Between religion and the 2015 elections

The relationship between politics and religion or morality is that the religious teachings and inclinations of the politician must always guide his or her political actions, failure of which will be confusion in the polity, corruption in the economy and immorality in the society amongst several other vices.It’s exactly seven days away and Nigerians are […]

The relationship between politics and religion or morality is that the religious teachings and inclinations of the politician must always guide his or her political actions, failure of which will be confusion in the polity, corruption in the economy and immorality in the society amongst several other vices.
It’s exactly seven days away and Nigerians are still skeptical if the government of President Goodluck Jonathan really would allow the polls to hold. The reason is simple; it is not certain which way Nigerians are likely to go. From the handwriting on the wall, there is serious apprehension across the nation and it appears the cry is loud and clear. Nigerians are asking for better life, which does not seem to be domiciled in this government that has been around for about six years so far.
The sitting government has been acting the opposition party for a while. They criticise the electoral umpire, they intimidate Nigerians, they deploy all tactics ranging from political to military in order to cow and cause compliance. They postponed elections in the name of permanent voter cards and then later insecurity in the northeastern flank of the country.
They deployed all arsenals of impropriety and gutter in their campaigns. They went as far as the unprintable and unsayable just to convince or deceive Nigerians on either to reject the main challenger or vote for them. What is on ground however, despite the pool of lies that they tell us on a minute-by-minute basis, is the near absence of every basic social infrastructure that could support life.
From schools to hospitals to roads and electricity and recently to fuel; failure is the language that is spoken everywhere and yet they shamelessly steal our monies with impunity to continue to insult the sensitivities of the people. They say all kinds of things the oldest and the weak of which one party is for one religion and the other for another religion.
How do I mean? The government in Abuja and a cross section of the country are at it again. They tell the vulnerable who are badly beaten by the incapacities of those in government that PDP is a Christian party and APC is Islamic where it is convenient. For instance, this campaign of lies and hate was the main issue in 2011 which unfortunately was bought by several citizens and that brought in this government.
In the wake of these elections, the matter was resuscitated even though with limited success but certainly still gaining currency in some parts of the country.
While on the one hand the PDP hawks in some sections of the country are busy selling the false religious cards to the unsuspecting public pitching Christians against Muslims, they are in some other parts telling the Muslim population that indeed their party, the PDP is a Muslim party because of the number of top notches that are adherents of that faith. The Namadi Sambo story and utterances in several campaigns across some states in the north is a good example.
In Kaduna, some politicians or to use the word political adventurists; have tried to explore this same sentiments of deceiving the people that for instance PDP is a heritage of the people and the umbrella its political identity.
This campaign as weak as it is seems to be selling, especially amongst the unsuspecting innocent citizens, who are in fact the main victims of the PDP and its misrule. How untrue could anybody just for the sake of his or her personal political, economic or social benefit deceive the innocent in the face of such a resounding lack of performance?
I wish to posit and very clearly too, that the people who peddle this untruth just because of votes and political favours, are dangerous to the society and the well-being of their people and the rest of humanity. Nigeria is fast going through a transformation in its politics and those who have used false political pretences to deceive the people will soon have no place to run to.
The truth is that a good government is good and a bad one is bad. It does not matter what faith a representative or leader professes. If a leader provides good leadership, the impact is to all and sundry. If a leader is incapable, the whole society suffers for and from it. There cannot be a president or a governor that would supply electricity to only mosques or only churches and water cannot flow in the taps in the residences of Muslims while the taps in homes of Christians are dry.
If schools are good and functional, they service both Christians and Muslims so also are hospitals and roads. There cannot be any economic policy that would benefit either of the faiths.
For anybody to continue to lay emphasis on what is perceived as the fault-lines amongst the people is a clear testimony to the incapacity and insincerity of people in government and their lack of willingness to liberate the people through effective leadership. I think one reason why they do this is not far-fetched – they have been in government for a very long time and what the people are counting are more of loses than gains.
The lazy thing to do therefore is fall back on minor trivialities in order to cover their tracks. As we go to the polls next week, what must determine the way we vote is not falsehood of religion, region or tribe. It’s about what is on the ground and or what ought to be but it is not. That is democracy and that is the wisdom behind periodic elections; time to make referendum on what was previously elected.
Anyone who stood to be counted must not shy away from the scrutiny of the people. That is exactly what is wrong with this PDP crowd going all over the place evoking sentiments instead of telling and showing people the concrete things that they have done while they held power for almost two decades.
The truth is that there is no one party that is Muslim and the other Christian. In fact, it is the vice president who amongst all the high profile political personalities that went so low to talk about a Muslim and or a Christian party. Sad! This is what Nigeria has been turned into by a political cabal whose focus is power for other means than service. We must disregard them and request for a scorecard. Religion is only projected for personal obscurantism and Nigerians must know this and act well.