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Theocracy in Nigeria: the Religious Gamble and National Cohesion

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Theocracy in Nigeria: the Religious Gamble and National Cohesion Ibrahim Musa Ahmadu BETH 10: 1998 69 The Search for Theocracy in Nigeria: The Religious Gamble and National Cohesion By Ibrahim Musa Ahmadu Preamble Religion has been an important force for facilitating radical political and social change, providing' the motivation, ideology and justification for rebellion or revolt against established governments. Religiously inspired revolutionary movements have occurred throughout history in a bid to founding theocratic states in which Godor some conceived deity would direct the affairs of the society through human agents. Often led by a messianic figure, many of such revolutionary movements have produced significant political and social innovations that have been beneficial or detrimental to the well being of the society it was out to improve. The phenomenon of religio-political insurgence often began as a dream of re-enacting a past or creating a future "Golden Age" that would usher in an era of justice and bliss on earth. Undergirding such millenarian expectation was a general dissatisfaction with the existing political order believed to have been brought about as a result of human deviation from divine mandate. Embued with the conviction that the contemporary travail which had reduced human dignity and value was after all redeemable through some divine intervention, an ideological spirit of heroism would be infused on believers that could sustain their struggle against the forces of evil and decay that have engulfed the society. In the attempt to bring the anticipated new order in line with the mover's conception of justice, a necessary myth that would instil fear and hatred for the old system must be put in place to provide legitimacy for intervention. Sometimes the regime that must be toppled could be a foreign occupationist power. At other times the wrath is directed against domestic elitist class that seemed to be 70 The Search for Theocracy in Nigeria playing the role of mercenary collaborators with external forces of exploitation which are inimical to the collective interest of the people. This inquiry is not so much a systematic study of either politics or religion per se, but a synopsis of the interplay between the two phenomena that generate socio-political upheavals in which religion is the causal variable. In the pursuit We snaIl attempt to discover the conditions under which religion could promote national disintegration than cohesion and identify the general concepts and attitudes that could easily precipitate revolutionary sentiments. Notice will also be taken of the decisive roles of charismatic figures in abating religio-political conflicts and the extent to which the central objectives of such theocratic milleniarism have been accomplished here on earth. Definition: It is pertinent to attempt a working definition of the concepts around which our discussion would revolve. Religion according to Guenter Lewy is a cultural institution, a complex of symbols, articles of faith and practices adhered to by a group of believers who are related to and commonly invoke the aid of a superhuman power to provide solutions to questions of ultimate meaning.' The superhuman power under reference belongs to the realm of the supernatural because it stands outside the regularities of common experience by being invisible, immortal and the like. To Emile Durkheim, religion is a social phenomenon, which embodies a corporate participation of individuals in the activities, institutions and beliefs of any given group, not simply from the sense of a joiner but of finding one's own identity in the structures of the religious traditions.i John S. Mbiti sees religion as the belief in and the worship of a supreme self-existing being who is the source of all other things. This being IS self-dependent even though all other things, both animate and inanimate depend on him for sustenance. The Supreme Being has a moral will whose imperatives his votaries are expected to respect. That this Supreme Being makes a moral The Search for Theocracy in Nigeria 71 demand on humans is what gives religion its force and sway on 3 them. In his encyclopaedic dictionary, volume two, Noah Webster describes religion as the recognition by human beings of the existence of a controlling superhuman power who is entitled to obedience, reverence and worship. It is a feeling of devotion towards a divine object or being which manifests in faith, worship and the conscious observance of sacred rites that would put the devotee in the right relationship with the deity." The cognisance of the overwhelming power of a transcendent being whose immutable authority one cannot comfortably challenge has left humans in an awful dread of the deity. Moreover that such supernatural being has decidedly hidden his physical appearance from humans -and has chosen to disclose only his moral will with a demand for absolute conformity has left humans in a serious dilemma as to how to relate to the supernatural. Human efforts to interpret the divine will and its intricate imperatives have constituted the main burden of religious differences and their attendant misunderstandings. Politics on the other hand is the science or arts of administration. Derived from the Greek root "politikos", literally meaning city organisation, politics has been generally defined as a fixed or regular system designed and accepted by a group of people for administering the affairs of their state or nation. Politics is the institutionalisation process of a government and its powers and authority to control or regulate the life patterns of the community and the behaviours of its members. It could also be seen as a methodical plotting or scheming by persons connected by similar ideological viewpoints to gain administrative control or power over a people and to organise them under a particular form of government. Webster's encyclopaedic dictionary sees politics as the procedure adopted by a community under defined geographical boundaries to govern themselves by well-defined administrative principles. Such principles involve an acceptable process for the acquisition, control and deployment of power for the maintenance of territorial The Search for Theocracy-in Nigeria delimitation, protection from external aggression and/or internal insurgence and threats to peace.' Whether ·the said power to control peoples' destiny and have direct influence over their thoughts and actions is derived through consensus or by forceful incursion of a militant individual or clique, the ultimate goal would be to channel people's energies to higher ideals of life, the promise of better self­ realisation and the survival of the state. - The credibility of any political claim is usually skated on two dimensional mandates, namely, the ability of the institutionalized political body to foster the social rights and religious liberty of the subjects vis-a-vis the oppression of the hostile majority and the defence of the citizenry from the corrupt assault of the government in power. Theocracy. The term theocracy was coined by Josephus (Contra Apion II: 16, 165) upon the analogy of aristocracy and democracy to denote the kind of national polity of a state that claims to be governed by God or gods. Being a combination of two Greek words, Theos [God] and kratein [rule], theocracy is therefore the rule of God. Theocracy is a political philosophy where the basis of sovereignty is God whose will is regarded as supreme. It is a form of government that acknowledges God alone as the highest political authority, whether or not a human ruler like a king or some aristocratic body such as priests represents him. The belief that God rules a nation is of historical antiquity. The gods of the ancient orient were national gods who were believed to be directly involved in the political affairs of their votaries. A kind of henotheistic theocracy arose among the Moabites who were believed to be ruled by Chemosli.ithe Ammorites by Milcom and the Canaanites by El. Later the same concept was exploited among the Jews and Arabs who saw Yahweh and Allah respectively as the 6 : only King worthy of adoration. In ancient India the priesthood attained some independence of the king. In presenting a king the priest would way, "here is your king, not ours, for our king is the god soma". Occasionally the The Search for Theocracy in Nigeria 73 over the and maintained him priesthood acquired ascendancy king - 7 more or less as a ceremonial puppet. The ancient kings used religion as an engine to further the purpose of the state. Ennatum of Lagas (c. 2800 BC) secured his conquest of Kis by declaring himself the "beloved spouse" of the highly venerated goddess of that community. Hammurabi unified Mesopotamia and established Babylon, as its capital by elevating is city-god to a position of primacy over the previous reigning gods." The Hebrew Theocracy Theocracy is best exemplified among the Hebrews. It was with them that the prophets and priests preceded the kings. A fundamental theological conception of Israel being "sons of God" developed from Egypt enroute Canaan. They came to believe that Yahweh, their special God, cared enough about their plight to become personally involved in redeeming them from slavery and establishing them in freedom from all earthly rulers. This salvation by God gave legitimacy to his claim as king over Israel. (Deut. 33.35). Both legislative and judicial powers lay in the hands of Yahweh. Human leaders like Moses, Joshua and the judges who followed them were merely 'men of God' who mediated between Him and the people. Under God's guidance these men determined when the people should travel and when they should pitch camp, when to make war and when to secure peace. In their capacities as theocratic deputies they had to fight the battles initiated by Yahweh 9 and to promote the faith. While it was incumbent upon the human vicegerents of God to fight on behalf of Yahweh, destroy his enemies and carry out major reforms in the state, it remained that they were still subject and accountable to him for divine direction.
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