Religious Freedom In Nigeria

299 Words2 Pages
Nigeria has about 110 million people. They divided into the feudal, mainly Muslim North as well as Christian South, mostly the entrepreneurial. Although Nigeria is a secular state, the religions have not only always been a key factor, but also a source of violent conflicts in this country’s political life. Nigeria Inter-Religious Council was tried to defuse religious tension by creating peace initiatives. Both Christian and Muslims desired to live peacefully in the country. However, during the last ten years, there have numerous incidents of religious conflict between Christians and Muslims. Most of the Church members and pastors have been killed. Furthermore, the church buildings were destroyed. It is because Christians are concerned about the perceived islamisation of the country. Many Muslims felt that they have been treated like second-class citizens in the Northern States. Thus, the existences of indigenous Christians who are living in the North do not be recognized by the government so, they are assumed to be non-Hausa (non-indigenous). There have social restrictions in the right to change the religion. If a person converts from Islam to other religion, it will be a serious offence which could earn a death penalty. Although Nigeria’s constitution said there is freedom of religion, it doesn’t mean that everyone is free to practice his or her religion. Besides, Christians disallowed to provide the Christian Religious education to their children either in primary or secondary school. They are discriminated against in matters of employment and recruitment to the police and government agencies. Moreover, the local authorities also discriminate against their communities in the provision of resources and facilities. In the nutshell, many Christians have been transferred to the safe locations. The situation remains tense; there is a constant fear of harassment
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