Religious Crisis as Bane of Economic Development in Nigeria
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2016
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
John Archers Publishers Limited, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.
Abstract
Nigeria, according to Awoniyi (2012), is a religiously pluralistic society but constitutionally, a secular state. In Nigeria, people practice three main religions - Christianity mainly in the south and Middle Belt, Islam, mainly in the north, and Traditional Religion in every part of the country. Every Nigerian according to 1999 constitution is entitled to practice religion of his/her choice including freedom to change his/her religion or belief; and freedom to manifest and propagate his/her religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance. Meanwhile, a cursory exploration around the country recently reveals a lot of ugly and terrifying news of wanton destruction of lives and property as a result of incessant religious crises most especially the Boko Haram insurgency. This has great negative economic influence on the Nigerian citizens. The Nigerian government and the intellectuals and various inter-religious organisations have spent a lot of time, energy and resources to work out modalities for amiable religious inter-group relations. But it is disheartening to say that solutions toward religious crisis in Nigeria seem to be a mirage. Consequently, economic development is hampered. Therefore, this paper examines the perennial incidence of religious crises in Nigeria and its negative economic influence on the Nigeria citizens.
Description
Keywords
Religious crises in Nigeria, Boko Haram insurgency, Inter-religious relations, Economic development, Religious leaders