National Confab: Traditional Religion Worshippers Demand Three Slots

The President, International Council for IFA religion, a representative of all African traditional religious worshippers in the country, Prof Idowu Odeyemi, yesterday demanded that the worshipers like their Christian and Muslim counterparts be given three slots in the forthcoming national conference to articulate the interests of African religion and spirituality.

According to him, millions of Nigerians who still practise the African religion should be given a voice to contribute their quota to the political activities in the country.

These various groups, Odeyemi said, include Architects, Engineers, political leaders, Nobel Laureates, professors, farmers, technicians, religious priests, students, teachers, lecturers and a lot of others who silently contribute to the growth and development of the nation.

"To consciously alienate this massive African religious class from the forthcoming national conference is therefore totally unacceptable." he said.

He stated that African traditional religion is neither envious of, nor at war with its Muslim and Christian brethren. “The reality of today”, he added, “is that Nigeria has been and is a multi-religion society in which, ideally, all adherents should practise their faiths in peace and harmony even as they make their modest contributions to the development of our nation.

"The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which is currently in use recognises the existence of three major religions in Nigeria: African Traditional Religion, Islam and Christianity, the composition of participants at the proposed national conference, consciously and studiously seeks to ignore the pivotal provision of that constitution." Odeyemi said.

Briefing journalists in Abuja, Odeyemi, stated that it would amount to a major flaw not to include African religion practitioners in the forthcoming national conference.

He said: "One hundred years after the amalgamation of the diverse peoples that make up our country Nigerian, a National conference is being put in place to evaluate the extent to which a true nation has been forged and to propose the way forward. "Several stakeholder groups have been slated for this proposed epochal conference including youths, the disabled, Nigerians in the diaspora, editors and Religious leaders."

Speaking further, he added: "Most disturbing and perplexing of this arrangement is the representation of the religious groups. In the listing, six “Muslim” leaders and six “Christian” leaders, each representing each of the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria, were invited. A major flaw in this is that:

"Nigeria, acting in accordance with the dictates of foreign media,  gives the impression that the country is made up of only Christians and Muslims, and that African Religion does not exist in the continent's largest nation."

According to him, it is a shame that, the Blackman is the only race that believes that its socio-economic, political and religious salvation can only be achieved outside the shores of the continent, adding: "Today, the future of Africans is dictated by children and grandchildren of our colonial masters. Nowhere else on the earth has any major race (Chinese, European, Indian, Persian, Arab, Jew, etc.) with great historical pasts, totally abnegated its existence and mortgaged its future so easily, so shamelessly and so despicably."

Nigeria as the largest black nation on earth, he stressed  should epitomize the blackness in all Africans.

(Thisday)