Many Nigerians\u00a0see\u00a0the mixing of religion and politics as an impediment to progress and development. This idea can be traced to Europe. The Middle Ages were a time when religious authorities and political authorities clashed in\u00a0European states, resulting in instability. The need to separate religion from politics thus became normalised in western political thought by the early 20th century. Over the years the idea found its way into other societies.<\/p>\n
Recent studies\u00a0have shown that, in fact, the relationship between religion and politics isn\u2019t always unproductive. Religion embeds some doctrines such as love and obedience to political authority that support secular authorities and the development process. And religious authorities and their followers have the capacity to be tolerant.<\/p>\n
Still, the experience in multi-religious societies where religious communities vie for resources and power does point to some dangers for peace, development and democracy.<\/p>\n
This has become apparent in the build-up to Nigeria\u2019s 2023 presidential elections. For instance, the\u00a0Christian Association of Nigeria\u00a0and the Northern Christian Elders Forum have\u00a0cautioned\u00a0against the nomination of Muslim vice-presidential candidates by the\u00a0All Progressives Congress\u00a0and the\u00a0Peoples Democratic Party.<\/p>\n
Religious bodies\u2019 interest in who wields the power of the state is not out of place. But the extent of their intervention can portend serious dangers for the state.<\/p>\n
These dangers have severe implications for the election and its outcome. The legitimacy and power of the state could be challenged. Religion claims to be based on divine authority, which it considers to be superior to that of the state. This threatens the state\u2019s legitimacy, given that its authority derives from the people and the constitution.<\/p>\n
Religion\u2019s inroads into politics in Nigeria aren\u2019t new.<\/p>\n
Since the return to democratic governance, religion has\u00a0influenced\u00a0how state power is captured. This can be seen in the political statements of religious institutions, their choice of candidates and the inclination of candidates to turn to their religious communities for support.<\/p>\n
Firstly, leading candidates have appealed to their faith communities, as in the past. Perhaps what is new comes from the All Progressives Congress candidate, Bola Tinubu; he is a Muslim and his wife a Christian. Rather than appealing to one faith community, Tinubu is seeking support from two. Normally, this should promote religious tolerance. But a religiously diverse family that controls state power might not be immune from competition for influence from each religion.<\/p>\n
Secondly, there has been an outcry from some quarters about the fact that the ruling\u00a0All Progressives Congress\u00a0is presenting voters with a \u201cMuslim-Muslim ticket.\u201d The party\u2019s presidential and vice-presidential candidates are both Muslim.<\/p>\n
The last time this happened was in\u00a01993. In that poll Nigerians overwhelmingly voted for Moshood Abiola and Babagana Kingibe \u2013 possibly because Abiola broke through the religious divide through philanthropy and business investments. Today, having a similar ticket is risky.<\/p>\n
Thirdly, fuelling the anger about the Muslim-Muslim ticket is the escalation of terrorist attacks by Boko Haram in north-east Nigeria. Both Muslims and Christians have been victims of the terror. But the popular impression among Christians is that they have been the\u00a0most targeted\u00a0for persecution and Islamisation.<\/p>\n
Fourth:\u00a0religion\u00a0is a way of life for many people in Nigeria. It has a direct impact on their social and political decisions. The danger here is that a religious community could insist on voting one of their own members into office even though the candidate is generally considered to be a misfit.<\/p>\n
The fifth danger is that\u00a0inter-religious conflict\u00a0could be ignited if one religious group rejects the candidate of another, or if\u00a0a politician mobilises\u00a0his religious community against his opponent in another religion.<\/p>\n
Religion could also be used to mobilise ethnic support against political competitions from other groups. Nigeria is not only multi-religious but also multi-ethnic. The country has witnessed many incidents of conflicts along ethno-religious line. The civil war of\u00a01967-1970\u00a0was the most catastrophic.<\/p>\n
Lastly, there\u2019s the threat that\u00a0citizens\u00a0could be excluded from the political process. If a religious community, by virtue of numbers, is allowed to dominate the political space, it could prevent minorities from having a say and being represented in government. Nigeria has\u00a0substantial numbers of\u00a0indigenous religious practitioners and a\u00a0growing\u00a0atheist community. Any of them might feel excluded by the dominant Muslim-Christian politics.<\/p>\n
One way to mitigate these threats is for the constitution to properly define the position of religion in the electoral process.<\/p>\n
The Nigerian public and the political parties have worked out a temporary system called \u201creligious balancing.\u201d With this informal system, a Muslim candidate stands for election with a Christian deputy, and vice versa.<\/p>\n
But this time the ruling party is fielding two\u00a0Muslim\u00a0candidates for the upcoming election. The constitution needs to address the issue. It recognises the religious diversity of Nigerians but is silent on the religious identities of political office holders.<\/p>\n
It is also important to incorporate the leaders of a variety of religious communities into government and political parties. Religious leaders can educate their followers to support any politician irrespective of their religious differences.<\/p>\n
Religious tolerance is also necessary. Tolerance promotes inter-religious understanding, which in turn helps people to respect each other\u2019s political choices.<\/p>\n
Mixing religion with politics does not bode well for the\u00a0ongoing tension\u00a0in many parts of the country. These tensions could seriously damage the already fragile Nigerian state.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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