Why religion can not unite Nigerians

Nigerians are unfortunately familiar with

Even now, we continue to kill and fight with their fellow citizens in the name of religion.

Knowing this, I quite surprised to see a post on Sahara Reporters that stated that Reverend Sister Mary Emilia Aboekwe has just come to the realisation that religion will not unite Nigeria.

Her statement did not surprise me, what did was what it took for her to get there.

According to the Reverend sister, who is one of the participants of the Wole Soyinka Foundation and Cedars Institute sponsored Study Abroad In Lebanon (SAIL) program, the ten-day exchange program showed her that religion cannot bring about unity.

In her words, “After seeing what happened in Lebanon, I came to conclude that religion needs to be downplayed in Nigeria. When we come out to discuss the unity of this nation, let us put religion aside, because it will not unite us.

"We will never be united when we talk of religion. Instead let us all believe that we are all children of God, created by one God.”

ALSO READ: Religion is actually doing more harm than good in Nigeria

I am happy that she finally gets it because the truth is that religion was never going to make us united.

This is simply because everyone wants their religion to lead. Everyone wants their religion to be number one, the one that is recognised as the most important of them all.

This is why any and everything causes the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to say that Muslims are Islamising the country and why Muslim groups do the same thing.

ALSO READ: Muslim group says CAN is Islamophobic

As long as both parties are constantly trying to outshine one other instead of focusing on what is right for the country, we will always be divided.

So stop waiting for religion to unite us because it will never happen.