On religion and politics

Politics and religion should not mix as politics needs to reflect a common opinion and have to make all decisions keeping in view the mutual benefit of all the people.

If you simply go by the laws in Nigeria which is a secular country, then definitely the two things should not be mixed, if both are mixed, then people will become more biased towards their own religion.

Whenever politics and religion are mixed then the voting decisions of people have been affected.

Politics is about power and religion is about faith. Faith can influence power but when power influences faith, it can become disastrous. Faith always leads to principles and values.

There is an incontrovertible connection between religion and politics. While the actual role that religion plays in politics has remained debatable, the nexus between the two concepts has been established for so long. Religion does not make people good or bad. On the contrary, it is being used as an instrument of oppression and deceit in Nigeria. It appears that Nigerians have resigned themselves to fate and this is possibly further compounded by poverty, illiteracy, and lack of political education on the part of the majority. This position is further aggravated by the general perception that politics is a dirty game and that only people who can deceive, manipulate, and greedily accumulate wealth are meant to participate.

The number of religious people in Nigeria runs into millions, yet, the level of insecurity, destruction of lives and properties and crimes committed in God’s name is overwhelming. The need for political stability in Nigeria cannot be overemphasised.

All over the country, religion plays an important role in the daily lives of citizens; the way we interact with one other, our choice of dressing, food, and politics are mostly affected by religion. In other words, religion and politics are intertwined and it empowers man to function in his society by contesting for a political position so as to contribute his ideology.

Nigeria’s population of over 140 million is divided nearly equally between Christians and Muslims. The importance of this division is well illustrated by the fact that religion, not nationality, is the way in which most Nigerians choose to identify themselves; though not in all cases. Thus, the domains of religion, secularism and politics are becoming increasingly intermingled in both overt and covert ways. Invariably, sectarian politics is inherently problematic Thus, there is need to look at the effects of religion on politics in Nigeria since independence.

Aliyu H. Yusuf Shira, 07066641772