Faith in Nigeria
Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Jos is very active in inter-religious relations in Jos and Nigeria.
In particular he promotes the ‘dialogue of life’ as being an essential Christian calling and the best way of overcoming conflict. This focuses on cooperation in the everyday and normal aspects of living rather than theology or religion itself.
The future of Nigeria depends largely on how its two major religions (Christianity and Islam) cooperate positively. If they are engaged in merely competing for numerical strength, geographical expansion and claim to superiority they will do a lot of harm to the Nigerian soul, spirit and social existence.
Other countries in West Africa (Senegal, the Gambia, and Sierra Leone) are good examples of Muslim/Christian coexistence even in political life. Yet Nigeria seems to be an exception. Many of the so-called religious conflicts originate from tussles over control of land, claims to be settlers or indigenes, politics and elections. These are exacerbated by poverty and unemployment. Insensitive governance, massive corruption and social injustice are also very significant factors.
Nigeria has a population of over 140 million people. This is split roughly equally between Christians and Muslims.
The North is mainly Muslim and the South mainly Christian but with minorities of both in each. The middle belt (including Jos) is where the North and South meet and has both Muslim and Christian communities)
The Jos crisis of 2008 is an example of this. It began as a result of suspected fraud during the Jos North Local Government election but soon graduated into large-scale burning of churches and mosques and was nationally and internationally reported in the media as a war between Muslims and Christians.
The introduction of Sharia law into some Northern Nigerian states in 1999 has contributed to inflaming religious passion. It led to fear by Christians over the Islamisation or “shariasation” of Nigeria. While Muslims fear the predominance of the Christian religion in Nigeria, Sharia is seen by Christians as a flagrant violation of the secular status of the constitution of Nigeria.
The Archbishop makes some particular recommendations including:
- Youth development. The almajiris (Koranic pupils) need to be better formed through broader education in addition to training in the Koran. Young people also need real economic opportunities. Nigeria has concentrated too much on oil. The agricultural sector could be developed creating more jobs for more people.
- Sound formation of religious preachers and leaders to prevent fundamentalism.
- Inter-religious education must become an integral part of the school curriculum.
- Tackling poverty where social security is absent, corruption and violence prevail.
- The Nigeria Inter-religious Council is playing its part well but needs to be strengthened at the state, local government and district levels. Communication equipment, transport, staff and vehicles could help, moving from village to village to provide activities such as cinema to promote a peaceful coexistence.
- The media is a key player and needs to take this responsibility seriously. It should not be allowed to fan the flames during crises by quoting biased or exaggerated figures of casualties.
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