Nigerians

Nigerians’ acclaimed Godliness and Nigeria’s Development Deficit

M. T. Usman

That Nigeria has had issues with leadership is now widely acknowledged albeit with little agreement on the causative institutional and societal weaknesses that have thrown up and sustained such bad leaderships over the years. From the pretentious to the real show of concern, from the high and mighty to the large numbers of poor and downtrodden, we are all agreed that the nation can, and ought to be, better than it is. Those lucky to have witnessed an appreciable number of wet and dry seasons (weatherwise) are quick to point, rather nostalgically, to Nigeria’s acclaimed promise in the years past. Truth be told, Nigeria is, by all accounts, a tremendously endowed geographic entity and has had her fair share of opportunities for greatness.

Sadly, after nearly six decades of a somewhat topsy-turvy attempt at nation building, we are still much closer to the starting line than otherwise. We have remained in a situation where our huge and very vibrant population coupled with huge material resources (the envy of many a nation) have failed to translate into any meaningful advantage in the comity of nations. In this setting, we continue to surprise the rest of the world with our complex ironies. We are noisily proud as Nigerians and readily leave others awe-stricken by our ability to take advantage of opportunities for self-expression elsewhere. That we excel easily in everything we set our minds to (good or bad) leaves other nationals wondering as to why Nigerians aren't able to advance the cause of Nigeria within Nigeria. When juxtaposed against the backdrop of our quick recourse to religion and implied 'Godliness' (sometimes violently), one is left wondering as to whether religion serves any cause for Nigerians in Nigeria other than a status symbol for the usual “us and them” classification that pits brothers and neighbours against one another. It is noteworthy that in this drama about being ‘religious’, we are actually globally famous. The reader may remember that from the early 2000s, Nigeria has been consistently acknowledged (rather curiously) as the/one of the most religious country/ies in the world. That such accolades fan our legendary ostentatious side with some of our countrymen willing to throw street parties, completes the irony.

As one exasperated colleague bloated out recently in response to an unannounced blocking of a busy street ostensibly to protect a group of ‘religious worshippers’, “we should be ashamed of the obvious mismatch between our proclaimed Godliness and the pervasive levels of backwardness”. How plausible is it for a people to be both ‘Godly’ and downtrodden, to be both ‘Godly’ and wicked, or to be both ‘Godly’ and selfish plunderers of their commonwealth? Is it that being religious or Godly has nothing to do with being equitable and just? Is it that being religious or Godly has nothing to do with being able to harness the ‘gifts of God’ to meet human needs for communication, clothing, food, security, shelter, transportation, etc? If the answers to the last two questions are in the affirmative, I guess Nigeria and Nigerians are doing quite fine. If on the other hand the answers are, as I hold true, the alternative, then Nigerians must be best-case hypocrites. The question to be asked in this case is; where lies the mismatch? How can we love God so much and yet be comfortable with the clearly unorganised and backward setting we call a nation with the associated unimpressive conditions of His creation? How can we be so Godly and yet be comfortable in our little cocoons (for those who have them whichever way they may have had them) while we watch the society get torn up in shreds by poverty and deprivation?

For a start, religion here appears to be understood as personal and private, never mind our love for congregating in large numbers in churches and mosques. We appear not to seek via religion a platform for communal engagement. Communal problems of development fade in relevance in comparison to personal challenges of daily living. Thus all societal challenges are seen through personal filters only and they are often the result of ‘spiritual forces unleashed by enemies’. We thus 'pray' fervently in churches and mosques to overcome 'dark forces' and are quick to block streets or fill-up stadia to 'praise' God for successes and celebrate personal 'victory against enemies'. Apparently, societal challenges aren't for us to resolve collectively, definitely not via any religious affiliation. They are for this same magnanimous God to address while we wallow in the luxury of personal achievements. Surely religion/religious consciousness and societal development cannot be this mutually exclusive.

Societal development influences and is influenced by, advancements in human psychosocial and material viewpoints and endowments. To achieve development therefore, human thoughts and actions must evolve in response to the conditions and challenges of the immediate environment. Though characteristically dynamic in the challenges it puts forward, the physical environment derives its assessment entirely from the metaphysical perceptions of man. Whatever man has considered impossible remained unchallenged and unaccomplished. Similarly, whatever man has thought possible was deliverable through the resources within the environment. It is thus that man has continued to define new frontiers of existence hinged on progressively better understanding of the workings of nature and the sheer will to conquer challenges. All human social systems possess this thread, as a necessity, to be relevant to the need for progressive evolution of society. I hold the view that it runs through all known ‘religious’ creeds in their clear attempts at connecting the spiritual and material realities of humans.

It is easily discernible that this understanding of the messages of Christianity and Islam (creeds that our people now subscribe to in large numbers) was what enabled their adherents to catapult their hitherto backward communities in Arabia and Europe to the pinnacles of then and today’s civilizations. The flagbearers of these creeds and their adherents in those societies of old had to contend with despots reigning supreme, people divided along clan lines and the powerful oppressing the weak. If they overcame these obstacles and got their followers to strive against all forms of injustice, oppression and societal decay and emphasised the exercise of individual efforts towards the progress of the community, why are we so different? Why isn’t this need for conscious efforts to seek societal re-organisation permanently ingrained in our understanding of these messages? Clearly this is the core value that will guarantee equity and social justice necessary for establishing the Kingdom of God or ‘Salam’ – Peace.

Why should a sizeable part of our people especially the poor in our midst be excluded from today’s material progress in the same environment where claims are laid to adherence to these creeds? This poses not only a moral dilemma but also an ethical one. God could not have created two sets of humans (read Nigerians), those capable of realising their potentials and those not capable of doing so. That Nigeria is under-developed cannot therefore be, as the befuddled congregating crowds are wont to put it, a matter of imposed fate and of personal obstacles, but a mark of our collective undoing.

As indicated earlier, we have grown so accustomed to individuality in our affairs that the average Nigerian would rather oppress others on account of outward social standing than care for their well-being. So that this message is not lost on proclaimed adherents, numerous verses in the Bible and the Qur’an point to this need for togetherness and collective responsibility. In 2 Timothy 3 (NKJV), for example, the Bible states; 1But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good…The import of this is that when men become lovers of themselves and of money with all the associated (listed) negatives, the risk of ruin will be upon their society. How more ruinous can things be for a society so richly endowed, to be reduced to one filled with poor, hungry and angry citizens eager to tear down their humanity at the slightest excuse just to eke out a living.

The same core message is central in Islam, which at its most basic, sits on five instrumental pillars; belief (Imaan), prayer (Salat), fasting (Sawm), alms-giving (Zakat), pilgrimage (Hajj). Salat (daily prayer), the most fundamental of the pillars, teaches that individual members of a community should pool together (symbolised by gathering in congregation), in an equitable and mutually reinforcing manner devoid of perceived differences (symbolised by standing shoulder-to-shoulder in straight rows), applying individual faculties collectively to strive (symbolised by standing, bowing, rising, prostrating, rising, sitting and rising again) while focused on a common goal (symbolised by facing Mecca - the qibla) behind a respected and agreed leader (the instrumentality of the Imam). In codifying the practice of collective action targeted at shared, focal interests (read challenges), Salat underpins the principle of aggregated prowess. Each societal problem that engages the collective attention of the community shall surely be overcome and leave in its wake, a solution that grants ease to its members, materially and spiritually - the promised Salam. A problem solved is a challenge overcome and a leap thus taken in the development process.

The Ummah (community) is stronger together when it harnesses the strengths and potentials of members for communal good. While in pursuit of collective good, individuals are required to exercise sacrifice for the good of others even as they strive together. This sacrifice, central in the observance of fasting (Sawm), culminates in the requirement for outright sharing of material provisions (compulsory alms giving – Zakat) to cater to the needs of the downtrodden in the community. Ultimately, the community becomes structurally inter-dependent with each member contributing to the building of a virile society that in turn, takes care of every member’s minimum needs. Such a community will inevitably become an example for all others to copy in the shining example of how dormant potentials are mobilised for sustained development. Others will journey (as pilgrims on hajj) to this exemplary community to learn how it has attained eminence in its development strides and congregate in large numbers to exchange ideas on contemporary matters as they share best practices.

In other words, challenges present a society with the opportunity to pool together in a focused manner to solve problems and advance together. This should be a central theme of any religious message and it can be deduced that we are still backward only because of our inability to understand how to successfully address challenges collectively despite our potentials - the clear teachings of our professed religious affiliations, notwithstanding. It is thus sad that while churches and mosques are filled many times daily with people eager to ‘worship’ God, the application of this simple formula for societal organisation has escaped attention. Consequently, a scourge of poverty, deprivation and disease – problems we could easily resolve if we collectively apply our mental and physical energies, bedevils a community that professes worship of God. Individuals’ talents and communal Indigenous Knowledge Systems and resources are God-given endowments that society should ensure it taps, add value to and channel towards development. It is by so doing that all potentials are developed, individuals are able to play their roles as God’s children/vicegerents on earth and the essence of religion is realised. We need to go back to this basic structure built around requisite capacity for intellectual and religious leadership if our fortunes are to change. This we must do without recourse to our hitherto stupid divisions of ethnicity, gender, geography and religion.

Certainly, any belief system that sees development as constituting material progress to be enjoyed by ‘blessed’ individuals or as traps planted by enemies of the faith, or as pastime in the life of this world, needs to be challenged if we are to break free of the shackles of poverty and under-development. We must neither accept the notion that being poor is part of piety nor the one that ours is to lazily enjoy the goods and services produced by others in exchange for our natural resources. Both of these constitute mental slavery clearly abhorred in the teachings of all religions, including Christianity and Islam. In contrast, nationalism and self-determination have always been integral parts of piety in all religious beliefs. We therefore need to engage our religious leaders and symbols of authority in a discourse that will change these notions so that we guide our people to the promised status of “…the best community ever evolved amongst mankind…” (Qur’an 3:110). This positive evolution of a ‘believing’ society should be the yardstick for determining the genuineness of a religious or Godly people. For our religious leaders therefore, leading a flock of poverty-ridden followers fed daily with the non-nourishing mix of hope and deceit, CAN NEVER be ‘Godly’. Mathew, chapter 7, verse 21, in the words of Christ, states: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” The ‘will of My Father’ is amply made manifest by the selfless and strenuous acts of Christ in service to the numerous needy folks who went to him in droves to seek help, not the least, escape from the oppressive reign of the Roman authorities aided by the suffocating support of the local elite. In verses 22 – 23 he adds: 22 “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” In the words of Christ, there is more to promoting God’s will than performing ‘wonders’. In his footsteps, religious leadership has to be expressed as service to the needy lest such leaders are classified as lawless.

To conclude this piece, all nations that have achieved material progress today, had to dip into their reservoir of talents, re-engineered their social systems and made determined and sustained progress therefrom. This organisation of a social system for the purposes of progress is the only acceptable meaning of religion that communities before us practiced and achieved lasting results with. God’s promise of equity within the human family remains the guarantee that if we correctly follow the same path, we shall also achieve the same results. Without this re-awakening, we will never take our destiny in our hands and no amount of donor or resource-sales money ploughed into infrastructural provision will translate into indigenous and sustainable development. To buttress this teaching, Qur’an (53:39) emphasises that “…..there is nothing for man except that which he strives for” and to strive communally is to reinforce belief in the intrinsic interdependencies of human systems. Qur’an (3:200) makes this unambiguously clear when it calls on believers to persevere, be steadfast and pool together by stating: “O you who believe! Persevere in patience and constancy; vie in such perseverance; strengthen each other; and fear Allah; that you may prosper”.

The choice is clearly ours to make. If we put on our thinking caps and act according to ample guidance copiously available from human history, we shall overcome all challenges and rise to stand shoulder high with the progressives of the human race. We shall lay the foundation for progress and bequeath that to succeeding generations to build upon sustainably. If we fail in that pursuit, we shall have laid the foundation for succeeding generations to blame us, rightly so, for their difficulties and to curse every minute of our sojourn through this life. The guidance is clear and the wherewithal has been abundantly provided. The ball is indeed in our court. This is the time to hearken to true guidance and get truly ‘Godly’. To paraphrase Jesus Christ, by our fruits shall we be known.