IN his New Year address to Nigerians, President Muhammadu Buhari touched on a key point that has always been acknowledged by fair-minded observers: the model of religious tolerance offered by the South-West geopolitical zone. Speaking on the 2019 general election, he said: “As the electioneering season approaches, politicians must avoid exploiting ethnicity and religion by linking ethnicity with religion and religion with politics. Such must be avoided at all costs if we are to live in harmony. In this respect, the rest of Nigeria could learn from the South Western States which have successfully internalised religion, ethnicity and politics. Political discourse should be conducted with civility, decorum and in a constitutional manner.”
To say that President Buhari is not alone in this opinion would be an understatement. The point has been made time and again by eminent Nigerians from across the country, as well as foreign researchers, diplomats and even tourists. Indeed, posing the question why there were no perennial conflicts between Christians and Muslims in the South as was found in the North, the then governor of Bauchi State, Mallam Isa Yuguda, pointed out that, contrary to popular belief, Islam came to Nigeria from the southern part of the country. Yuguda made the observation during the presentation, in April 2013, of the report of a committee set up by the Northern Governors Forum on insecurity and ‘healing’ process at the Niger State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja. As he noted: “Islam came to the South before coming to northern Nigeria. It is there in history. The first Sharia court was established in Iwo, in Osun State.” Yuguda added, apparently in admiration: “ In the South-West, you see a church on top and then a mosque on the ground. They (the people) are living just as Allah has said we should live in both the Bible and the Qu’ran, and the Hadith. Are they reading a different Bible or Qu’ran? I ask myself always, why is there no crisis there? Why is there crisis in Northern Nigeria?”
In his analysis of the raison d’etre for this state of affairs, an Emeritus Professor of History, J.F Ade Ajayi, averred as follows: “In Yorubaland today, there exists the natural admixture of religious faiths within individual families which, nevertheless, live happily together, and this level of tolerance is the direct effect of tolerance inherited from the traditional religion whose accommodation and toleration paved the way for Islam and Christianity.” Ajayi added that this cohabitation between Islam, Christianity and traditional religion should be recommend “as a standard practice for the attainment of peace, stability and sustainable development and the realisation of common goals in religiously plural societies. ”
Explanations for the religious tolerance among the Yoruba people may differ, but what is sufficiently clear from the literature on that topic is that religion has never been allowed to overshadow the culture of the people. Thus, while religious fanatics exist in the zone like in any other part of the world, they have never been able to muster sufficient numerical strength or resources to undermine the existing order. Till this moment, it is quite easy for a Yoruba person to switch from one religion to the other, and critique any religion without any fear of repercussions. It is also the case that the people of the South-West celebrate Christmas with as much fervour as they celebrate Eid-el-Kabir, and the traditional festivals. Regardless of their religious persuasion, the Yoruba cling firmly to the time-honoured belief that anyone who lives to witness a festive season ought to celebrate and give thanks to God for that privilege, whether or not (s)he subscribes to the faith associated with the season. Above all, the Yoruba welcome ‘strangers’ with open arms. We dare say that this should be the situation anywhere in the country, and in fact anywhere in the world.
We commend President Buhari for recognising and recommending this model to the rest of the country, especially in the present perilous times. We urge him to lead a crusade in that direction by being fair and just in his dealings with Nigerians. To be sure, this is not about suggesting that the Yoruba culture is intrinsically superior to any other culture within the Nigerian sociopolitical firmament. Rather, the point is that the zone has consistently offered a road map to peaceful coexistence among people of religious faiths and beliefs that the rest of the country—some would even say the rest of the world—just has to learn from. In the same vein, cultural practices in other zones of the country which promote peaceful coexistence should be put on the front burner so that the country can become a better place for all.
A caveat must be sounded, however. The spate of killings in the northern part of the country is not only about the failure to accommodate people of other faiths. There is often also the question of injustice and social inequality. This is why a more equitable form and character of governance has to be evolved by the governments of the affected states.
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