By Ade'Tope Adeniji
Our major challenge as a nation is our inability to think deeply and to build a dependable legacy that can sustain our future and unite us as one people.
I have written severally on prevailing issues, and the Muslim-Muslim ticket is one that should have been addressed long ago.
If so-called leaders lack the reason to do what is right, then society must not be docile. The people who produce the leadership must speak up and demand alternatives that will create a habitable society.
Politics should not be narrow. It must be comprehensive, focused on societal needs, and have due impact on all aspects of humanity.
When politics is defective, it produces divided loyalty, uncivilized foresight, and indecent precedent for the next generation.
We cannot continue with mundane perspectives because many of our leaders lack vision and ideology that can drive development, unity, advancement, and new initiatives.
Religion should not be the cause of disputes within political parties. But when it comes to national issues, they must be addressed in a way that does not create gaps and vacuum that ordinarily should not exist.
It is disheartening that we elect leaders based on wealth acquired from looting us, on fake historical records, and because many of us are not exposed to what true civilization means.
We turn those who should be in the citadel of learning into "small gods," and that instigates calamity and makes us casualties of our own wrong decisions.
When weak minds and unsophisticated perceptions become the yardstick for evaluating societal development, we assume at every point that "they have done everything for us."
Many African people think below the line. That is why we remain victims of circumstance in terms of economic status and development.
It is difficult to expand beyond what we can conceive as a people.
The issue of a Sheikh claiming that Muslims are superior or declaring Nigeria a Muslim nation is another matter entirely.
A cleric who thinks at that level should still be in an Islamic school undergoing tutelage.
Ordinarily, formal education is not a requirement for clergy because God calls whom He wills. However, the kind of people on the surface of the earth today are far more shallow compared to the prophets and men of God of old who were called with higher intelligence and morals.
Any sermon that reminds us that we are not brothers should not be preached. It causes division and separation.
Such preaching has weakened the standard of politics around us.
The Muslim-Muslim ticket is not just devastating to our unity in diversity. It is an encroachment on Christianity, and an idea that can lead to controversy and send the wrong signal about religious dominance.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE WAY FORWARD:
1. We must summon the courage to elect competent leaders who can make sound policies
2. There must be in-depth reasoning and full consideration of the rules, regulations, and policies we formulate
3. Citizens must react and participate in the laws made to guide them
4. We must be bold to challenge leaders when they derail from their duties
5. Clerics who are not mature for preaching must be checked so they do not corrupt society
6. The relationship between the two major religions - Christianity and Islam - must be made formidable
7. Followers of both religions must educate themselves on what is right and wrong. Everyone has the cognitive ability to determine this
8. Knowledge is power. Building a sophisticated society cannot be done by religious teachings alone. We need valid knowledge, impact, and quality education
9. Clergymen need additional training and retraining on the word of God to know how it applies to our present existence and development
10. More emphasis must be placed on morals in religious places and schools. Humanity must come before everything else
We must wake up as a people!
We must think right and be civilized enough to adopt policies and decisions that are qualitative, that can brand us, and lead us into a better future.
We must discern between hatred, affection, collective unity, and distractions.
Africa has a unique identity that should be the foundation of our strength, economic advantage, and advancement. Yet it is often the cause of our retardation and regression.
Common sense, which is not common, must be made common - both in religious centers and in governance - so we can have an enriching and conducive society that works together and brings out the best in all spheres of consideration.
Ade'Tope Adeniji
Realist | Political & Public Analyst | Economist
N.D. Urban & Regional Planning | http://B.Sc Economics | http://M.Sc. Political Economy and Development Studies
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