Religious leaders must listen to each other

This is not the first time that I have turned my attention to religious leaders, examining some of the comments they make. I don't look at what they say meant only to their followers. I rather look at what they say that can affect the nation and the well-being of all citizens. I have no problem with any religion. The way I focus on religious issues is the same as on other issues - anything about our politics is for me, as a journalist and columnist, to interrogate.

As I have always said, it would be difficult for a Nigerian to make a public comment and expect his fellow Nigerians not to question what they said. This is all the more true since the reader of this page would have noticed that I am not making false allegations. If I am dissecting what a Nigerian is actually saying and he has trouble with it, I need not comment further on such mentality. Nor is it the first time that I have looked specifically at the implications of what some religious leaders are saying. There are many of them, and at the back of my mind remains this question: do some of these religious leaders say and do what they were ordained to do? Is this the call they accept?

I am concerned when some applaud religious leaders for leaving their pulpits to campaign for politicians. Did the founder of their religion do such a thing? I am amazed that members of political parties are seated during worship, but the man on the altar, father of all, is campaigning for a political party. We see the events in every round of election. Religious leaders are abandoning the task of winning people to the Lord they say they serve and embarking on campaign trips for politicians. We have seen religious denominations fighting on the pages of newspapers for a share of the money politicians give. The problem is that their involvement and what they say in pursuit of political goals divides Nigerians more than it unites them. Is this what a religious leader is ordained to do - divide?

Before the last election, some of the actions and comments of these leaders were divisive. During the election, some of their comments were divisive. After the election, comments from some of them remained controversial, and I interviewed one of them a few weeks ago on this page. It was also reported that another religious leader said the new president was not his president. When we reflect on this comment, we see the following and it does not look good for the citizens and the nation. First, with this kind of public comment, another religious leader has become a center of dissent among Nigerians. Yes, he has the right to like or dislike, but here is the contradiction his comment shows when thought through.

First, the holy book he uses to teach his followers says something about honoring the king. The same book also says something about the need to "pray for Jerusalem." I am sure this religious leader told his followers that their “Jerusalem” is Nigeria and if they prayed for it they would prosper as stated in the holy book he uses. Now, when a religious leader openly disrespects by saying that the leader of Nigeria is not his president, it is a call for insurrection, a call for division, a call for chaos. For the President is the embodiment of Nigeria and any call contrary to that is contrary to the peace of the nation. But it is a religious leader who pronounces it.

There is no doubt that this religious leader leads his followers to pray for their Jerusalem. But the king, the leader, the president, the incarnation of this Jerusalem that he has already spoken of means nothing to him. In effect, he says the President is a non-person as far as he is concerned. Obviously, this religious leader would not allow a member of his congregation to speak to him like this. No religious leader would tolerate his office being rudely approached, but some of them speak rudely to the political authorities of this nation. I'm trying to find where the balance is in relation to this phenomenon and I can't. It's a phenomenon I find baffling, "Adie ki i je'fun aran won" ie chickens don't eat each other's intestines is a Yoruba saying I grew up hearing. When leaders disrespect each other, it has profound consequences. But the lack of respect comes from certain religious leaders towards the political authorities. If they send the nation into chaos, where do they want to preach their messages?

I guess said religious leader can't disrespect the president and yet teach his followers to respect authority. He cannot disrespect the president of the nation and continue to call for prayers for "Jerusalem" in his place of worship. He does not believe in the president who embodies "Jerusalem". He disrespects the leader of "Jerusalem" and calls for prayer for "Jerusalem"? There is a contradiction here.

In the traditional Yoruba framework, it is said that "ar'oba fin l'oba a pa" is the...