NIGERIA, RELIGION AND I

Karl Marx must have had a vision of the present day Nigeria when he submitted that “religion is the opium of the masses”. I am alarmed at the rate of religious bigotry and fanaticism especially amongst the Christian folks, the hitherto tolerant religion is now at the pinnacle of over-zealousness. From all indications, Nigerian Christians now employ all sorts of dodgy approaches in their bid to convince us “unbelievers” that we are all going to perish.
While Nigeria is daily galloping down the valley of perdition, my religious folks are daily ambushing me to “accept Jesus as my Lord and personal Saviour”. [Whatever that means].
As a child born into a Christian family, [Catholic] I went through the rigours of attending Mass every Sunday, passing my catechism classes before receiving the Holy Communion and eventual doing my “Confirmation”. In my catechism class, I was thought [and I believed it then] that an Anglican fellow’s chances of making heaven were extremely slim-almost impossible. As a child, I was thought to always pray to Maria and ask for the forgiveness of my sins-sins I knew nothing about. To cut a long story short, I practiced all I was taught in my catholic faith up till adulthood. As with all cases involving the antics of a rational being, my perception of the world has changed, my religious inclination is different now, to the chagrin of my Christian mates. I hereby wish to state once again for the benefits of my “born-again” folks that I do not accept certain teachings of Christianity as being true.
I do not believe that Mary the mother of Jesus appeared to three children in the village of Fatima in 1917 with the command that they pray regularly to her in order to appease her son, Jesus. That would be throwing modesty to the winds! Hence, anybody who tries to enjoin me to pray with the rosary will be insulting me. While still on Mary, I simply find the fable of Immaculate Conception too incredible to believe. I wonder why almost all the major religions of this world make claims to their founder being the product of some “immaculate conception”. Does anybody know the story of Buddha? 
While the rest of the world is making headways in science and technology, Nigerian Christians are making so much noise about the second coming of Jesus. Every street in Nigeria has a church with loudspeakers mounted at all the four corners, blaring! The message is always the same, though the ferocity and intensity of the threats may vary-the kingdom of God is at hand! I have no problem with anybody claiming that the kingdom of his God is “at hand”, but then when you ambush me with threats about hell fire and eternal destruction, weeping and “gnashing of teeth”, fire and brimstone, etc, I get angry. I simply will not accept that when eventually Jesus makes his second coming, everyone that does did not accept him as his “Lord and personal saviour” will be murdered! This is pure crap! Again, please when you wish to assert that “Jesus is the way and the truth….” leave me out of it. I don’t believe that.
Why is it difficult for Christians in Nigeria to accept that there is something like a “comparative theory of religion”? Why should anybody expect me to keep quiet when a preacher gets up in a coach I am travelling in and start shouting about nothing other than witches and wizards, blood sucking demons, principalities and powers[in high places o!], marine spirits, devils and demons, and of course hell fire? What good has religion done for Nigeria? Does religion make people moral? What has been the good impact of the thousands and pockets of churches and worship centres scattered all over Nigeria? What is keeping the Christian/Muslim God from killing our politicians who all swear by His name to be upright in discharging their duties rather than stealing our money? It is so annoying the way religion is being used as an instrument of suppression in Nigeria. Why should I “fast and pray” before I could get a job after graduating from the university?
What do we blame for this? How did Nigeria get to this sorry state? Nigerians accept anything said by a Pastor or Imam as the truth, and nothing but the truth, Nigerian leaders lie to the people in God’s name and nobody asks any question. Olusegun Obasanjo is the champion of this gaffe; he built a church inside Aso Rock where he worshipped with his otimkpus and Nigerians shouted that yes, he was a “God fearing president”, when he wanted to rig his way into Aso Rock for the second time, he claimed he was waiting for God to speak to him[ He finally did-through Maurice Iwu’s INEC], after squandering billions of dollars without any tangible result in the power sector, Obasanjo enjoined Nigerians to pray to God for electricity! And Nigerians went down on their knees-till this day! When Jonathan Goodluck assumed the position of the President of the Federal Republic, he gleefully announced that he was looking up to God for guidance; a clear testimony that he had no idea how to govern Nigeria. Now, his government has budgeted about N9.7 billion for a “Nigeria @ 50” party-is this the kind of guidance God is giving to this man? One would think that his God would have directed him to use that money in revamping the notorious Sagamu-Benin expressway that claims the lives of innocent and hapless Nigerians on a daily basis. Who is celebrating Nigeria at 50? Fifty years of what? Fifty years of monumental corruption! The only people that would be celebrating would be the IBBs, Abdulsalami Abukakar, Obasanjo, Atiku, Peter Odili, Jonathan, [he’s been too lucky] Lucky Igbenedion, Orji Uzor Kalu, David Mark, Bankole and the entire space-wasters/“cashivorous” National Assembly folks[ apologies to Pius Adesanmi]. Those are the ones who always hire pastors and imams to “proclaim the goodness of the Lord”. As for the ordinary Nigerian citizen, life is too hard and too short, what with the constant prayers and supplication to God for regular power supply, constant water supply, provision of passable roads, protection from enemies, armed robbers and kidnappers, financial breakthrough [ this is my year of unstoppable cash flow!], etc. So much confusion and “speaking in tongues”, casting, binding, uprooting and throwing into the abyss!
Religion will never lead Nigeria out of the wilderness, praying and fasting will not give Nigeria the much sought after uninterrupted power supply, building churches on both sides of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway wont get rid of the kleptomaniacs parading our corridors of power, organizing “miracle night” crusades at the National Stadium, Surulere will not stop our police officers from asking for “roger”. Is there any God in the confines of Nigeria? Why has He allowed so much suffering and hardship especially amongst the ordinary citizens of that country? Has God abandoned Nigeria in protest or frustration? Is there really any such thing as God’s intervention in the affairs of a nation? Is it God that is making the leaders of countries like China, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Ghana, and Botswana to be planning for a better society of man in their various countries? Nigerians are so obsessed with God to the point that we ignore the fact that leaders should be held responsible and accountable for their actions and inactions. Under apartheid rule, the South African blacks did not fast and pray for deliverance from the claws of their oppressors, they challenged the powers that be until they won. When Sani Abacha had Nigeria under his jack-boot, what did our religious leaders do? The Catholic Bishops came up with a hilarious “prayer for Nigeria in distress”, it was customary for everyone to recite that stupid prayer at the end of every mass. I am not privy to any miracle being as a result of that silly prayer. Developed and developing countries of the world do not rely on prayers in running their countries, they plan. The citizenry of better organized societies hold their leaders responsible for whatever they do while in power. In Nigeria, everything boils down to tribalism and religion. Corrupt leaders are always seen with in the company of church leaders who appear to be happy at their company. Olusegun Obasanjo was a regular at Pastor E.O Adeboye’s crusades at his Reedemed Camp, mounting the podium preaching about Godliness and all that. Now we know better; Obasanjo’s claims to piety has been shattered by numerous revelations and instead of hauling him back to jail where he rightly belongs, the present day government is busy involved in some immoral romance with him. Religion is really the opium of the masses especially in my beloved Nigeria, that is why a transport company that goes by the name “Ekene-dili Chukwu” Nigeria Ltd [praise be to God] will be defrauding passengers daily by providing rickety coaches that will break down half way into the journey after collecting huge sums as fares-of course, the coaches break down and the conniving drivers disappear, abandoning passengers to their fates! Religion corrupts everything; in this 21st century, the Catholic Church in Eastern Nigeria still forbids a marriage between a catholic lady and an “Anglican” man! The fear of the parents of the lady in question being barred from receiving the “holy communion” insures that parents stop their daughters from agreeing to such marriages. Can anybody give me any rational explanation to why this practice is still going on in this modern day Nigeria?
I have nothing against religious people; I subscribe to a practice of religion backed by the purest form of human rationality. My friends who try to “frighten” me with eternal hell fire and all that wishful wickedness should be rest assured that their claims and rants do not move me. Like Socrates, I believe that an unexamined life is not worth living, a life of pristine morality can be attained without any recourse to religion-in any form. We need practical solutions to the hydra-headed issues bugging down Nigeria, our dear country. Religion is an instrument of oppression and control, a wicked tool designed to keep the commons in a perpetual state of submission while the big men and thick madams maintain the status quo. I might change my opinion about religion and its stranglehold on Nigeria the moment we pray and every corrupt governor, National Assembly members, PDP cabals, rogue police officers, dodgy civil servant, 419 pastor/Imam, thieving bankers, fraudulent individual all drop dead! Yes! That would be the day, but until that day comes I am happy ignoring all calls to “repent” while working towards the attainment of a just society.

by Sahara Reporters