?auses of religious crises in nigeria Essay

This essay is an attempt by identifying the remote and immediate reasons behind the incessant religious entree in northern towns and cities, if perhaps you’d alternatively the alleged middle seatbelt political zone of the north. In articulating this look at, there is no goal on my component to mock the bones of those whom died too long ago and who tried out, however ineffectually, to lead their people.

The thrust with this piece is usually that the nuisance of spiritual crises in the North is basically a result of the manipulation of faith to score personal goals: applying religion to confuse or perhaps destabilize; which will set the stage for what we experienced time and again: number of violent provocations, reactions and counter reactions; all in the name of religion. This treatment of religion can be orchestrated and masterminded simply by selfish elements within the so-called elite course of both Islamic and Christian beliefs, herein referred to simply as the manipulators. The motive for the manipulation of faith is a self centred a single, a means whereby selfish politicians seek to achieve undue political leverage within an otherwise politically competitive level playing field.

The reason for this is, in the words and phrases of the late Dr . Yusufu Bala Usman “to permit this course (the manipulators) to cover themselves with spiritual and ethnic disguises in order to further entrench division amongst our people (and) decrease their waking up at any cost. ” This is because any single one (the manipulators) “cannot look as what he is really in the political economy of Nigeria. This individual has to locate a cover.

He cannot state political leadership openly on the grounds that he is, or wants to be, an exporter-importer, a contractor (etcetera)… this individual has to take cover like a Muslim or Christian … the manipulation of religion in Nigeria today is essentially a method of creating the context in this fancy-dress ball, for this enigme of conceal. ” (See Dr . Sumado a. B. Usman’s The Manipulation of Religion in Nigeria 1977-1987). Ever wonder why faith based crises in Nigeria will be essentially a northern affair? Kafanchan, Zangon-Kataf, Tafawa-Balewa, Yelwan-Shendam, Jos, Kaduna, Bauchi etcetera; in most spots it happened over and over again.

Between 1804 and 1812, an Islamic state, that which we now referred to as the Sokoto Caliphate began as a bye-product of the Islamic reform movement started by Shehu Usmanu Danfodio in Hausaland around 1774. The Sokoto Caliphate comprised of a sizable chunk of pre-colonial Hausaland: Kano, Katsina, Gobir and Zazzau; Western flank in the pre-colonial Borno before the Shehus of Kukawa: Hadejia, Gumel, Kazaure, Katagum, Misau and Gombe; Benue valley and the Bauchi Level, including the present Jos Level; Nupe and Ilorin emirates.

The Sokoto Caliphate was regarded as a bye-product with the Islamic change movement because Shehu Danfodio did not attempted to conquer lands and territories, but rather to call, since Sheikh Abdullahi Fodio composed in Tazyin al-Waraqat “to the revival of Faith, and Islam, and good functions, and to get away from customs as opposed to them. ” Following the business of the Sokoto Caliphate, the successors in the Shehu and the flag bearers failed to preserve the spirit of the Islamic reform motion; rather these were so much following the luxury of life and the delights of power. Because Sheikh Abdullahi Fodio lamented in Tazyin al-Waraqat ” I are left accompanied by liars and hypocrites who say a very important factor and do entirely another, individuals that do not benefit knowledge as well as pursuit… persons whose preoccupation is achievement of politics power for the purchase of sensuous comfort through concubines, flutist, gorgeous clothing and quick horses…” Having derailed in the path concretely mapped out by Shehu Danfodio, the successors of Shehu and the flag-bearers found that more convenient to subjugate and exploit both the non Muslim Hausas (Maguzawa) and the several hundred animist fraction tribes and ethnic teams within their domain name than to call these to the Islamic faith.

For starters hundred years, these non Muslim communities were fit simply to serve the Caliphate because major suppliers of slaves, concubines, meals and raw materials. In 1903 the Caliphate was overthrown by the British. If the Whiteman was included with the Christian religion to this doomed persons, a marriage of convenience was inevitable: this individual offered these people hope; that they accepted his religion. The others is record.

In my document titled Nigeria: Washing Each of our Dirty Linen in Public posted by Gamji in 2007, I referred to the features of northern Nigerian Christianity while i wrote: The Northern Nigeria brand of Christianity is, probably, the most politicised version of Christianity on the surface of today’s earth. Christianity inside the North contains a distinct meaning and flavour from somewhere else. In the North, Christianity is usually, more or less, a political banner, movement or perhaps platform upon which all non-Muslim ethnic Northerners flock towards what they regarded as Hausa and Fulani led oppression, the two real and imagine.

This northern Christian mindset is clear if one look at the particular average northern Christian consider the personal (read: Christian) Middle belt as unique from the physical Middle seatbelt. The average southern Christian, right up until very lately, views issues with the Hausa and Fulani led north essentially in regional and tribal terms. The North Christian reduces all concerns, social, political and even financial, within the North simply to Islam v. Christianity.

Islam can be considered the mark of Hausa and Fulani corrupt electric power and materialism which must be fought by any means. Some house of worship leaders indicate to their supporters that the key of their wretchedness can be discussed in the success of the other area. This set the setting for the fear of the other area.

How conveniently fear leads to distrust, to hatred, to dehumanisation and, to death. Which way to avoid it of this pickle? Manipulation is definitely the root cause of most these entree. “Manipulation” composed Dr . Con. B. Usman “means essentially controlling the action of a person or group without that person or group knowing the desired goals, purpose and method of that control and without even paying attention that a type of control has been exercised with them at all”. From the foregoing it is very clear that the manipulators succeeded in manipulating the individuals because the people are not aware penalized manipulated.

The corollary to this premise is usually that the people will not likely accept to be manipulated if they happen to be conscious and aware enough to see throughout the manipulators’ lies. The one mil dollars problem then is usually: How do we supply the people while using tools necessary for them to end up being not only conscious and aware about the manipulators tricks, but also to be able to effectively resist them? Dear concerned Target audience, let us brainstorm to come-up with hope for00 this issue.

This I believe, will be a proper step in the best direction to finding a long lasting solution to this kind of nuisance of incessant religious crises in our dear region.