JUNE 16, 2016.
During my days at Government Senior College Victoria island… My preferred sitting partner was Afolabi Samilola, a Christian that grew up in one of the Pentecostal churches, He had strong faith in Christ and Christianity. In perspective he was one of the very few that was devoted to the true tenets of Christ. However, As religious as Afolabi was he didn’t for once put his religion ahead of our friendship, he never ditched me for fellowships, I remember vividly the way he would make perfect sure I didn’t break my fast in school at the end through him I learnt some bible verses and I developed myself, thanks Afolabi.
I grew up on the Island, in a very small but diverse street, one of the things I fancied annually while growing up was having to wake up to the smell of Christmas Jollof rice cooked by my lovely Christian neighbour’s lool, if you miss that Jollof rice I wonder how you won’t miss heaven, just kidding! My Mum also reciprocated the goodwill Christmas Jollof rice with Salah meat one good turn kuku deserves another, this was how I was built the love of one’s neighbour that transcended all religions.
I made it to the University of Lagos and I met a pool of Christian friends in fact most of the peeps I call brothers today are Christians; Timilehin Akegbejo a redeemer helped me shape my knowledge in International Relations, the way he explained any course I didn’t find interesting to me would make you think he listened to Christ when he preached about the good Samaritan in the Bible. Tobi Adeyoyin was my president during my best days in charge of any administration till date he looked beyond religion and prejudice he was only about getting the job done and because of him, I learnt effectiveness and efficiency he’s a Christian too though with Buddhist colouration. Jabita Tosin was by miles my closest friend we shared a lot of memories but in all of it I can’t recollect us fighting over who’s a Christian or a Muslim in fact I followed him to church during exam prayers and for every time I followed him my dinners were assured loll, Samuel was Cele in nature and character, the coolest guy I ever met, I couldn’t make it to his fellowship but brothers did and they had a fun filled day. John Adeboye was a jack of all trade when he cooks you will doubt the popular narrative of ‘people marry because of food’, for if food was the reason I am to get married Johnny is the person I will marry, he was also the captain of my class team and he looked out for everyone irrespective of religion, Tobi Kale and Rasheed, shared the same room for 2 years, I never for once heard them argue about religion. Arnold Emuze, cool Edo guy and a devout catholic and about the only catholic I know that speaks in tongue, I followed him to church once and I saw anointing descend on him it was a bitter sweet experience, Joshua Ayannaike and Okunleye Opeyemi, I don’t know how to classify them but the forms they filled for University of Lagos carried Christianity, they also helped my social and intellectual life a whole lot. How can I forget the Egbons in my class, Sir Shina and Sir Tee, Christians from different deep background but they still could take bullets for me. To all these people I mentioned and those I can’t because of space I’m so sorry this article is about religious crises.
If I trace the history of religious crises in Nigeria, this article might get unnecessarily long and will lose its flavours, but from 2009 till date, no one has known peace in the North East; Muslims, Christians, traditionalist or pagans alike, it has been a case of one mass grave after the other and the end is not yet in sight judging by the way BRIDGET was brutally murdered by religious and mindless brutes,
Today we live in a country where people kill citizens while proclaiming that this might have been cool 1500 years ago but killing another soul because your God orders you to do so betrays any logic or rationality.
I might not know too much about the Bible but I know for a fact the greatest commandment is to love your neighbour ironically this is the greatest commandment in Islam too, I also know for a fact that merely being devoted Christians or Muslims places providence on one’s shoulder and one is assured of a good after life but how do you explain to your God that he created the universe only to remain incapable, thus you had to step up to defend his honour and the only way to do so is to kill thy neighbour you have been instructed to love .. how do you define that ??
As religious discrimination hold sway, the divide and rule will continue to widen every day to our detriment as we might not get to turn the table from the plundering elite if we carry the prejudice of Christianity and Islam ahead of our humanity, if we do not start living as a civilized people and accept that God is enough to fight his battles.
WAY FORWARD;
Instead of playing the religious card and using it as an avenue to harm our brothers and sisters thus incapacitating our able citizens we can channel the energy into religiously following the true tenets of our religions for example the nation will change for the better when we religiously handle our businesses with the fear of an Almighty GOD, when the rulers, rule with the fear of a hereafter, etc. When we do that we will be able to live with peace and unity till then I’d like to borrow Ayo Sogunro’s fine words, “Everything in Nigeria will kill you even serving your God”.
Let’s help Nigeria grow again.
Stop RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE!
Kosoko Oyeyemi,
Young writers and columnists can as well get their articles published by contacting us via our email address brk
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