Of religion and corruption in Nigeria

Of religion and corruption in Nigeria
Kabiru Danladi
Ferm, in 1972, said that "to be religious is to effect in some way and in some measure a vital adjustment (however tentative and incomplete) to whatever is reacted implicitly or explicitly as worthy of serious and ulterior concern." Tiele said "religion is, in truth, that pure and reverential disposition or frame of mind which we call piety. On the other hand corruption is in essence "a product of the way of life of an acquisitive society where ‘money talks,’ where that which works is justified, and where people are judged by what they have rather than what they are" Odegard (1982). It is a situation where all state affairs, from top to bottom are run through bribery. Where an office messenger will not forward your file until you give him "something." Where a police check point becomes a "collection centre." Where corruption changes the normal flow of events and altering judgements, election results and positions of trust.
The questions to be asked are why religious leaders failed to curb this vice upon all the churches and mosques in the country? But how great are men’s ideas about what is right and what is wrong shaped by their religious faith? Although religion has a strong influence on Nigerians –the way we behave, the way we relate to each other, our strong conviction about another world (hereafter) are guided by our religion. It has been argued that religious people, the adherents of the two major religions in Nigeria have not shown outstanding moral qualities as taught by these religions. We have to note also that nothing evil like treachery, bribery, corruption, 419, can be attributed to the teachings of the religions. The only legitimate comparison is that between a person who is a Muslim or Christian.
Therefore, the behaviour and attitude of people cannot be regarded as religion, as some irresponsible people do, since they are just called Christians or Muslims because they tend to be adherents of the religions, though in practice they tend to go against the tenets of the religions.
Corruption has been with societies throughout history, wrote Wriath and Smith (1963). He pointed out for instance that 19th century Britain was marked by great corruption. In pre-Nigerian societies with particular reference to the Hausa, the content and character of corruption is an adaptation of the traditional gift-giving to meet new circumstances. And this is understandable especially in present day Nigeria, where the need to be corrupt derives from obligation to help others in need, to educate one’s children and those of the relatives; feeding kinsmen, and organised feast and funerals etc, since the government has failed on its duty.
In this moral predicament, what obtained in today’s Nigeria, most people believe in God and in afterlife as the essential ingredients of religion, because these are prominent elements. If it is believed that the supernatural sanctions of religion can be bought off by proper observance of purely religious rules, it is not surprising that they carry little weight as motive. Nor is it easy, in a period in which all moral authority is dominated by secular ideology, to determine precisely that extent of the influence of religion on the contents of our moral beliefs.
No doubt corruption has eaten deep into the fabric of Nigerian society. This is even an over-statement, for it has gone deep to the extent that I believe it is at present one of the greatest obstacles to national development. It will not be enough to simply define corruption in Nigeria as simple "bribery," whereby you could not get another Nigerian to perform his duty without receiving a material gratification. I would rather we consider corruption in its various manifestations and ramifications which can be collectively described as "loss of purity in the minds and actions of Nigerians" Odegard (1982). In which case you will find that bribery is just one variety out of various forms of corruption. In fact, in some cases, material corruption like "half truth" which today many Nigerians are peddling from the platform of politics and selection of candidate through allocation of votes as happened in the 419 elections are all forms of corruption.
Due to greed, and other forms of selfishness on the part of our religious scholars, who tend to be corrupt to the extent that they themselves collect bribe in their own way, they used to legalise or cite verses from the holy books, telling people that once the money (public funds) diverted, are used to donate to religious activities, there is no problem. Hence making corruption to become acceptable norm and part of our society. Apart from that the religious leaders, majority of them, depend on their followers to provide them with basic necessities of life. The popular adage that ‘you can’t bite the hand that feeds you’ is very much reflecting here. Therefore it is very difficult for such scholars whether Christians or Muslims to tell these thieves – who pilfer thev public treasury that corruption is prohibited.
Furthermore, I have come to understand that majority of people do not fully understand the teaching of their religion and even those who understood the teaching of the religion, do not follow it the way it should be due to their selfish interest. This is manifested in the way government agencies and parastatals conduct employments, which in some cases you will officials are entrusted with public property do favour those who share the same faith instead of selecting the qualified ones. Scholars, who in ideal society are expected to teach moral values, tend to ignore talking about it or in some cases even encourage it. Instead they shift their attention to trivial issues that tend to create more problems instead of solving them. They concentrate on teaching rituals emphasizing unimportant issues that in essence affect the individuals, instead of the society at large, making the society more individualistic.
Since religious leaders have failed to perform their duty as ordained in the teaching of the religions, their followers ignore their teachings. To add insult to an injury, the religious leaders and scholars nowadays participate fully in dirty politics. This makes religion to be seen not as a bridge to eternity, but as a means of attaining political power. The 419 elections buttressed this point.
From above Nigerians have come to realize that the dictate of religion differs from the way people practice it, unless people follow the dictates of their religion and the government value religious teachings by deriving its value from religion the mess we are seing will continue for sometime.
Kabiru Danladi wrote from Department of Mass Communication, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.