INDEPENDENCE DAY SPECIAL · FAITH AND NATIONHOOD
When Nigeria turned fifty, I wrote that we were still a toddler, unsteady on our feet. At sixty-six, I cannot honestly say we have learnt to walk. In a few months we go to the polls again, and the question before us is not only who will govern us, but what kind of people we have allowed ourselves to become. That is where any honest conversation about faith must begin.
Have our religious leaders been a true moral compass? Some have, at great personal cost. But as a body, and I include myself, we have not. In the Bible, the hand of the prophet was always on top. Nathan confronted David. Elijah told Ahab that he was troubling Israel. Today our leaders are not afraid of our prophets, because too many prophets now dine at the king’s table.
Like Jacob before Pharaoh, we go to Government House to bless men over whom we carry no moral authority. Some of us prophesy victory for whoever is in favour, give front pews to those who cannot account for their wealth, and keep quiet when silence is convenient. Corruption does not take place only in government; it lives in our religious organisations too. I have said it before: if anything is wrong with this nation, blame the Church, because we were called to be its conscience.
A compass does not campaign or collect a fee. It simply points north, whoever is holding it. The Church as an institution should show no political leanings, yet it must send its most sincere people into politics and speak the truth to whoever wins.
Let us be honest about our constitution. The 1999 Constitution opens with the words “We the people,” but it was handed down by military decree. It concentrates so much power and money at the centre that capturing the centre becomes worth any price. This year, presidential nomination forms in some of our major parties sold for as much as ₦100 million. What kind of servant pays ₦100 million to serve? The man who pays that much will expect a return on his investment, and Nigerians will pay the interest.
Of the many amendments debated in the current review, only the state police bill has so far reached the state assemblies. Reserved seats for women, local government autonomy and independent candidacy still wait. Our new Electoral Act allows manual results to override electronic transmission whenever “communication failure” is claimed, a phrase it does not define. No wonder our system keeps producing those who are ready to get power at any cost. Nigeria needs a constitution its people truly write and own, through a referendum if need be.
We must set criteria for leadership, as Singapore did. What has this person done before? What is the source of his wealth, and what taxes has he paid? What did he say about our problems before he wanted our votes? Then we must vote. In 2023, fewer than three in every ten registered Nigerians did. We cannot complain about a table we refused to sit at.
Has religion done more harm than good? I do not believe so. The mission schools and hospitals trained the generation that won our independence, and churches and mosques still feed, educate and provide healthcare to millions where government is absent. But religion in the wrong hands has done terrible harm. Some people are using religion to play politics and making money from the blood of innocent Nigerians, Christian and Muslim alike. No foreign designation should have to remind us that every Nigerian life is sacred, whether it kneels in a church or bows in a mosque. The problem is not faith. It is faith that has been traded for favour.
Jesus said we are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its savour, it is good for nothing. Nigeria’s next chapter depends on whether the salt recovers its taste and the light comes out from under the bushel. We must think biblically but speak in the language every Nigerian understands: justice, fairness and the rule of law. We must stop being praise singers and become watchmen again.
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray… then will I hear from heaven… and will heal their land.”
The healing begins with “my people.” It begins with us.
Nigeria will be great. God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Pastor Ituah Ighodalo is the Senior Pastor of Trinity House, Lagos, and Founder of the Africa Leadership Group.
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