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HARMONIOUS RELIGIOUS COEXISTENCE IN THE BARRACK, A MODEL APPROACH FOR HUMANITY

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1    Preamble

Religion is considered to be one of the most important parts of many peoples' lives. Its holy mission is to serve as a source of social unity which should bring a harmonious coexistence among people. On the other hand, it is ironic to see how religion divides societies. When different religious groups are mentioned in a multi-religious society immediately one thinks of religious conflict because of the simple fact that the conflict between these religions, as to who is the holder of the pure truth, is common in such societies. But this theory does not always fit the facts, therefore religion is known as the basic faith or personal acceptance of a super being as a means of worship and trust. Peaceful co-existence and religious tolerance to many scholars is essentially about understanding the nature of conflict at various levels from personal to global, studying the causes of war and human aggression, exploring a range of awareness of the rights and responsibilities of individuals and groups in the world1,2,3,4,5,6. National curricula for religious tolerance and religious education do not spring from nowhere. They evolve over time as a reflection of the needs, perceptions and historical development for the societies concerned. Nigeria is a country with a population believed to be over 150 million, of various ethnic groups. Religion often coincides with the ethnic groups, but not always. Basically, most Hausa-Fulani’s in the north are Muslims, and most Ibos in the South-West are Christians. However, Yoruba’s in the South-West are both Muslims and Christians with Muslims slightly in the majority and there is fair amount of inter-marriage. Furthermore, the National Policy on Education expressed concern over “the erosion of essential values and an increasing cynicism in society”. It advocated turning education into “a forceful tool for the cultivation of social and moral values”. Education should “foster universal and external values, oriented towards the unity and integration of our people”. The programme of Action of 1992 tried to integrate the various components of value education into the curriculum at all stages of school education including the secondary stage7.

A characteristic feature that distinguishes current globe from ancient setting is the extreme intermingling and co existence of adherents of various faiths. Contrary to the ancient time when virtually every community was dominated by only its natives who seem to subscribe to the same belief and culture, the recent globe takes exception to that phenomenon due to easy accessibility and free contact that characterize the setting of current society. Although there existed a very few of multi religious community in those days, but the dominant phenomenon was therefore mentioned. The multi-cultural and religious phenomenon in current time has posed a great challenge for the peaceful and harmonious co-existence among adherents of various religions. Hence, the bid to curb this challenge has given rise to the concept of Inter Religious Dialogue8. This concept is motivated by the usually religious rancor and grudge that often retard the development and growth of a particular society9.In view of the fore goings, many scholars of Christianity and Islam have taken up the task of proffering theories and principles in each of the afore mentioned faiths that can minimize religious tension in the contemporary globe10.

Nigeria is a multi-religious, multi-ethnic, and multicultural society with enormous potential for economic, social, and democratic development. However, intense conflicts and violence that manifested within it even from its earliest time under the colonial rule have made development and progress elude the country. Nigeria is usually characterized as a deeply divided state in which major political issues are vigorously contested along the lines of complex ethnic, religious, and regional divisions. The causes of these conflicts may not be unconnected with the way and manner religion is portrayed to its adherents and mistrust between the followers of the various religious and ethnic groups. The issues that generate the fiercest contestation include those that are considered fundamental to the existence and legitimacy of the state, over which competing groups tend to adopt exclusionary, winner takes all strategies, which include the control of state power, resource allocation, and citizenship. Harmony however is the peaceful collaboration between and among people within a particular area, As a consequence, deeply divided states tend to be fragile and unstable because, almost by definition, there are fewer points of convergence and consensus among the constituent groups than are required to effectively mitigate or contain the centrifugal forces that tear the society apart11, 12.

Nigeria is a pluralistic society with multi-ethnic and multi-cultural status. Furthermore, the practice of religion is also pluralistic in nature with three religious as the accepted and recognized ones. They are Islam, Christianity and African Traditional Religion. These religions have elements that unite them and those that divide them. These religions co-exist in the same entity called Nigeria. One daily basis adherents of these religions interact and mingle with one another. This to a good extent makes disagreements and even clashes inevitable. It is unfortunate that the history of religious pluralism in Nigeria is replete with all kinds of sad experiences as religion became the step which has facilitated the country’s movement from one crisis to another. The crisis usually threaten he enthronement of democratic governance or its sustainability where it is already in existence. In a pluralist Nigerian society religion has been a source of peace, progress and in many instances a source of crisis. It is seen in some quarters as a means of acquiring political legitimacy in which case religion dictated the pace of the political democratization, process which hitherto nurtured consciousness in the country13.

There has been an asymmetric of an opposing relationship between the two dominant religions of Islam and Christianity in socio-political affairs of the country without any doubt ethnicity arises when social relations antithetical to a group functioning and when social groups are competitive rather than co-operative. They are characterized by cultural prejudices varying degree of socio-economic backwardness and political discrimination. To some scholars and authors the concept of Christianity is known as the belief of Jesus Christ, this is otherwise known as the followers of Christ. The advantage of multiplicity of religion is further seen in making the society religious to the extent that the people will have the fear of God in them. The consequence is that the society will be better for it. The manipulation of religion for selfish purposes by some individuals has presented obstacles to democracy in Nigeria14. This has often generated conflict and tension among people of different religions especially between adherents of Christianity and Islam15. The popular practice of Nigerians is that it is proper to favor people of the same faith with you when you are in a position of authority. As a pluralistic society there is every tendency that every leader that comes must be approached by members of his faith and reminded that they have been neglected over the years by people of other faiths who were previously in power. Therefore it is the aim of this study to examine the harmonious co-existence of religion in a pluralistic Nigeria especially in the barracks.

1.2    Statement of the Problem

The practice of religion in a pluralistic society specifically in the barracks is a two edged sword. It can bring about overall peace in that everybody will be involved in one religion or the other and for the fact that all religions teach and worship of God and acceptable moral values and the society will be better for it. On the other hand if there is element of manipulation it can portend a lot of trouble for the country. This is so because favoring a particular religion in a pluralistic society like in the barracks means marginalizing others. A situation of this nature does not guarantee peaceful co-existence. One of the most fallacious arguments people make is that religion belongs to one world and politics to another. Incidentally such arguments are invariably found in contexts where some of the soldiers seek unsuccessfully to save themselves from the painful experience of facing issues raised by religious practitioners about their roles (the politicians) in government. They use religion to achieve their goals when it suits them and argue that religion should not be brought into politics when religion or religious practitioners appear to stand on their way to corrupt, discriminating, inhuman, unacceptable and uncomplimentary attitudes to governance. The fact that religion is sacred makes it necessary for it to be handled with care especially in a pluralistic society like Nigeria barracks. Normally in this kind of society there is a pluralism of religion also16.

The aim of the researcher in this study is to examine how religion is practiced in the barracks and how it fares in the political life of the people of Nigeria. In the Nigerian experience, it is obvious that religion plays dominant role in the politics of the country even at military level.

1.3    Aims of the Study

The major aim of this study is to examine harmonious religious co-existence in Nigeria with emphasis on Nigerian barracks. The specific objectives are:

1.  to examine the nature of religion in such a pluralistic barracks;

2.  to examine how religion is practiced in Nigerian barracks;

3.  to look at the involvement of religion in the politics of the country;

4.  to examine the extent religion has been used by politicians over the years;

5.  to examine to what extent religion is abused or manipulated for selfish political reasons.

1.4     Scope and Limitation of the Study

The scope of this study is on harmonious religious co-existence in the barracks as well as the examination of the nature of a pluralistic society in Nigeria. The work also tries to examine the extent to which religion is used in political activities in the country. It also includes the manipulation of religion by various governments in the past and in the contemporary time. The whole is limited on issues that are obtainable in Nigeria.

The study is limited because it covers only the concept of religious harmony with emphasis on Nigerian barracks. In dealing with the concept of religious harmony, the researcher could not cover every dimension of religious harmony because of time constraint. Therefore this study delved into the historical development of the pluralistic religions in Nigeria barracks. Even here, the researcher could not discuss some serious burning issues in the military barracks in detail since the researcher is not a military personnel but a student of Religious Studies.

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