Religious Leader as Political Activists: The Nigerian Experience

Abstract

Religion wields a lot of power in most human societies, making religious leaders highly influential in the state of affairs. Nigeria, though a multi-cultural and multi-religious country, is deeply influenced by religion and culture which directly and indirectly control the political sphere among other aspects of national relevance. The claim of superiority and dominance has served as the foundation for religious intolerance and several socio-religious crises and violence that have bedeviled Nigeria since independence. Though sometimes concealed in political garment, the fall out of the misuse of religion is usually motivated by religious bigotry. Using systematic review of literature, the objective of this paper is to examine the historical background of religion in Nigeria’s polity, and examine the activism of the two religions in seeking socio-political interventions in Nigeria’s political activities and electioneering. The paper adopts the historical and analytical research methods to examine upheld religious perceptions and beliefs that are significant determinants of socio-political participation in Nigeria. The paper also seeks to address how the Nigerian political system has somewhat benefitted and also suffered setbacks from the activities of religious leaders through the mis/use of power, ethnicity and nepotism which have been exploited by the political elite. This is with a view to critiquing, the roles of religious leaders in Nigeria wearing the garbs of political activists.