ONE OF THE THINGS I THINK ABOUT THE CHRISTIAN GOD AT MY SOBER TIME!

My life is a testimony that i can win a lottery without purchasing the draw ticket. I am saying this because it baffles me that an average sperm ejaculated contains from 20 Million to 250 Million cells, and when i was conceived, i can say that about 100 Million of my potential Brothers and Sisters did not make it, and i am here to tell their story. Equally, according to World Heath Organization about 4 Million of Pregnancies end in miscarriage yearly. About 9 Million Children between the age of 1 to 5 die every year. Why must life be so cruel to such vulnerable and helpless children at such a crucial stage of early life, knowing that a Loving God created them for a purpose, and i am asking if part of the purpose is to suffer their Parents? And if the plan is to suffer their Parents why must the innocent kids be used as scapegoats for what they don't know? When a woman fail to give birth for some years after marriage, they will consult every conceivable prayer house and if they eventually give birth, the Almighty God will take all the Glory. Then conflate it with the fact the Boko Haram boys kidnapped more than 400 women and raped them and more than 300 of them are pregnant, without any identifiable father, and grime future for the children. Why must God allow those innocent girls not only to be successfully raped repeatedly by men challenging His existence, but also allow the girls to conceive of children which most married women pray for without success for years? If God is a perfect designer why must He allow 250 Million potential individuals to be wasted in a single ejaculation?, will it not be economical and reasonable to strengthen one single cell at a time that will make the perilous journey into the ovary? I hope one day i will meet Millions of my Brothers and Sisters that did not make it, so that we can unite again and stay as we normally do in the sperm duct then

Ozoduru I. C

ENUGU STATE: THE EXCITEMENT OF GREAT EXPECTATIONS AND THE FEAR OF GATHERING VULTURES.

The 2015 General Election ended well and to an average indigene of Enugu State the election ended as predicted in the State. The emergence of Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi as the consensus candidate of PDP prior to the primary election was greeted with an unprecedented acceptance and as such many observers believed that the general election will just be an ordinary formality for him. Even though there are still pockets of weighty litigations pending in courts, challenging the emergence of Gov. Ugwuanyi, we brushed it all aside as ordinary distractions that will never dampen our resolve to vote for the Man we love. 

The reason for this general acceptance is not only because of the charisma and leadership qualities of Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, but also as a result of the fact that beneath the metropolitan makeover of Enugu State by the past administration, lies excruciating level of poverty, unemployment, acute insecurity and lack of basic amenities, especially in the rural areas. And Gov. Ugwuanyi’s emergence was seen as the greatest opportunity we have to experience a government that is grassroots driven, people oriented and selfless. And going by the antecedents of the Man fondly called Gburugburu, the expectation is utterly so enormous, and no room for excuses.

After the election, the expectations keep gaining massive traction  and what supposed to give the Enugu Sate people insight on what Ugwuanyi’s administration will look like signaled a serious danger. And that is the appointment of Commissioners and Special Advisers. The reason this signal must be taken seriously is because people expected that there will be a total change from what we usually have as Executives. The teeming youths that fought doggedly for the election with overwhelming passion to match our expectations with a team that can deliver, was reneged to give way for the usual Gerontocrats.

However, I am not saying this because those people appointed are not reasonably qualified and experienced but because most of them are career politicians that will always find their way into any Government circle to be relevant. And it is obvious that virtually all the past administration did not live up to expectation and most of this people played significant role in those past administrations.

It is equally a signal that Enugu State is becoming one of the Sates that bears the agonizing brunt of PDP defeat at the National level, because most of the Politicians that usually hibernate in Abuja for the past 16 years of PDP rule during their time of irrelevance in the Sate returned massively after the election, since the wind of change at the Federal level is not giving any sign of creating a space for career Politicians to hole up.

Equally, it is logical for one to be circumspect when somebody who is in a position to contest for the Presidency is now begging to be a Councilor, not because he is not qualified to be a Councilor but because the salary of a Councilor will not be enough to fuel the cars in his entourage, let alone taking care of their palatial homes and litany of servants.

This scenario negates the principle that to whom much is given much is expected, because most of the appointed Executives have occupied higher positions in the past and the office of Commissioner or Special Adviser to the Governor can be likened to a demotion, and that is my concern. We all know that lack of job satisfaction kills creativity and passion for proper performance. That is our fear, and I will like them to prove us wrong by doing the right thing.

The core essence of this piece is not to cast aspersion on any person but generally to make it clear that we know the antecedents of the Commissioners and Special Advisers and we are watching them with keen interest. When people are part of old brigades, it is reasonable to fear that they may not perform well in the new brigade that will match our expectations. We all believed that with Gov. Ugwuanyi at the driving seat, things will no longer be as usual, but how can he achieve that by engaging the services of the usual people? Time will tell.

When I saw the list of our Commissioners and Special Advisers, I told myself that it must be a mistake, that maybe they mixed up the list with that of 1990s or 1980s, how can we be expecting a Change by recycling men that have served us to the best of their abilities during their youthful age and they are still here to turn things round. Does it mean we don’t have smart, creative and hard working Youths and other distinguished Technocrats that can do better? Is it equally a sign that our youths are only good as political cannon fodders and thugs?  Tom Peters made it clear that “Leaders don't create followers, they create more leaders”. And if after all these years our leaders did not create more leaders that can fit into this lesser positions they now occupy, it means they failed this cardinal quality of good leaders.

The whole scenario reminds me of the Bible narratives in Luke 17:37. When Jesus told his Disciples about rapture, His Disciples asked Him “where will this happen Lord?

Jesus replied, “Just as the gathering of vultures show there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.”

The prevailing reality is that oil which serves as the backbone of our revenue nosedived to a record low in the World market, leaving our economy in shambles, to the extent that even the Federal Government is borrowing money to pay workers.  And all the elected officials are looking for ways to reduce the cost of governance. And some Governors and Even the President pledged to be taking only 50%of their salaries. In this perilous time, I doubt if the crop of Men in Enugu state Cabinet can ever curb the living expenses they have been used to as a sacrifice for the general wellbeing of our people. And if they continue in their usual life style with retinue of personal assistants, concatenation of latest SUV cars in their entourage and incessant oversea trips, we can as well say that the end is near for Enugu Sate.

Let it not be that our hallowed Sate will now serve as a resuscitating vestige to some ravenous politicians that failed during the election. And let this Executives prove us wrong by ushering in a Government that will match the unprecedented expectations with commensurate actions. And when this Government performs creditably irrespective of this red signal, we will keep shouting Gburugburu in pious reverence and absolute respect for the Man we voted for as a bridge builder that can tighten the gap between the rich and poor in our State.

Finally, let all the ravenous vultures that are hovering around our State thinking that it is the last bastion of carcass to be devoured steer clear. (042 Is Our Pride- Ashua Azua)

By

Barr. Ozor Ozoduru I.C

HUMANISM AND ANTI-INTELLECTUALISM IN NIGERIA

A lot has been said about militant Islam and extreme Christian, traditional religious practices in Nigeria. There has been much focus on violent attacks by the jihadist group, Boko Haram, on the abuses perpetrated by sharia policing agencies and the nefarious activities of homophobic pentecostal churches and witch hunting pastors in the country. Unfortunately not much attention has been paid to the efforts of humanists, atheists, skeptics and agnostics in the country to address these problems. Not many Nigerians know about the campaigns by humanists against witch hunting, blasphemy law and harmful traditional practices. In fact not many Nigerians know that humanists and humanist groups exist in the country.  

Thanks to the internet, things are beginning to change. There is a growing visibility of humanists and humanist activism. For instance the Humanist Assembly of Lagos is organizing an event at the University of Lagos Conference Centre on August 30th, 2015. The theme of the event is "Benefits of Doubt: Why Questioning Pays". This event offers them an opportunity to examine many issues of national importance. Nigeria is a secular state. Adoption of state religion is prohibited and freedom of religion and belief is guaranteed in the constitution. But in practice Nigeria is a theocratic state. Religion and politics mix in a way that stifles debate and conversation. Islam and Christianity are state religions.
In the North, the Muslim majority states have adopted Islam as state religion. They are implementing sharia as state law and using state money to fund sharia policing units, pay imams, build mosques, sponsor pilgrimages to Mecca, feed Muslims during the month of Ramadan, organize official prayers against Boko Haram attacks and incentivize new converts to Islam.
Non-Muslims are treated as second class citizens because Islamic privilege is institutionalized in the region. There is virtually no political will to abolish discriminatory islamist policies, separate mosques and state and promote equal citizenship. In fact under sharia law, renouncing Islam is a crime punishable by death and expressing ideas that are critical of Islam or prophet Muhammad are easily interpreted as a form of blasphemy which is a capital offence. There is no freedom of belief, no freedom of religion, no freedom of expression and association for non-Muslims, ex-Muslims and non-religious people. Atheists and skeptics in sharia implementing states live in social and mental prisons. The punishment for apostasy is death so those who have openly renounced Islam live in constant fear of their lives.

In the South, the Christian majority states operate as Christian theocracies under the heavy influence of Bishops and other church clerics. Schools are extensions of churches and Christian religious indoctrination is pervasive in classrooms. The intensive religious brainwashing has worsened the state of insecurity, uncertainty and anxiety in the country. The ubiquitous pastors and prophets manipulate and exploit the local population with impunity, particularly poor, ignorant, desperate miracle seeking members of the population.
So when Humanists assemble in Lagos at the end of the month, they have a lot to discuss. They will be weighing in on how to combat religious fundamentalism, dogma and superstition, how to tackle the threat posed by Boko Haram, militant Islam, political Islam, sharia police, and Pentecostal Christianity to peace and human rights in the region. They will be brainstorming on how to encourage critical thinking and get Nigerians to exercise their will to doubt, explore and express new ideas. Superstition will come under scrutiny. Harmful cultural practices will be critically examined.
When humanists meet later this month, they will be discussing how to encourage Nigerian children, youths and adults to question all ideas including religious doctrines and beliefs. There will be a special focus on the situation of skeptics and ex-Muslims in Northern Nigeria where questioning Islamic teachings is Haram!
When humanists meet in Lagos, they will be brainstorming on the humanist state of the nation and how to realize a more secular, tolerant and critical thinking society.
But at the end of the day, are humanists in Nigeria able to generate a critical mass that can reverse the trend of anti intellectualism in the country?

By Leo Igwe

AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT: IS KICKING OUT CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM THE ANSWER?

I state right away that I do not think so. And why do I think kicking out Christianity and Islam is not the answer to development in Africa? 

I understand clearly the sentiments of those who would want Christianity and Islam kicked out of Africa. Yea, that sounds exciting. Isn't it? Definitely this is a proposition in good faith, a well meaning desire to get Africa back on its feet, not kneeling or prostrating while other regions are standing. Christianity and Islam should be thrown out, some people argue, so that Africans would have peace, development, progress name them. But I think those making this proposal might be be overlooking certain things. They may be under some form of illusion.
Surely, given what is going on in the world today, it is in order to dismantle the infrastructure of Christianity and Islam. Of course the brainwashing that is going on in Africa is massive. The damage which religious – christian and Islamic- indoctrination is doing to Africans is colossal. The savage acts of fanatics is mind boggling. The African youth capital is being depleted by religious extremism and other mistrusted otherworldly ideologies. Religious fundamentalism is destroying the continent slowly.
But my concern is this, as impractical as the idea seems, kicking Christianity and Islam out of Africa is not the only solution and may not be the panacea for all Africa's ills. This is mainly because there is more to the damage in the region than what Christianity and Islam have done and are doing.
Now if we are to kick the christian and mohammedan religions out of Africa, we still have at least another religion to contend with – the African Traditional Religion which has some mind-and morality-numbing superstitions like Christianity and Islam. I said at least another religion because there are other foreign or homegrown faiths and spiritual systems out there, apart from these three faiths which are, competing for space and place in the African religious market.
But let us say, we will have mainly the traditional religion and deities to deal with, that is enough trouble still and I do not think, the region and its people will be better of with African deities and religion taking over the religious space. Why?
Africa will face serious troubles and challenges similar to what it is confronting now. There will be sectarian and theological disputes. We have many tradition based-atrocious practices like witch hunting, ritual killing, albino murders, human sacrifice to deal with. Will kicking Christianity and Islam out of Africa stop these harmful traditional practices? I guess it may worsen the situation because throwing out these Abrahamic religions would create a vacuum which many might interpret as an opportunity to valorize traditional beliefs. I do not think African religion would be a unifying factor at all because it has never been. Actually there is nothing like 'African religion', what we have is African religions because what constitutes 'African (Traditional) religion' differs from country to country, from community to community sometimes from family to family, so also are African gods or deities. We may actually see Africa descend into religious chaos and anarchy as many countries did after independence. Africans may likely be divided more by African religions than has been the case with Christianity and Islam. The traditional deities which Africans worship are legion. There are thousands if not tens of thousands of them. And Africans seem not to have agreed on which ones are true or false. In fact due to the influence of Christianity and Islam in Africa, many Africans no longer reckon with these deities. They regards them as false gods or idols. So kicking Christianity and Islam out of Africa may not lead to Africans embracing traditional religions and gods. I guess what could happen if we were to kick Christianity and Islam out of Africa, is that another fight might ensue among African god believers, that is the fight to determine which African god is superior, which version of African religion is 'true' religion'; which African god is more or most powerful, which African religion is from god; which god is the true god, which African god is still alive; which African god is the supreme God. Yes I foresee a situation of “African gods at war”, or better African religions at war. Think about what happened in aftermath of independence, many African countries went to war against the other. It will not be different to what could happen to African deities and religions if Christianity and Islam are kicked out of the region.
And that is where the division and conflict would start. So, I do not see how 'African religions” would unite Africans. I do not see how worshiping African deities will bring peace and harmony to the region. If there is anything that unites a people it is their relationship with human beings not with local deities; it is reality not revelation, science not superstition, thinking not blind faith. It is fact not fiction, the habit of reason and questioning, not dogma. It is the virtue of courage, not the fear of imaginary beings. it is openness to new ideas, not close mindedness.
I think Christianity, Islam and other religions should not be kicked out because such an endeavor is not consistent with the ideals of a free and open society. All religions and deities – local and foreign – are welcome to the African table of free inquiry and critical examination.
Christianity, Islam and other dogmatic faiths would fade away at some point just like other religions which human beings have created if they cannot withstand critical scrutiny. That is how they would kick themselves out. The god of Christianity – Jesus- and the god of Islam – Allah- would become useless and unappealing at least to most people and then would slowly disappear like other deities which human beings once worshiped and later abandoned.
Instead of thinking about how to kick out Christianity or Islam, Africans should begin to question and critically evaluate all religious claims. They should focus their energies on tearing away the veil of dogma that shields Christianity and Islam from critical evaluation and free inquiry. Africans should be exploring to know if these Abrahamic 'emperors' have any clothes at all.The people of Africa should start breaking the taboo against apostasy and blasphemy and start tasting the forbidden fruit of atheism and freethought.

Africans should embark on the process of ascertaining whether Christianity and Islam are still relevant and can serve as meaningful guides for 21st century humans. The problem in Africa is not Christianity or Islam per se but the dogmatic attitude of Africans towards these cultural myths and superstitious systems. The problem is in the habit of blind belief and reverence by Africans – Christians, Muslims or Traditionalists, in their reluctance to seek evidence for religious claims and the fear to question supernatural postulations; in the lack of rational and critical will to express doubts openly and publicly – and in the inability to freely examine spiritual phenomena. The future of Africa rests not on kicking Christianity and Islam out of the region but on Africans rediscovering the values of intellectual awakening and enlightenment.

By Leo Igwe

THE LOVE OF LIFE IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL

Man’s love of life is the root of all evil and the basis of every sin.

Is it good to go to school; get a good job; build your own house and have lots of money? Not according to Jesus. These things are highly valued by men. But Jesus teaches that: “What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.” (Luke 16:15).

Therefore, it is not surprising that Jesus had none of these accomplishments as a man. In his doctrine, they are the preoccupation of Satan and men. Therefore, they are offensive to God. Jesus told Peter that the things of men are the things of Satan and not of God. He said to him: “Get behind me, Satan! You are an offense to me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” (Matthew 16:23).

What then is good? Jesus says: “No one is good but One, that is, God.” (Matthew 19:17). Therefore, anything that is of God is good. Jesus considers only the things pertaining to the kingdom of God to be good. Everything pertaining to this world is evil. Schooling, jobs, housing and money pertain to this world and, as such, are evil and not of God.

Everything earthly is a human alternative to the will of God in heaven. Continued devotion to the things of this world militates against our desire to be with the Father in heaven and is therefore absolutely evil.

Jesus says to his disciples: “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Luke 11:13). This indicates he sees men as evil. In order to be good, men, who Jesus also categorises as “the sons of this world,” have to become “the sons of light;” another word for sons of God. Jesus says: “The sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.” (Luke 16:8).

This means all our affinities to men and to this world must be relinquished in favour of God and the kingdom of heaven. These include allegiances to fatherland, to family and relatives; and to race, sex and creed. Jesus says: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26). He says furthermore: “Whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:33).

Relative and absolute evil

Men are consumed by the love of life, leading us to regard anything that threatens our life as evil. This makes us define evil erroneously in relative terms. If the enemy kills us, he is evil; but if we kill him, we are good. However, God sees evil in absolute terms.

Jesus regards as absolutely evil anything that undermines God’s will. This makes man’s life the greatest evil of all. The love of life, expressed in our determination to enhance, promote and safeguard our temporal condition, commands our allegiance even above the first and greatest commandment; which is to love God with all our heart. Therefore, Jesus regards man’s love of life as the root of all evil and the basis of every sin.

Indeed, we steal, cheat, fight, kill and commit adultery in order to save our lives. We only overcome sin by hating our lives.

Jesus’ re-definition of evil

Jesus reveals that the love of life makes men enemies of God. He tells us that God has made the hatred of life in this world the primary prerequisite for the attainment of eternal life. Jesus says: “He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (John 12:25).

Thereby, Jesus redefines evil using the kingdom dynamic whereby what is highly esteemed among men is abominable in the sight of God. (Luke 16:15). Since men esteem their life highest of all, Jesus defines everything that diminishes our love of life in this world as good. Therefore, in his doctrine, poverty becomes a blessing. He says: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” (Luke 6:20).

He also categorises facing adversities in life as a blessing: “Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.” (Luke 6:21). Indeed, Jesus says: “Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.” (Luke 6:22).

Correspondingly, Jesus tells us not to bother to resist evil anymore: “I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” (Matthew 5:39). He insists we must love our enemies: “I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. (Matthew 5:44).

Moreover, Jesus says we should not fear death: “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.” (Luke 12:4). Death becomes something good because it leads to our reunification with the Father in heaven: “If you loved me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father.’” (John 14:28). But life is evil because it keeps us away from God.

Evil misnomer

The problem with the love of life is that men are totally unaware of its sinfulness. The love of life blinds men to the truth about good and evil. Indeed, we define our righteousness by the extent to which we love and promote life; the very thing that God hates. Therefore, to understand good and evil from God’s perspective, we must first break free from the bondage of the love of life.

The love of life prompts us to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and to make “evil things” like the atom bomb and the machine-gun; as well as “good things” like the aeroplane and the aspirin. But both our “good” and “bad” products are evil in God’s sight because they are of the world and not of God.

Accordingly, John counsels: “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world- the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does- comes not from the Father but from the world.” (1 John 2:15-16).

Therefore, it is wrong for Paul to say: “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself.” (2 Corinthians 5:19). God will never reconcile himself to anything, least of all this absolutely evil world. It is also erroneous to say we become righteous by being washed in the blood of Jesus. We can only become righteous by following Jesus’ example of laying down our lives for others.

Jesus says: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (John 15:12-13)

 

By Femi Aribisala

RELIGION POISONS EVERYTHING ON ITS WAY- PART 2

Slackness started in Africa when Africans let imported religions crept into our lives and continent to stifle the lives out of our native Gods and ways of life. In most countries earth-wide where they kept European and their religion out, they’ve been blessed in full measures. The Japanese knew from outset not to trifle with foreign evangelists. They did everything humanly possible fighting tooth and nail to make sure that foreign religions and ideologies doesn’t superimpose upon theirs. The first twenty-six Christian missionaries that came to Japan were murdered in cold blood in the year 1597. This was an attempt to signal Caucasians that they weren’t welcomed with their faith into Japan. And it worked. They went one step further when in 1614 they began to torture and execute Christian missionaries and those of their converts who refused to disavow their religion. The Japanese and co. knew from onset that Christian religion and its cousin of Islam were poisonous to progress
of native peoples: hence they moved double quick to stifle them before foreign faiths addict their countrymen into unthinking and impractical sky-hookers like it’s the case in Nigeria.
In part one of this article, I criticised Nigerian Christians who claim with all masculinity, that their pastors and religion are above criticism. Some of the Christians who rejoined my write-up called me all sorts of nasty names. They had a field day badmouthing me to their heart desires. A guy called me gay atheist. Others thought that I’m not better than the guttersnipes in Ajegunle and the caste people of Indian. And I wish to thank all Christians who cursed me solid for their efforts. You guys are wonderful. No man-mountain of Christian cursers can dim the sincere wish of most freethinkers and plenty other groups who’re open to all options and believe that all areas should be accessed when it comes to criticism. God and Devil; man and woman; creation and evolution, love and hate &co.&co. should all open up for criticism.
My second motive and core reason in writing this piece is to counter the spread of indignities poured on African Traditional Religion. Most Christian who responded to part one of my articles passed African religion as pure Luciferianism: full with devilment of sins. Too many ritual; better to serve a foreign God and religion than worship the African sort, they chanted with dutiful religious orgasm. I’ll state here two instances that narcissistic Christians should ponder about next time when bashing or cursing our native religions or others as a matter of fact.
To star with: Christian religion is not without its own Lucifer effect. Fingerprints of the Devil hovers around Christian religion like it does the African one. God of Abraham that today’s Christians are so beloved of, once told his convert Abraham to kill his son Isaac to appease Him. This is ritual murder solicitation by the Biblical God! Later on, He told Abraham it was a joke after all. A playful God of April Fool type defiling the baby-innocence of Abraham’s son and playing on the psychology of his subservient Abraham convert. What in today’s world could pass proper for child abuse and attempted murder in the law court. I’ve never stopped listening to the 'sweetest taboo' song of the Nigerian-born singer, Sade Adu. There’re certainly those who love to celebrate taboos, mostly foreign ones. And this brings me to Christian religion’s next taboo.
Jesus their Christ was born via the birth of a human woman Mary mating with spirit male. In English language, spirit sexing with humans is called 'incubus.' Human being mating with spirit in Nigeria and most societies is taboo. Incubus birth is also worth the while to worship by Nigerian Christians because everything foreign is good and the one African, is damaging. They may as well argue that old things have passed away with Abraham’s era even when their by-now New Testament lives aren’t different from the old one. I’m not interested to annoy faithist here. I’m only trying to keep the record straight with those who worship imported religion and swear the reason is because African ones are so naughty by nature. The ritual sacrifice taboo occurring in Nigerian religion is bad enough that the ones in the Bible call for celebration. Misnomer. Christians and Muslims in Nigeria should look inward before they criticise our native religions because if they point one accusing finger
as per ritual and bane to the direction of African religion four remaining fingers point to their imported religions and Gods. All religions are bedevilled back and front in like manners. There’s no doubt that religion gives hopes to the down and out in society, plus it helps to console people when they lost loved ones. All the same, that’s not to say that religion is as sure as egg is egg or truly a cure-all reality. The fact that doctors use "PLACEBO" to cure their patients via playing upon their faiths and psychology doesn’t mean that placebo is real or has medicinal content. Doctors must’ve taken cue from God of Abraham in faith-playing their patients, same way today’s publicist are making superstars from ordinary people after emperor Constantine made a world superstar out of human Jesus. Placebo is the medical answer to the Biblical ‘your faith has made thee whole.’ This not to say that non-religious people have no equivalents in soothing their loses.
Christians and Muslims in Nigeria have no problem cursing other people’s religion as if they have visas from 'Christ Embassy’ and 'Muhammad’s Consulate' to do so. They are the children of the Living God by their acclaim while those outside their faiths are sons of a gun. It’s out of the fact that Muslim feel their faith and God are above criticism hence they put a bounty on the head of Salma Rushdie who wrote the 'Satanic Verses,' whence he trashed Muslim religion and Muhammad together. A religion that gives away nine-year old girls for marriage is a shameful one. The concept that Christians and Muslims allow themselves the legroom to lampoon other faiths with narcissism of a big difference while disallowing them to swipe at theirs is as vexing as it’s a major irritant. There’s always the Satanic verses in all religion.
The madness for imported whatever in Nigeria is already cutting the edge sadly. This brings to mind the sorry episode in Bright Chimeze´s music some time ago where according him, he went to a disco party and requested for African sound/music and the people called him 'Okoro junior.' Okoro Jr. is a degrading name or word to mean a 'country cousin' or a bushman. African music is bad, African Gods and religions are bad. What is it our own that we are so proud of? Native intelligence and conventional wisdom would tell you that it’s better to serve a native God than a borrowed one. That’s if you’re a God addict. Left for me, I put my faith in the positive content of people’s character, a promotion of humanism to superimpose upon all Gods and religions. I’ll use Japanese and Chinese adherence to their native religion to explain why I’m of the mindset that Native religions should be preferred in case one is a faith-head and God addict and can’t let go. All addiction is
fatal: whether it is alcohol, drug, God addiction, cigarette, womanising, rigging election, looting commonwealth.
God of Israel! When shall we’ve God of Nigeria? The booming chants about the God of Israel from across Nigeria is deafening. It’s time we start shouting God of Nigeria in place of that of Israel. In each bend and corner today in Nigeria, one is insulted with the singsongs of God of Israel. Information minister Dora should start by re-branding African religions and Gods for international consumption and to compete with Muslim and Christian Gods and religions as per foreign visitors that’d drove in with tourist and pilgrimage resources money to better Nigeria. Israel and Saudi Arabia should stop monopolizing the God industry. We need to re-brand our native Gods into shape so as to compete internationally.
The Chinese people, like their Japanese counterpart went via hell of hassles to keep their native Confucian belief system. Apart from when Chairman Mao Tse-Tung launched the 'cultural revolution' where he was bent on pooh-poohing Confucianism. Mao hated Confucius belief because it challenged leaders to take good care of their citizens. Mao’s motto was: 'do unto others as you’d not want them do unto you.' As leader of China, he was mean to his citizens plus those capitalist who’d not share his world-view of communist supremacy.
Japanese and China developed along their native system, God and religion and with these are now in the forefront of scoring modern goals in the global world. While Nigeria with Her preponderance of imported religions is lagging behind amid nations and civilisation and still pretend not to be aware. God of Abraham and Muhammad are a drawback to Nigeria and Africa. We could choose what is beneficial with foreign influence and do away with the burdensome ones. Imported religions should be chucked away from Nigeria and thrown into the trashcan.
It’s all sham the antics of Muslims and Christians in Nigeria to claim and believe that our amazing grace lies in foreign Gods. Their acting and talking to the gallery that we owe our total existence and forward march as individuals and a nation to Jesus and Muhammad are all junk posturing that have no iota of empirical truth. Their lies are seen in the development of Japan and China. Japan developed as the second richest nation not because they have or believe in Jesus and Muhammad. China is pacing ahead via its native belief systems and military tenacity. Europe and the U.S. had to separate religion from state and embraced 'Science and Technology' as their modern God. In Europe for example, their churches are unattended and nobody gives a flying hell about God, while at the same time, their lives are progressing economically with life expectancy hitting the rooftop. While in reverse, the Nigerian churches are doing roaring trade packed to the brim while our lives get misbegotten
by the day. The world at large is aware that bygone is the era of religion, aside from Nigeria that’s living in the past in the 21st century.
The futuristic Japanese people knew from word go that: religion poisons everything on its way. They thwarted it.  Ask the Chinese and native Indians of the Americas of all histories to educate you better.

S. Njokede writes from The European Union.
www.rig2011electionyoudie@rocketmail.com

RELIGION POISONS EVERYTHING ON ITS WAY

Religion is a mere construct, a Disneyland of fantasy. Taking religion to a higher level in Nigeria is like Emperor Constantine taking Jesus Christ from mere human mortal and skyrocketing him into divinity. Jesus followers and tribesmen had known and addressed Him as human son of Marry and Joseph. It was Constantine and his Council of Elders in Rome in about 325 A.D. who divined Christ into God-character and Godhead. Contemporary TV shows have taken cue from emperor Constantine in making ordinary people into superstars in 'who wants to be a star?' worldwide. Most musical and film superstars of today are product of: ‘who wants to be a star?’ A throwback to how the Pagan emperor Constantine made a superstar out of ordinary human Jesus. It’s well historised that He was recognised as no more and no less the son of man by his followers and townsmen contemporary of that bygone era.
Nigerian Christians are so God delusional that you wonder what magic wand their pastors used in turning adult men and women into amenable and unthinking zombies. Is it the brainwash of coercive persuasion, the Moses rod employed by pastors to charm their converts into closed mindset people as if they’ve been churned out of a robot factory from some where in communist Russia where people must ply by set down rules with no option to think for themselves? It’s way too vexing to contend with the arrogant idiocy of Christians who maintain that pastor Enoch Adeboye and his co-pastors are above criticism just by the say-so of the Christian Bible. What differentiate these kinds of Christians from homosexuals who claim that their deviant behaviour is their manifest destiny allowed by God and therefore they should be left alone? What stops us from allowing those who kill others for money ritual make their case why they and their God of Money should not be criticised?  And why wouldn’t we believe Rastafarians who contend that their religion allow them to smoke marijuana and get high as the only way to get close to their God Jah Haile Selassie? Why’d we not let president Yar´Adua be, after he rigged election and claim God made him president? Who’s the rightful person to say who should be criticised and whom not, and why?
This kind of herd mentality of keeping up with the Joneses led a bunch of over eight hundred American Christians belonging to the ‘Peoples Temple’ agree to commit mass suicide in Guyana in 1978. While their pastor Jim Jones made his followers to take the poison Cyanide to kill them, pastor Jones chose to die by gunshot. Poison death is slower and painful with all the convulsion and whatnot before dying, while gun shot death is quicker and less painful. Even in death, pastor Jim Jones cheated his amenable believers by choosing a more speedy and less painful way to die while his followers had to go through hell of poison to die for the sake of a manipulative Christian religion. His converts just went with the flow of Christian paranormal lies of the existence of omnipotent sky God, to end their own lives without asking questions as to why. Should most followers of pastor Jim Jones wake up today to the news that they, the converts, died as per poison while their pastor died the easy way out via gun death, they’d have felt done in, and their pastor, a letdown.
In the event that those pastors in Nigeria call their sheepish followers out to commit mass suicide to appease their Christian God or the ego of the pastor himself, I assume most believers would kill themselves for nothing sake, judging by the senseless fanaticism with which they spit fire and brimstone to consume those who criticise Adeboye and other pastors. Should that happen, Nigerian pastors would choose the easy way to die while they’d sadistically make their converts die painful deaths like the believers of Peoples Temple Christians of America did in Jones Town, Guyana in 1978.
Nigerian pastors live swell lives of spending church thrift for their earthly personal enjoyment while their converts who donate the tithes live ghetto lives. Pastors live in apartness from the brunt of squalor their converts bear each day. It´d not be surprising whence pastor choose a more comfortable death as their pliable converts would clap to Amen songs and praises to their miserable deaths. There’s no Jupiter that can stop Christian and Moslem converts in Nigeria from committing religious hara-kiri when their pastors call them to die for their tithe-money and total obedience-demanding Gods. Boko Harem is modern pointer in this direction of senseless obedience to foreign Gods of Christian and Muslim fraternities. It´d be a form of hypocrisy to be seen only to lampoon those who criticise their pastors without dying howsoever-weird pastors dictates are. Most pliable believers across religion in Nigeria are doggone and still don’t know it yet. They’re endangered species.
The Guyana Christian mass suicide is enough warning for believers to desist from being fantasist who’d not question issues before they swallow hook, line and sinker under they’re brainwashed to subservient yes-men and women.
There’s this wisecrack: 'sex sells.' But I tell you; religion sells more that sex in Nigeria.
When the Israelites set up to formulate Christian religion in the manner resembling Christ’s activities and the local tradition of his countrymen then, they hadn’t Nigerians in mind. Nigerians and non-Israelites membering the Christian faith are gatecrashers. 'Amebo' and 'tafia' people. Israeli, Jewish worldview is narrowly restricted to the Jews alone. They hardly marry strangers and likewise, their socialisation is parochially restricted amid themselves. It’s out of misconception, ignorance, and low self-worth that Nigerians would abandon their native Gods and religions to become partakers of the scam of monotheism that came out of the Middle East.
For Christians of Israeli nativity, all non-Israelites are uncircumcised pagans not minding whether you co-profess Christian faith as they do. Jesus and Israelites of his time had never intended to include non-natives in their religious worldview, how much more today’s Nigerians. It was emperor Constantine that rigged early Christian scriptures, manuscripts and writings to make it seem as if non-Israelites are included, when he collated the Bible. Constantine himself a Pagan, was unaware that his scam of political brinkmanship to unite every one of his then citizens under one religious fold for political expediency would blaze this far in 21st century Nigeria. Religion is the hottest currency in Nigeria where pastors have hijacked emperor Constantine universal Christianity for their personal egos and pockets.
Nigerian believers, who’re hooked to the sky and can’t divorce their sky-Gods omnipotent, should at least look before they leap. They shouldn’t agree to all their pastors and Holy book tell them. There are many pastors in Nigeria like Jim Jones who’d coercively persuade their converts to mass deaths just for their personal egos and self-inflicted palavers. Most Nigerian pastors, like Jim Jones, wouldn’t want to be the last man standing, they’d confuse their believers with threat of hell damnation to go with whatever flow are their fancies and fantasies.
Since we lampoon everything under the sun on this earth, pastor Adeboye and other top faith-workers in Nigeria shouldn’t be made loners. It’s arrant make-believe to think that there are those who are more sacred than others based on the dictate of an imported religion. The culture of sacred cow belongs to Indian and not Nigeria. To see things before one believes them make for more rational sense of purpose.

By S. Njokede writes from The European Union