The theme of our philosophical exploration today is very appropriate at this critical time in the history of Nigeria, in particular, and the situation of the world, in general. The April 2011 elections have ended, and there is widespread consensus that the entire process was satisfactory. Of course, there were incidences of electoral malpractices in different parts of the country.

Specifically, memories of the traumatic years of 1985 to 1993 have faded because of the solvent of time, whereas Obasanjo’s failures (and successes) are more vivid in our imagination due to the fact that his tenure ended just four years ago, in 2007.

The book under review ends in chapter 10 entitled “A much needed gap?” In it, the author examines the purported psychological benefits of religion. Sometimes it is argued that there is a God-shaped lacuna in the human brain which has to be filled, that we have a psychological need for an imaginary friend, father, big brother, confessor, and confidant – God.

Dawkins admits, for example, that Jesus’ doctrine of “turning the other cheek was” way ahead of his time, and anticipated Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King by two thousand years. Yet the family values Jesus exhibited sometimes were not worthy of emulation: his brusqueness to his mother and prescription that his disciples must abandon their families and everything else and follow him are exemplary in this regard (p. 284).

Dawkins provides an interesting account of the origin of religion. He began by explaining why, for example, moths fly into the candle flame, which seems like suicide (p.201). Dawkins argues that before human beings invented artificial light, the only available sources of illumination in the night scene were the moon and the stars. At optical infinity, these celestial objects are suitable for insects to use as compasses.