I neither believe nor accept that religion is the problem of Nigeria or the world. Religion is just a crutch which people, tribes or countries fighting for land, economic or political supremacy use to justify their blood lust. Ban religion and they will locate another crutch quickly.
So Islam is violent? Are there no Muslims in South Western Nigeria? Most of the skirmishes between ‘alayes‘ and Hausas or Igbos in Lagos are purely tribal and have nothing whatsoever to do with religion. How come most of the religious violence in Nigeria is located in the Northern part of the country. Are there no Muslims in Gambia, Senegal, etc? Are there no Muslims in the UAE, Iran, etc?
In reality, Nigeria is one of the very few places on earth which has a strong central government but still has a problem with violence tied to religion. Islamic violence in Libya, Syria, and Iraq became issues with the breakdown of their central govt. The implication, therefore, is that we really do not have as strong a central govt as we like to pretend.
Coming to Trump’s ban, for me it is neither here nor there, especially seeing as it is temporary. Affected countries are free to retaliate if they feel injured enough. I have no doubt the ban won’t last but the inherent message will reverberate for long. A possible advantage is that people who intend to set their country on fire and flee to the USA may have a rethink.
Build your country and you won’t care if another man bans you from entering his own country. Build your country and you can thump your nose at Trump and his ban and walls.
I won’t mind if he bans Nigerian government officials from entering the USA . Maybe then they will pay the desired attention to responsible governance. I stand with Lolly Daskal.
Nze tweets @okenze
