By Muyiwa Adetiba

Tomorrow is Easter. It is the last day of the Passion Week or Holy Week in Christendom which climaxes a six week Lenten season that has been dedicated to fasting, prayers and alms giving. The Muslim equivalent, called Ramadan, is about half-way through.    So for the two major religions in the country, the past few weeks have been earmarked for abstinence from carnal pleasures and attachments.

For devotees – Nigeria boasts of many devotees on both sides – this is a season of repentance, introspection and consideration for the poor in the society. Spiritually speaking, it should be the best time in the life of any Nation. At such a time as this, one would expect our spirituality to be heightened and our base instincts to cheat and manipulate, suppressed. This unfortunately, was not what we witnessed during the last election.

If prompted, both the umpires and the contestants would have laid claims to religiosity if not piety; they would therefore have acknowledged and possibly partook in the activities of the holy season. Yet the election was characterized all round by a base quest for money, power and glory. I dare any party which is without sin in this regard to cast the first stone. Maybe it is time to take another look at what religion portends for our country.

Babatunde Raji Fashola, Minister and former Governor of Lagos State, once lamented that there was too much religion in our national conversation. Many will disagree and state that there is actually too little religion in our national life. Both sides would be right in my opinion. What we have a surfeit of, is the profession or projection of religion as opposed to the actual practice of the tenets of religion. We are very good for example, at cleaning the outside of the cup and holding it to light while the inside is dark and slimy.

We call for prayers at almost every gathering after which we promptly forget the injunctions of God and concentrate instead on the dictates of mammon – making more money at the expense of others, strategizing to destroy competition, maligning and slandering others to gain political or economic advantage. When we achieve our nefarious aim, we dance in praise to God with friends at our homes and go to the church or mosque for more thanksgiving. The outcome of this election, given the season it was held, has shown the hypocrisy in our religious observances.

Therefore, when Fashola spoke about having too much religion in our national conversation, I believe one of the things he had in mind is the increasing hold religion has not only on governance, but on our daily lives and the purposes and direction to which that hold is yielding. Religion played a major role in this election, perhaps for the first time in our political life. It started with the furore over a Muslim/Muslim ticket as if it was the first time it was happening.

Nigeria used to fret about north/south balancing sometimes to the detriment of merit. Now we have added Christian/Muslim balancing. I am not sure it is progress. Lateef Jakande, about the best governor Lagos State ever had, was a Muslim. His Deputy was a Muslim. There was no whimper from Christians. And when Awolowo, his boss picked a southern Christian from the South-east as a running mate, the concern was more on region than religion.

Today, more than forty years after, we now have pastors and priests openly telling congregants not to vote for someone on account of his religion. We can’t say we have moved forward in terms of religious tolerance. Neither can we say that it is in line with the Christian tenet. In fact, a Presidential candidate covertly canvassed for votes along the fault lines of tribe and religion and the pattern of his electoral votes reflected it. The alleged leaked phone conversation which has since gone viral, has shown how religion is manipulated for political gains.

It is time to interrogate who is actually benefitting from the type of religion we are currently practicing. It can’t be the society which is more intolerant of each other and less willing to lift a fallen neighbor up. It can’t be the poor who are being exploited and fed with a diet of miracles that are yet to materialize. It can’t be governance which increasingly lacks compassion and empathy despite the overt religious commitment of its leaders.

Our religion can’t be working if the gap between the rich and the poor is so wide and egalitarianism has become a pipe dream. It therefore means our form of religion has become a manipulative tool to whip the poor into line while acquiring more power and wealth for just a handful. This is why religion for us is no longer in the confines of the heart but in the open space. It is no longer about the poor but about the interests of the rich. I grew up with the Yoruba ethos that “Aniyanloju”, loosely translated to mean ‘intent or motive is key; far above any religion.It means, broadly, that your heart more than your religion, will show who you really are.

Which explains why the Yoruba race is traditionally tolerant towards different religions and people. Unfortunately, the same Yoruba race is today showing strains of religious intolerance. In this season of Easter and Ramadan, let us be more introspective. Let the reason for the season lead us to the basics of our religions. Most religions are other centred. It is why the story of the Good Samaritan is so popular. They are also about the poor.   

The Holy Book says ‘when I was hungry, you gave me food; thirsty, you gave me drink, homeless you gave me shelter, in prison you visited me’.  How are we providing for the hungry, the thirsty and the homeless around us? It is not just about giving fish, that is tokenism, but teaching how to fish.  We can reduce unemployment and poverty if our religious organizations set up knowledge and skill acquisition centres instead of building bigger churches and mosques in the name of God. There is no point in preaching prosperity when you do nothing to lift your congregants from poverty.

Simply put, you cannot be a good Christian or Muslim if you don’t look out for the next man. Unless you are one of those benefitting from religion. Happy Easter to all our Christian friends. May the joy of the risen Christ fill our hearts. And a spiritually uplifting Ramadan to our Muslim friends. May Allah answer your prayers.