Plateau: How religion and politics can coexist without acrimony

“If we run a decent nation that accords equity to all, every Nigerian, irrespective of faith, will have enough room in it.” Those were the words of administrator and public policy analyst, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed while speaking as the resource person at a roundtable discussion convened in Jos by a pro-peace non-governmental organization, care-fronting Nigeria.Challenging […]

“If we run a decent nation that accords equity to all, every Nigerian, irrespective of faith, will have enough room in it.” Those were the words of administrator and public policy analyst, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed while speaking as the resource person at a roundtable discussion convened in Jos by a pro-peace non-governmental organization, care-fronting Nigeria.
Challenging Nigerians to insist on good governance, he said, “Governing a nation is a collective responsibility of all nationals. Nigerians are very religious people. Our systems of government, public institutions and our economy should be made to reflect the core values which our faiths share, such as honesty and integrity.”
In the series of roundtable discussions with the theme of politics and religion, Care fronting Nigeria is seeking to propagate peaceful politicking in Plateau State in the face of opposing religious interests. Snippets from two editions so far are instructive of how easy it can be for politics to thrive in spite of conflicting religious considerations.
Baba-Ahmed, a former secretary of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and currently a lecturer at the Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto, said friction owes its origin not only to religion but also to sources other than religion, and that conflicts are part of the fabric of a multi-cultural and multi-religious nation such as Nigeria.
Baba-Ahmed said: “When faith boundaries converge around issues which encourage competition for political power, control and accumulation and allocation of economic resources, faiths of competing groups are counted among victors or losers. Groups which prevail or predominate in particular geo-political formations often define parameters for allocation of resources and conduct in such a manner that minorities feel that their faith, among others, are being punished by the majority. Often the failure of the state to mediate relations between groups identified by specific demographics such as faith lead to stresses and conflict.”
He blamed what he termed Nigeria’s religion-intensity politics on political leaders, saying: “Faith-based politics has become a major issue in competition between fragments of the political elite, and faith is becoming increasingly a vital demographic index in the struggle for power and resources among the elite.”
He argued that religion has been frequently been brought into a crisis that has entirely different origin, saying:”Conflicts involving groups which assume religious dimensions are basically about power and resourcesm.”
He said because ordinary Muslims and Christians were affected by bad leaders professing the respective faiths, all Nigerians should insist on the good that religion could do.
“Corruption impoverishes Muslims and Christians alike, and their leaders who share the same faith do not reflect their faith in the manner they govern. There needs to be a radical overhaul of the current ruling regime in Nigeria and the manner core religious values such as selfless service, honesty and compassion become guiding values of our leaders”, he said.
Other discussants who agreed with Baba-Ahmed said no country exists where the views of differing religions not exist, that what prevents violent expression of conflict is the way the people handle the differences that do exist.
The first in the series of Plateau Roundtable Forum discussions which was based on the theme, “Freedom of Worship in Nigeria: Myth or Reality”,  sought to remove much of the heat between Muslims and Christians over the activities of Boko Haram, a sect which started out as an Islamic body intent on propagating Islamic principles but which the forum observed had long deviated into questionable pursuits, destroying lives and properties in much of the North East and other parts of the North like Bauchi, Kaduna, Suleja, Abuja, and Jos.
“Muslims have long disowned this group and it has become obvious to many that Muslims have suffered more in their hands than Christians, and an understanding of this fact should dissuade Christians from viewing Boko Haram as  a Muslim group out to decimate Christianity,” one discussant said.
For youths who become the rampaging foot soldiers of politicians when they embark on their frequently selfish but destructive pursuits bandying religion as the driving force, the forum reminded the youths that neither Islam nor Christianity condones acts of violence on fellow human beings.
The first edition of the Plateau Roundtable Forum was followed by the edition of October 24 which ran on the topic, “Politicization of Politics and Religionisation of Politics in Nigeria”, and had university lecturer and Director of Institute for Development Research of Ahmadu Bello University, Professor Paul Pindah Izah as lead paper presenter and resource person.
He said Nigeria must begin the task by realizing that the religious character of Nigeria’s politics need not be viewed as a misnomer to root out at all costs, as varying shades of mixing politics with religious considerations exist everywhere.
 “Let me say that the religious revivalists among both Christians and Muslims have affected the political process globally. In the USA, Christian fundamentalism in the South, called Bible belt, has forced politicians to move to the right, especially among Republicans. At a broad level, it is unimaginable for a Muslim to be elected president of the USA, just like it is not likely that a Catholic will become prime minister of the UK.”
Maintaining his opinion that Nigeria would do well to accept that religion has its place in politics and adopt a tolerable attitude towards it, Izah said, “We should not panic just because Christian or Muslim groups tend to support one of their own.”
Izah said Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was hardly understood 13 years ago when as president he described as political Sharia the model championed by Ahmed Sani Yerima when he was Zamfara State governor.
Recalling the mood of those days, Izah said: “With a return to elected government, beginning with Zamfara, northern governors, one after another introduced Sharia legal system. This led to widespread protests from Christian groups. President Obasanjo was smart enough to read the political undertone and urged Nigerians to ignore it, calling it ‘political sharia’. True enough, the resistance died down and life in most of the states is back to the status quo.”
Like Hakeem Baba-Ahmed and other members of the first roundtable, Paul Izah and members of the second roundtable discussants held that religious intensity arises essentially from bad leadership and poor public service delivery. Izah said: “I think superficial religious intensity has its roots in bad government. The inability of successive regimes to provide equity in governance has led to the reliance on the religious institutions for guide and consolations.”
While tasking the populace to participate in the solution to bad governance, he said: “The way forward is to insist on good governance and accept the basic teaching of the major religions (Islam & Christianity) which focus on respect for the individual and assistance to the poor.”
Izah singled out the Yoruba ethnic group as a model in harmonious religious culture worth copying. “We must move closer to the Yoruba notion of religion. In Yoruba land, you are a Yoruba before you are Christian or Muslim,” he said, adding that such mindset tolerates marriage across religions, with man and wife in many instances practicing separate religions but living harmonious life together.
He suggested that in order to sustain goodwill across religious divides, government should on its part treat all religions in equal terms, saying: “Government must endeavor to treat all religions equally and Nigerians must demand so.”
Based on the paper presentation by Professor Izah, discussants expressed views that were instructive. While some said it is not unusual for religion to inform the choice of leaders, others said if a government does well, nobody cares what religion it professes.
The bottom line was that Nigerians must insist on good governance for all, as that is the real antidote to divisive religious sentiments. Also, Nigerians must accept the teachings of the major religions focusing on respect for human life as no religion condones wanton killing of fellow human beings. In addition it was resolved that religion should progressively be regarded as a personal choice of citizens whether the state is secular or not.
The third in the series of roundtable forum which was held at the same hotel facility in the Tudun Wada area of Jos on November 14 dwelled on women’s rights as two women leaders, Plateau State Commissioner of Women Affairs, Barr Olivia Dazyam; and civil rights advocate, Hajia Amina Salihu who were the paper presenters called for recognition of women’s rights in religion and other spheres of life if society aims to forge ahead in harmony.