Thursday, December 29, 2011
Reflections on Faith and Society
It would be insincere to hope that Nigerian Christians had a “merry Christmas” on Sunday December 25, 2011, the day having been “celebrated” with bomb attacks on St Theresa’s Catholic Church, Madalla near Suleija in which scores of innocent worshippers were killed, courtesy of “Boko Haram”. In Jos, the terrorist Islamic fundamentalist organisation which seeks implementation of Sharia all over Nigeria also attacked a Mountain of Fire and Miracles (MFM) Church with gunmen shooting at departing worshippers and detonating improvised explosive devices. Last Christmas Boko Haram exploded bombs at several Churches in Jos, and in 2009, Farouk Abdul Muttalab chose Christmas day to attempt to blow up a US airline.
I know the politically correct thing to say-that Boko Haram does not represent Islam; that this is not about religion or even politics, but unemployment and poverty. However as Boko Haram’s murderous campaign develops, those positions become less tenable. Boko Haram’s demand is for an Islamic state; all their attacks are directed against two institutions-the Nigerian secular government which it seeks to overthrow, including security agencies which sustain and protect the state; and Churches and Christians. As Senate President David Mark recently pointed out, the silence of Northern and Muslim leaders in the face of Islamist terror is deafening in its implications-either cowardice or complicity!!!
Faith, Society and the Law
I doubt if there is any legal system without roots in moral and/or religious principles. Most of the ideas that constituted the underpinnings of Western legal systems, which we inherited through British colonialism, have their foundations in Christian and Biblical moral principles and injunctions-the Ten Commandments (thou shall not kill; thou shall not steal; thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbour; thou shall not covet thy neighbour’s house etc). These principles were further developed in more detailed laws and injunctions in the Book of Leviticus. Western societies learnt, correctly in my view, of the necessity of codifying these principles into a secular body of law rather than rely directly on the Bible or Canon Law in other that the law may develop and cope with the complexity of modern society. The Islamic Sharia seeks total reliance on the Quran, Sunnah and other principles of their faith and practices of their Prophet, so Islamic law is explicitly religious law.
Traditional African society was governed on the basis of traditional religion. In Yoruba societies for instance, all the laws enforced by the Oba, his Chiefs, the Ogboni and other institutions of Yoruba society drew inspiration from Ifa. If there was doubt about how to proceed concerning any matter of state, the Oba and his Chiefs would summon an Ifa diviner to seek direction. When an adherent of Ifa such as Professor Wole Soyinka appears to support homosexual relations as a private matter between two adults, he may in fact not have support in Yoruba religion, history and culture. I have no doubt that if two men were found having anal sex in Yoruba society of old, their actions would have been regarded as an abomination and they may have been summarily executed!
Is it possible to have a legal system or society that abandons all moral and spiritual underpinnings? I don’t think so! As the West may already be finding out (without yet understanding or acknowledging it) what you’ll get is a dysfunctional society in which bankers bring down the global economy through greed and recklessness; where politics becomes dysfunctional (such as US Republicans and Democrats unable to agree on anything); where suicide rates rise as humans have no hope and no moral imperative to confront the challenges of life; where family life breaks down almost completely; and where British youths loot shops and supermarkets for sneakers and designer cloths! It is moral underpinnings that provide restraints on human behaviour. When you remove them, life itself and society-politics, economy and social relations will eventually become dysfunctional. Amoral societies are a slippery slope!!!
CAN and Its Adversaries
There was a report on internet news portals that Professor Jubril Aminu, a former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC); former university Vice Chancellor; former Minister for Education; former Minister for Petroleum Resources; former Ambassador; and until recently a Senator of the Federal Republic canvassed the banning of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) at the recent Northern Peace Conference in Kaduna! For some inexplicable reasons, this report did not show up in any of the mainstream media, possibly indicating that someone somewhere recognised the implication of the statement and tried to keep it out of circulation. I have waited for a denial from Aminu and/or the organisers of the conference, but none has been forthcoming so one must presume that he indeed made the comment. Which calls to question much about the quality of his thinking; his level of parochialism and prejudice; and is quite scary as it gives an uncomfortable peep into the mind of a man who occupied so many strategic positions in Nigeria.
It also confirms that CAN is doing something right!!! Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor appears to have brought some insight, vigour and courage into the leadership of Nigeria’s Christians and clearly some ethnic and religious hegemonists are now quite uncomfortable. All I can say to CAN and Pastor Oritsejafor is, be vigilant, but keep doing what you’re doing!!!
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Society certainly needs some sort of moral foundation that dictates the direction in which the society should go. Religion however (whether traditional, Christianity, Islam, etc) is a net scam especially in poor societies. In the interest of full disclosure I will say that I was raised around wealthy people who made religious rites a priority. I had uncles who were devout muslims, others who oscillated between Islam and Christianity depending on which day of the week it was and at least one who adhered to one of the traditional religions. My father was a nominal Christian who frequently offended people in his extended family when he criticized their hypocritical ways. He had his own flaws but I have come to understand and agree with his position on religion. The only religion that society needs to have to function properly is to treat people the way they would like to be treated. Nothing more than that! People should feel free to worship whichever God they want to as long as they do not trample on the rights of others. It is particularly disheartening to see Christians and Muslims alike who vigorously agitate for religious purity going ahead in our societies and doing everything immoral under the sun. They embezzle money, they commit adultery recklessly, prey on the poor even to the point of turning young teenage girls into near sex-slaves, treat wives, subordinates and children like servants and then have the audacity to stand up on Friday or Sunday loudly proclaiming that the most high God rules and should be worshipped. The situation is not that much better among the pastors and Imams. Churches have become casinos. Countries like Sweden run very efficiently not because they use the Bible or Koran or whatever as their guiding light but because they follow common sense rules. You can’t litter the streets of Stockholm and as a matter of fact if you drop litter on the ground it is not uncommon for the person standing behind you to sub-consciously pick it up and throw it in the trash can. You don’t need any religious books to behave that way. I would argue that the most religious societies tend to have the most problems just like the most religious people tend to. People like Bill Gates are not overly religious. You use your God given talent to achieve things in life and then you help others and exit the world when your time is done. To secure your soul have a good relationship with your creator if you believe in one. If you don’t believe in one then live your life, don’t trample on anyone else’s rights and don’t allow them to trample on yours. An amoral society might be a slippery slope but a “moral” society is even more so because everyone is always looking left and right trying to decide what’s moral and what’s not. The best society is one where people always ask the question “if someone were to do to me what I am about to do to this person how would I feel?”
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