Nigeria: Secular or Non Secular?

Misbau ‘Mislaw’ Lateef

In the midst of often conflicting and competing ideas for publication, particularly in a badly run country like ours where intriguing events – from the ridiculous, to the gory and to the sublime – happen in such a quick succession that is akin to the speed of the light, it is amazing the capacity of the mind of an average columnist, nay, writer, to wander and toy with several ideas to write about before settling for one.

Curiously, what the mind is poised to write about sometimes may still be changed in the 11th hour – as it were, to another thing never considered initially. My original plan for this week column was to write about press freedom and the Nigerian Constitution until I started writing this Thursday evening when it then occurred to me that I should write on the issue of secularism or non secularism under the Nigerian Constitution, a topic that is, admittedly, highly controversial and hence cannot be exhaustively discussed within the limited confine of this column. Hopefully, the almost completed piece on press freedom will not be supplanted by another topic next week. I now pass to the issue of this week.

Wikipedia, the free online encyclopaedia, defines secularism as ‘the principle of separation of government institutions, and the persons mandated to represent the State, from religious institutions and religious dignitaries’. Put differently, secularism means a state that supports neither religion nor irreligion. A typical dictionary also defines ‘secular’ as ‘not connected with spiritual or religious matters’.

It is clear from all these that the secular appellation envisages a state with two distinct planks of, one, none commitment to any religion as a state religion and, two, total indifference to or, at best, tolerance, for pluralism of religions or faiths. By necessary implications therefore, a secular state will neither promote one or more religion as state religions nor stifle any from flourishing within its own sphere of independence in the state. However, secularism should not be viewed as the absence of religions in the state.

Rather, it is the absence of a state sponsored religion where everyone will be made to choose a religion of their choice. People are free to follow which religious tenets they like without any fear, intimidation, victimization or favour.

Constitutionally, Nigeria is a secular state and it does not matter that nowhere in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended in 2012 is such declaration expressly made. In Nigeria, secularism of the state draws its root and strength from Section 10 of Chapter One of the 1999 Constitution which states that, ‘The Government of the Federation or of a state shall not adopt any religion as state religion’.

Similarly, the Constitution in section 15(2) of Chapter Two declares or envisages the secularism of the Nigerian state in the following words: ‘National Integration shall be actively encouraged, whilst discrimination on the grounds of place of origin, sex, religion, status, ethnic or linguistic association or ties shall be prohibited’.

Section 38(1) of the Constitution further declares that, ‘Every person shall be entitled to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom (either alone or in community with others, and in public or private) to manifest and propagate his religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance.’

Section 38(2) goes further as follows: ‘No religion community or denomination shall be prevented from providing religious instruction for pupils of that community or denomination in any place of education maintained wholly by that community or denomination.’ As far as the Nigerian 1999 Constitution goes therefore, it can rightly be said, even if merely ideally, that Nigeria is a secular state.

But, just how much of the idealism of the Constitution can march or marches the realism of our national life as a country? This really is where the problems are. Indeed, it is as a result of the conflict of this idealism of the constitution and the realism of our national life that not many people would agree that Nigeria is a secular state.

Why, for example, is it that in spite of the provisions of sections 10 and 38 of the Constitutions quoted above, we still have both the Federal and State Governments promoting Christianity and Islam, to the detriment of other religions, by sponsoring their respective adherents on holy pilgrimages with state funds?

This list of evidence of non secularism of Nigeria, at least in reality and as against the avowed idealism of the Constitution, are abound and endless. In Nigeria, there are religious houses in the state houses; the Nigerian government declares public holidays to mark religious festivals.

Recently, the media reported that a top government official went to Rome to represent the country at a religious event. Also recently, a Nigerin government in the south-south region donated state funds to a religious organisation. At the inception of democracy in 1999 some Northern States proclaimed the Sharia and hence Islam as their state religion. And etcetera.

In Nigeria, secularism is the Constitutional idealism whilst non secularism is the reality of our national life. This makes Nigeria awkwardly both secular and non secular! Funny? Just as it is the case with several pretentions, by the Nigerian State, about certain diversities in our national life that could have been used by visionary leaders elsewhere to promote national development, this is one other area we have been living in self denial – that Nigeria is actually a multi religious and hence non secular state.

For how long will we live in self denial? We at least have the choice to either live our reality to its full potentials for national development or promote and enforce our idealism for same purpose. With great and visionary leaders, either choice can work.