{"id":1395,"date":"2020-10-02T19:05:06","date_gmt":"2020-10-02T19:05:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vor.org.ng\/?p=1395"},"modified":"2022-08-14T00:13:39","modified_gmt":"2022-08-14T00:13:39","slug":"nigeria-at-sixty-a-case-of-religion-without-righteousness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ictnetworldltd.com\/newvor\/2020\/10\/02\/nigeria-at-sixty-a-case-of-religion-without-righteousness\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigeria at Sixty \u2013 a case of religion without righteousness"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Femi Olugbile
\n\"\"
\nAs the Nigerian nation marks the sixtieth anniversary of its independence, it is a good time for introspection.
\nThat the African continent as a whole has been bedeviled by atrociously poor leadership is a regular subject for discussion in beer parlours, as it is in the hallowed halls of academia. The African leadership environment is not just populated with past ogres such as Idi Amin Dada with his colourful language, his casual brutality and his simpleminded understanding of \u201cNationalism\u201d. Or Mobutu Sese Seko, of whom the less is said, the better. In contemporary times, Presidents are awarding themselves endless terms in office, and leaders, bereft of basic trust among their people, are suspected of facilitating hidden tribal agendas.
\nIt is difficult to see hope, but it is necessary<\/strong>
\nIn the analyses of the failed and failing states of Africa, not a lot has been said about the role of the citizens themselves in bringing things to such a sad pass, or what they could do to help kick-start a process of genuine redemption.
\nAnd yet the failures that are decried in leaders in the public space are exhibited every day in the lives of the ordinary people. People lie and steal without the slightest compunction. Citizens behave without the slightest consideration for other people. Driving on the Lekki-Epe expressway is like going to war. Young and old, men and women, in lumbering SUVs move dangerously to block the nearest car from getting past them as if their very lives depend on it. They jump into other people\u2019s lanes rudely. As soon as there is the slightest slowing of the traffic, instead of waiting in line, every car coming from behind forms another lane, and yet another. In the end, a road designed to carry two cars abreast now has six \u2018lanes\u2019 of tightly-squeezed cars, trying to outdo one another and all tensed up to avoid collision.
\nIt is possible to discern the psychology and prevalent moral tone of a nation from observing the social behaviour of its people on the roads. Fela Durotoye has a video in circulation which describes his experience after stopping at a red traffic light in Lekki. He was suddenly assailed by the loud honking of the car behind him. The driver, a lady, was swearing at him and urging him to go through the red light. When the lights eventually changed, she was still visibly sore as she zoomed off.
\nThe most prevalent oppression in Nigeria is not rich people oppressing poor people. It is poor people oppressing other poor people. Rich kids accused of being \u201cyahoo-boys\u201d and frog-marched to the nearest ATM by \u201cofficers of the law\u201d to empty their bank accounts don\u2019t suffer compared to poor road sweepers who are arrested by the same \u201cofficers\u201d for \u201cwandering\u201d, slapped around, threatened with guns because they have no money, and bundled into unmarked vans to spend months or years \u201cawaiting trial\u201d for \u201cwandering\u201d.
\nNigeria\u2019s values are in shambles. It is an uncomfortable way to live, and it is an impossible material on which to build a thriving, peaceful, productive and progressive nation. The efforts of even the most unimpeachable leader, were such to exist, becomes like the drama of Don Quixote, tilting vainly at the windmills.
\nThe same failure of values permeates every aspect of the psycho-social life of the country. People are said to have sold fake COVID-19 results to international travelers, despite the danger to public health.
\nNigerians are among the most religious in the world. Even the \u201cofficer\u201d dragging the dreadlocked youth to the ATM to extort money is a devoted \u2018elder\u2019 in his white garment church. The lady in the SUV abusing Fela Durotoye for stopping at the red light may have been on her way to Bible Study in her Church. The man selling fake CoVID19 results is a devout and generous donor at his local mosque.
\nThe psychology of religious devotion in Nigeria is focused on \u201cprosperity\u201d, overcoming \u201cenemies\u201d and \u201cmaking heaven\u201d. The need to love one\u2019s neighbour and do public good irrespective of what is happening around is not a strong part of the message.
\nThe question arises \u2013 How do you begin to repair Nigeria\u2019s values morass?<\/strong>
\nBetter leadership and restructuring of the social space to have more equity, transparency and a level playing [eld in the nation would certainly help. On the other hand, setting up more government agencies like KAI and WAI to mouth slogans may just be more \u201cjobs-for-the-boys\u201d. There is a lack of trust in government, and the prevalent sense is that everyone has to fend for themselves as best they can.
\nThe failure of Values needs to be seen by Nigerians as an \u201cillness\u201d that could well be terminal. That insight is the [rst step to healing. Next, everyone has to \u201cown\u201d the problem, and the responsibility for solving it. Children must be taught virtue from the cradle and shown daily demonstration of it in the lives of their parents. A new code, not just of enforcement, but of self-monitoring, needs to be mainstreamed into the social space.
\nThe people\u2019s deep commitment to Religion could be mobilised in this existential battle. The focus could expand from just a narrow self-centered quest for \u201cProsperity\u201d and \u201cHeaven\u201d to include providing positive in]uence and improving the condition of humanity at large. Pastors and Imams could insist that their members live by example. Religion would then be truly righteous.
\nNewspaper columnist Tunde Fagbenle has set up an NGO named Values Volunteers of Nigeria, focusing on advocacy and in]uencing school-age children positively. Other people could contribute by setting up structures and making themselves exemplars, starting from their homes.
\nThe goal of building a great nation will daily get farther away from realisation unless a start is made immediately to reclaim the best of the lost values in Nigeria\u2019s rich and diverse cultures, such as the attribute the Yoruba know as \u201comoluabi\u201d.
\nHappy birthday, Nigeria.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Femi Olugbile As the Nigerian nation marks the sixtieth anniversary of its independence, it is a good time for introspection. 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