So, it becomes unbearably worrisome and saddening whenever incidents like this happen, and some people are always quick to jump into conclusion that a particular set of people and their religion are scheming to eradicate or wage war against believers of other faiths or religions. We have come a long way together and it will be a big shame if mutual suspicion is the order of the day amongst us at this time and age.

In a country with over 200 million people, it is natural to be experiencing conflicts of interests once in a while; but, that does not mean that we should now forget the positive aspects of our togetherness and set the country on fire for the acts committed by a few. If you take a closer look at the situation, you will observe that the tendencies to committing such heinous act(s) in the guise of protecting one`s religious beliefs and inclinations are mostly dependent on the environment and the level of tolerance of the people involved.

In an environment where the attributes of “fanaticism” and “extremism” are prevalence, the tendencies for such incident to occur will be very high than in other areas where those attributes are very low or non-existent. Interestingly, such people are not restricted to a particular religion or ethnic group; but, they cut across all stratifications. Thus, there are instances where some Christians and Muslims see and treat their fellow Christians and Muslims as “sinners” and “infidels” respectively. So, the issue of intolerance is not always a case of Muslims against Christians and others, or Christians against Muslims and others; but, instances abounds where they are Muslims against fellow Muslims and, Christians against fellow Christians.

From whichever angle or perspective we tend to look at it, one of the major factor that has contributed to religious intolerance or acts of fanaticism and extremism in our societies is derived from the “unguarded” and “twisted” “gospels”, “hadiths” and “messages” from the pulpits, alters and shrines of many of our today’s pastors, imams and other religious leaders. Some inciting messages are recorded in audio and video CDs; others are written in books and pamphlets or tracts which are used to indoctrinate people into seeing one belief or the other as more authentic or superior to the others. As such, these people who could do “anything” to protect and propagate their own religion are made to see other beliefs or modes or worship as forbidden.

Another major factor that could be responsible for the occurrence of such unfortunate incidents is the misinterpretation of the provision of Section 39 of the Nigerian Constitution which states that “every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference”; to mean that everyone have the right to say whatever they like under the sky without repercussions. So, in the cause of exercising their freedom of expression, such people make remarks that sometimes disparage or demean other people`s beliefs and religions. The people in this category are quick to forget that Section 45 of the same Constitution also made it clear that “nothing in Sections 37, 38, 39, 40 and 41 of the Constitution shall invalidates any law that is reasonably justifiable in a democratic society –
(a) in the interest of defence, public safety, public order, public morality or public health; or
(b) for the purpose of protecting the rights and freedom of other persons.

What the above means is that the freedom of expression is to the extent that it does not cause a threat or infringement to other people`s rights. It means that, no one is permitted to express himself in a manner that will constitute an abuse to the rights (including religious right) of others. So, we should always be mindful of our utterances on issues pertaining to religion because we never can say when such will provoke those that does not have the spirit of tolerance (across all the religious beliefs) to taking irrational action(s).

From the foregoing, there is no gainsaying the fact that religious intolerance is a plague that we should all join hands together to eradicate from our societies to forestalling such heinous incident that happened in Sokoto. This is very important because, even if justice is eventually served against the perpetrators for taking laws into their hands; the life or lives that have been lost will be irreparable.

It will also be in the interest of peaceful co-existence if we should all start restraining ourselves from doing anything that could be seen or taken as denigrating other people`s religion; and, which are capable of degenerating into unfortunate situations.

The governments at all level should put machineries in place towards ensuring that all identified factors that could lead to religious intolerance are tackled comprehensively. Any such message(s) of incitements or abuse by anyone against any religion should be viewed seriously and be met with appropriate punishments; and, anyone or group of people that take laws into their hands as a result of intolerance should also be made to face the full wrath of the law.

Our men of God (Pastors, Imams and others) should make it a point of duty to always use available opportunities to preach religious tolerance to their congregations/followers; so that the few amongst us that are still capable of overreacting to abuses will gradually imbibe the spirit of not taking laws into their hands.

Those of us that are “soldiers” and “defenders” of our respective religion should know that the laws of the country does not permit anyone to deprive another of his life. We should not hide under any claim that the PURNISHMENT for BLASPHEMING or any such religious abuse is DEATH. There is no such provision in the Constitution or any known statutory law of our country. If anyone kills under the guise of fulfilling the penalty prescribed by the doctrines of any religion whatsoever; that person would be running foul of the provision of Section 33 (1) of the Constitution as earlier stated above; and, such person would be made to face the consequences.

All major religious organizations and associations should also ensure that they regularly interface with one another regardless of their religious affiliations to work out ways of eradicating “religious intolerance” and promoting peaceful and harmonious co-existence amongst their followers. A situation, where they wait for unfortunate incidents like this to happen before trading blames and expressing disaffections will not help matters.

For those of us who are also feeling cheated for always tolerating and remaining calm in the face of such abuses against our religion; I want to assure you that being civil and decorous in the handling of religious matters is not in any way an act of cowardice, foolishness or weakness; it is what is expected to be done under every sane society. Engaging in retaliatory actions or becoming intolerant to one another will never be the solutions to the wrongdoings. As the popular saying goes, “two wrongs don`t make a right”.

In conclusion, my advice to all and sundry is that, in any circumstances or side of the divide we find ourselves; we should always try as much as possible to ensure that we do not do anything to abuse or demean other people`s religious beliefs; and, if peradventure we feel that ours has been abused; the best thing to do is to report to the appropriate authorities and allow the law to take its course.
We must all come together, join hands together and, fight “Religious Intolerance” together; because, we are all in it together.
Concluded
Oise-Oghaede is a political and public policy analyst. He wrote from Surulere, Lagos.

and can be reached on [email protected].