The growing importance of religion as a marker of identity and a tool of political mobilization is reshaping the political landscape in an unprecedented manner in Nigeria. Some politicians are using religion as a weapon for political gain. They are using the media, especially the social media, to brainwash the public through the usage of different faiths in order to support their political ambition.
The major political parties in the country, APC and PDP, are more guilty in the use of religion as a political ideology. Understanding the interplay of religion and politics warrants further exploration, particularly the role of the state and the society. Mr. Kofi Annan said, “We are all from one Adam and Eve. We may have different religions, different languages, different colored skin, but we all belong to one human race. We all share the same basic values”.
Regrettably, these failures have delegitimized the states and the ruling blocs. This engendered an environment within which religion has appeared as both an ideology of the ruling class and as a counter-hegemonic project. On the one hand, the ruling elite have used various means to continue their hold over power including religion. On the other hand, religio-political forces attempt to demonstrate that failure is inherently connected to the secularist liberal ideology.
Sadly, in Nigeria their is no record of a single president or head of state that has ever tried to Islamize or Christianize people or one that ever shared money or resources to a single faith with the exemption of others. No president has boldly come out to give priority to a particular faith. Surprisingly, the elite hide under the guise of religion to propagate their political will and at the end of the day, they don’t even heed the advice o the religious leaders. This must stop.
It is expected that Nigerians will shun all forms of sentiment and embrace one another, irrespective of religion and ethnicity.
Rukaiya Musa Hyera,
Department of Mass Communication,
University of Maiduguri
[email protected]
