Religion and Politics in Nigeria

Running head: Religion and Politics in Nigeria
Religion and Politics in Nigeria and their Correlations
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Introduction
Nigeria has the highest population in sub-Saharan Africa, with approximately 150 million people, who embody a cultural, ethnic, social, historical, religious and linguistic affinities and diversities. This background also has seen the nation have a highly complex and dynamic religious landscape, made up of multiple religions, these include the traditional religions, a variety of Christian and Islamic strands and new spiritual movements (Afe, 2010). There is evidence from research that these religions have transformed and enhanced each other through a competitive environment, and are sources of Nigeria`s complex existence and reality. Moreover, they offer the nation an instrument of peace and cohesion, and are sometimes a source of violence and conflict (Afe, 2010). This research will discuss how Nigeria`s religious side is interconnected to its politics, as seen in the influence of ritual, social space, power, and religious economy.
Religions in Nigeria
Historically the religions of Nigeria are complex and dynamic, given its rich cultural diversity, seen in its 250 ethnicities and over 400 languages (Afe, 2010). This has made religion in Nigeria to be a geopolitical entity that is fluid and dynamic as the various ethnicities and cultures that thrive in the nation (Olupona, 2003). This is further apparent from the lack of accurate statistics on the traditional religions. However, the prominent religions are Christianity and Islam, which have aspects of the indigenous religious traditions of the people (Olupona, 2003). In addition, the lack of a coherent picture of the religious landscape was complicated by the politicization of the last national census on ethnic and religious grounds, giving poor religion-ethnic demographics. It is believed that the politicization of religious statistics is due to political, economic and religious means by key figures that find these a basis for sharing national revenue and resources (Afe, 2010; Ibrahim & Pereira, 2010).
Indigenous Religions
Nigeria`s indigenous religions, are a rich tapestry comprising of local ethnic religions from very old genres. Examples of these religions are also associated with the traditional cultural groupings like Yoruba, Edo, Igbo, Kalabari, Tiv and Hausa religions (Afe, 2010). This study finds that this categorization do not imply uniformity of the ritual and beliefs. The reader must understand that Nigeria`s indigenous religions are localized, widespread and fluid as the ethnic groups are. This categorization only represents an average of shared and sometime different ritual systems and beliefs. These beliefs and religions are under the influence f social and ethnic groups, natural phenomenon and power structures. Despite difference, indigenous religions were transformed and acquired similar thou...