How One Country Doubles as One of the Most Religious and Most Morally Despicable
Yes, you guessed it right, I’m referring to Nigeria. On the surface, Nigeria claims to be secular but you don’t have to take a closer look to notice how religion permeates every aspect of governance and society generally. As much as 98 percent of Nigerians identify an Abrahamic religion making it one of the most religious countries on earth. This reality has resulted in the religious fault lines that divide Nigeria in half with a northern majority Muslim population and a southern majority Christian population.
This religious line can be traced as far back as the 11th century north-eastern Nigeria which is history’s oldest memory of Islam in Nigeria. It was subsequently spread by Saharan Muslim traders and eventually got to the south specifically the Yoruba speaking part. Christianity on the other hand though not as old as Islam in Nigeria was first brought by Portuguese monks in the 15th century, but was further propagated by British imperialists who some argue used it as a tool for their agenda.
Nevertheless, Nigerians assimilated these religions so much that their bravado can be seen in the opulent religious buildings. Presently, Nigeria holds the largest evangelic church auditorium in the world as well as one of the most religious buildings per capita. Paradoxically, Nigeria still remains one of the most corrupt countries and has one of the highest crime rates in the world. With about 98 percent of the 200 million people adhering to an Abrahamic religion that teaches contrary to these realities, it only makes you wonder if these magnificent towering religious structures are just as hollow as the morals of the people that attend to them.
You can blame it on the imperialists; you can blame it on poverty; you can blame it on the system; you can blame it on the government but this blame game can only go so far.
Interestingly, when you realise that the least corrupt countries also rank as the least religious in the world, you start to question the position of religion as the sole basis of morality of a society. In Nigeria, until we start recognising the humanity of others as the first and foremost consideration, we will continue living the contradiction of being one of the most religious and one of the most morally despicable countries on earth.
