Religion and Corruption in Nigeria Essay

In the constitution of our nation devotion feature prominently at the very beginning. I the preamble to the 199 constitution, it is substantiate and solemnly resolved that we intend to live in hrity and harmony as whiz indivisible and in dissolvable fevereigh nation under immortal. and then the overwhelming mighty of Nigerian are pietisms people we believe in the supremacy of God, we believe that God is the very basis of our individual lives and our collective existence.We believe in and relate with supernatural realities through prayers and supplications and through the crack of sacrifices find churches, musgus shrines and Sunday prayer houses everywhere in the land we guide part in crusades, worship sessions and might rights, we offer sacrifices and observe fast-flyinging years and religions holidays, and we so in large numbers on religion is pilgrim come alongs to Jerusalem and mecca, taking pride in globe called Jerusalem pilgrims (JP) or Alhaji throughout our liv es.While thee is noniceable decline in religion farour in may parts of the world to lay the religion inter extolment seem to thrive very much in Nigeria, as much and more company ware houses head-to-head buildings, schools, and our spirit stadia are being courted to prayer arena, and the stadia hort more religion crusades than for spiriting events. It is noticeable that street within our townspeople and villages as well as inter-state highways are a untroubled deal blocked these days by enthusiastic worshippers who flock to church and camp meetings.It is not and call for-off to state that on that point are as legion(predicate) churches and Mosques as there are streets in our urban areas. According to Norimitsa Onishi in an article in new York fourth dimensions march 13,2002 Christianity is growing faster in sub-Saharan Africa than in any other place on earth. Roman universality and the other Major protestant denomination are gaing mine follows everyday, however new churc hes are leading the boom.Within this religion firmament, bishops, evangelists pastors, prophet, faith leading and visionaries, as well as sheikhs, mams and gurus of all sorts are swelling in number and having a failed day in recent past a new dimension has been added to the throwing religions acquaintprise. And this is the increased patronage of high ranking common official who not openly call for and sponsm regular prayers sessions in contrastive churches and prayer houses prolong themselves become born again Christians and prayer erchants, often appearing at church crusades and prayer vigils with all the paraphernalia of exoteric office and some beats grabbing the microph champion to render sanctiononion homilies and earthshaking prayers. Also proper of note is that these days prayer and preaulims sessions are no longer restrain to churches, Mosques and homes, exactly they are held in government offices, in commercial buses, embodied boardrooms and in open markets. Nigeri an going active their daily businesses are seen brandishing the Bible Wkoran, the Rosary or Islamic prayer beads.The langeil bill boards in our town and cities are those colvertising upcoming religions crusades are faith healing carnivals. The exclamations, to God be the glory, praise the lord, the Lord is God, Bless you, and Alaahu wa Kbar, are often on the lips of Nigeria at worker at play from the exacted members of the subject area Executive council or Council of State to the young own who are about to sick common entrance examination.Succinctly put from all outer indication Nigerians are a chronically religions people. Unarguably atomic number 53 target perrps say about there is no nation in the modem world unit as muner religionism as contemporary Nigerian . now how do you place the religion piety of Nigeria with the endemic putridness in our society ? With all the show of religiosity one would have judge to see a very high degree of social worship in Nigeria, sinc e all world religions generally promote truth, justice, honesty and probity. hardly this is a reverse case withy us. The is an embarrassing contradiction between the high ethical demands of the religion profess by majority of Nigerian and the phenomenon of corruption greed and graft that has earned our country one of the virtually corrupt nation in the world. Some observes of the phenomenon actually say that corruption is so endemic in the Nigeria society that the society economic and governmental system can almost not tinetion without it.Along emplacement religiosity corruption in its many shapes and sizes is becoming in Nigeria- from the petty grafting taken in the work in the office or the military officer at the check point, to the grand corruption by which huge show contract are hurriedly awarded, not for the sake of common good, but because of the greed awarding official, who requires some money via contract kick-baiks The Nigeria society is prevalence with frauct, thiev ery and roguery even as our environment is a purify with prayers and ritual sacrifices to the God of truth, justice and holiness.Doesnt it seen a contradictory to many highly placed Nigeria hat they embezzle and misappropriate stupendous a applys of man and company, and even church funds while at the same time trying to occupy the front seats and even struggle or pray to take religion titles in their churches corruption is so froward that it has infiltrated every facet of the Nigeria society procure medical certificates of fitness from hospitals when they have not undergone any medicate testy obtain sick render permits from doctors when they hale and hearty, falsify the age of their children obtain fake certificate in order to gel them to school or obtain jobs for them, routinely sustain to false affidavit in order to obtain false age declarations when seeking employment etc. it is a statement or fast that many or those who today and drivers licence have never been to a drawing school. They simply pay for the license and declare themselves drivers thereby lay the lives of genuine drivers into jeopardy.Many of our country men who flock our churches on Sundays and converge the mosque on Fridays are constantly involve in such fallacious activities as evading levy, issuing and obtaining of take receipts, over invoicing and under invoicing importation of take drugs, petty and large scale bribery, take anclit report, adverse fee frond, ete. alone these practices are so common place so inside dispersed that many Nigerian youths can not decipher between good eril or between what is right and wrong. As a result, corruption in Nigeria has been described as system, and the consequence are legion corruption has bred in efficiency and diminished productivity in both the public and private sectors of the economy.It has discourage investment, fuelled capital flight, increased unemployment and inflation, created and acute degree of poverty, brought about a severe d ecline in the quality of life and life expectation in Nigeria and presumption Nigeria and Nigeria a terribly bad image in the cornity of Nations. Infant corruption is an affront on human dignity and an ravishment on the human conscience apart from being a negation of the Christian rocation to promote holiness and righteousness in the world. Are they truly Christians? This fountainhead is pertinent and fundamental because many of our people who engage in the strident practices enumerated above would like to be seen as pious Christians. But really are they?Do they really crawl in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of holiness and righteousness, who in Leviticus 192 says be holy for the Lord am holy Do they really know the God of Moses and Joshua who on mount Siriat presented the ten commandment as the tempt of his contract with him people insistency that fidelity to this ethical code is what will distinguish his people from others? Do Nigerian who claim to worship Go d, but who at the same time offer and take bribe, defraud, evade tax and circumvent justice know the God of Mosses who in Exodus 228 says You will take back no bribes, for a bribe blinds the clear sighted and is the cause of the ruination of the upright.Do they know the God of the prophets who in Isaiah 3315 says that the soul who will be qualified to be in his presence is the one who acts uprightly and speaks honestly, who scorns to be rich by extortion, who rejects bribes out of hand, who refuses to listen to propose involving bloodshed and shuts his eyes rather than countenance crime. Do Nigerian worshippers who commit a daily show of their religiosity known that what the Lord truly require of us is to love terekerly, to do justice and to work basely by me God (Micah68 John the Baptist while preparing for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ crudemned the kind-hearted of religion that thrives side by side with corruption as empty ritualism.In his addrer to those who gathere d to listen to him, amongst whom were solders and tax collectors, he admonished Exalt no more than the appointed rate No intimidation. No Excntinu be content with your pay Luke 313-14. Jesus himself denounced the kind of religions practice that was not matched by high moral and ethical standards in realize that not all those who claim to be Christians will enter the kingdom of heaven but only those who do the will of the mystify Mathew 5. This Christianity make no room for crooks and fraudsters. It has no place for those who offered take bribes. existent Christianity does not accommodate the cnetire of settlement in Nigeria to day.Therefore, faced with the contradiction and the astonishment of a booming Christianity in the most of an environment that stinks with corruption and indiscipline, one is poise to conclude that what is spreading like wildfire in contemporary Nigeria is not genuine Christianity at all, but a masc movement with elements of Christian ritualism, one that is in large measure shallow, superficial, noisy and devoid of substance and depth. normal Christianity in Nigeria is often Materialistic and individualistic in orientation, with an in likely high sense of devotion to the cult of material and physical prosperity, achievement and healing, and with little or no attention at all given to the social morality of the believing persons.