Original Research
Religion as a Vital Instrument for Repositioning Nigerian Politics for Nation Building
Mary Ifechukwude Egwuanikwu
Nsukka Journal of Religion and Cultural Studies | Vol. 11, No 2 | © 2023 Mary Ifechukwude Egwuanikwu | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 26 May 2023 | Published: 27 October 2023
About the author(s)
Dr. Mary Ifechukwude Egwuanikwu is a lecturer in the Department of Religion and Human Relations, University of Delta, Agbor, Nigeria.
Full Text:
Abstract
Religion and politics are intertwined and prominent in human society. Religion interacts with politics and government consciously or unconsciously. The paper evaluates the problem of corrupt political leadership as the factor that impedes nation building in Nigeria. The study aims at demonstrating how religion could serve as a vital instrument towards restructuring Nigerian politics for nation building. Religion could act as a double-edged sword through its influence on politics, which could either enhance or impede nation building depending on its application. Using analytical and historical methods, the paper discovered that nation building could only be actualised through functional application of religion in Nigerian politics. Religion has the ability to unite and foster harmony, peaceful co-existence and effective governance that can engender nation building. The study recommends that political leaders should desist from politics of calumny, which portrays religion in bad light. In practicing politics in Nigeria, the political actors should focus on the positive aspects of religion and shun the negative features that portray it as agent of disunity. The paper concludes that God initiated politics; and it is His intention that committed religious adherents be involved in politics for good governance and nation building.
Keywords
Religion, Repositioning, Nigeria, Politics, and Nation Building