the South-South geo-political zone to
follow. The South-South is the most disadvantaged zone in terms of heavy
infrastructure and federal presence. The monies spent on pilgrimages
can better be deployed to ease the delivery of essential social
services.
With specific reference to Bayelsa State, there is no need for the
State to sponsor Pilgrimages for individuals, when the State relies
almost solely on the Federation Account, with very low Internally
Generated Revenue profile. It is the suggestion of this writer that the
monies earmarked for pilgrimages to the holy land should be spent on
the rehabilitation of Primary schools in the eight Local Government
Areas of the State. Over the years, monies spent on pilgrimages have not
created any positive impact on the effectiveness of service delivery.
Government is grappling with the challenge of paying students’ bursary,
seeking Foreign Direct Investment and devising ways of building the
capacity of youth to equip them to be gainfully employed. It is
therefore preposterous for Bayelsa people to protest that government
MUST sponsor pilgrimages. For me, this is a clear case of misplacement
of priorities in a period of economic down turn.
In other developing countries, government pick the bills of the sick
especially people who have problems with heart conditions, kidney
problems, liver diseases and cancer. In Nigeria, this is not the case.
Healthcare should be a responsibility of the State and not religion.
This is because a healthy population contributes to increased
productivity. A healthy population builds a nation but a religious
population encourages laziness.
The act is a negation of Nigeria as a secular State because if
adherents of the orthodox religions are sponsored to embark on
pilgrimage, what happens to those who adhere to the African Traditional
Religion, Hinduism, Buddhism and religions other than Christianity and
Islam? In the face of daunting development challenges, It is the
responsibility of government to prioritize its policies and programmes
and to implement those policies that would yield maximum benefit to the
greatest number of people in a utilitarian sense. There is no doubt that
religion has its positive sides, but in our clime, religion seems to
have been titrated to mean more of exploitation of the people.
In Nigeria, religion is no longer a touchstone of goodness and
morality, which are essential for nation building, It has been
transformed into a divisive element and an instrument of violence and
people fight, maim and destroy lives and property because of religion.
It will be understandable if people protest for better working
conditions. Religion and the pursuit of salvation is an personal affair
and should not be made an obligation to the government. It is high time
we distinguished between the obligations and duties of government.
Bayelsa State should emulate the good example of Edo State and stop the
State sponsorship of pilgrimages. It is a cheer waste of scarce
resources that can be invested in other critical sectors of the economy.
Idumange John, is a University Lecturer and Activist
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