In the whole of Africa, one country stands out as the most religious. The same nation flaunts herself as the most corrupt country on the continent. We are still looking for a suitable theory that could juxtapose the two facets and probably establish a strong link between the two. Corruption has bred violence, vandalism, electoral malpractice, robbery, moral decadence and many other vices you can possibly think of.

In the midst of all this, government at the three tiers is seen to be entangled in a very romantic relationship with religion. In other words, religion takes a centre stage in almost every decision or policy the government intends to make. The saddest part for Nigeria is that it has two major religions, Islam and Christianity, and it strives so hard to please either of the two or both of them. Many individuals have used the weapon of religion to canvass power and wield influence over common citizens. Now, the bond between religion and government has become so strong, almost inextricably connected like some Siamese twins. Of all sentiments borne in Nigeria, religious sentiments appear to be the worst and most destructive. Little wonder, it characterised the imbalance of the 2011 presidential election and the violent killings thereafter, it also formed the basis for another form of militant insurgency especially in the Northern part of the country. In most of the pretentious dialogues, political and religious leaders would rise to claim that there is one ‘God’ or ‘god’ (I’m still confused about the god) However, an alien or atheist would quickly conclude that there is one violent, self-contradicting god in Nigeria or there are two gods battling for supremacy. Well, that would be for another day but the big question is, can we separate religion from governance and look at Nigeria as it really is? Yes, we can!

Already, religion, to me, has been over-pampered in this country. And if the adherents of these religions have the sincerity of purpose, most of the vices we contend with here would be fought from pulpits and prayer grounds. Instead, we observe with dismay as the same people who have ruined this nation are constantly being elevated to higher positions within the Christendom or Islam. I believe it’s high time we moved for the separation of religion from governance or at least an infinitesimal attention to religion.

I still can’t understand why government should be saddled with the cumbersome task of sponsoring pilgrims to the acclaimed “holy lands”. According to the Christian Association of Nigeria’s recent report on the 2012 pilgrimage, at least 16,000 Christians were sponsored to Israel. After presenting the report, the CAN president urged the government to do more. The report for Muslim pilgrims has yet to be presented. However, we can safely assume that more than 20,000 Muslim faithful were sponsored on pilgrimages to Saudi Arabia. The barest minimum cost spent on each pilgrim is about N500,000. You will be dazed by the startling figures you will see by the time you finish punching the keypad of your calculator. Without any sentiments, permit me to say that huge resources are being wasted here. Besides, there is no ‘holyometer’ (pardon my coinage) to determine who are the most spiritually competent persons to visit the holy lands — if the lands are still holy — instead a political gauge is being used and most party faithful find themselves aboard planes heading for the Middle East each time.

The next is that government should find another use for the edifices erected in Aso Villa and state Government Houses as chaplaincies or mosques. The clerics employed in these Government House churches or mosques are simply recruited to endorse every decision of the government alone and not to view things from the common citizen’s perspective. I guess sycophants are doing enough of that already, as such it is needless to have a spiritual backup to perform such nefarious acts.

Our prayer as Nigerians is in the National Anthem and the National Pledge. On the contrary, most government officials are interested in long prayers and incantations at the beginning or end of meetings regarding national issues. The National Anthem and Pledge are usually downplayed at corporate gatherings; I wasn’t surprised when some ministerial nominees were unable to sing the first or second stanza of the anthem or recite the pledge. I believe a very meaningful prayer is contained in the National Anthem and Pledge, as such, calling on any Mallam or pastor to pray at such meetings is not so relevant.

Laws should be enacted to regulate or even abolish giving of gifts from the state coffers during religious holidays. You will be surprised how much the government spends annually to purchase gifts for some individuals in the name of Christmas, Sallah, Easter etc. Some even call it bonuses. Even if government desires to dole out gifts to the less privileged, it can do so at any other time and not wait until festive seasons.

On the whole, when we de-emphasise religiosity in our governance, we are invariably relegating religious sentiments and also giving Nigerians a chance to look truly Nigerian without any religious colouring while affirming the freedom of worship without infringing on others’ or being infringed upon.

•Yadok wrote in from Pankshin, Plateau State, via bizuumyadok@gmail.com

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http://www.punchng.com/opinion/imperative-of-separating-religion-from-governance/