Abstract
In this chapter, the authors argue that the well-being of Nigerians has been threatened and that there are even further threats to their well-being. Many of these threats have their roots in religion as apprehended and practiced by fundamentalists; individuals and groups that are stressed, disoriented, and are trying to grab power and fortune in the name of religion. They examine the phenomenon of religion, and explore the spread of Islam and Christianity in Nigeria, the current map of religious inclinations in the country, and the role of the state in religion. Further, the authors examine the spread of Islamic and Western forms of Education in Nigeria, the role of British colonial administrators in the processes, the predominance of Western Education, and the key explanations Nigerian scholars have proffered for the motive and actions of key actors in these processes. The authors explore how the information, maps and arguments already laid out, then set the stage for some of the challenges to Nigerians’ well-being today. In particular, they examine the kinds of violence Nigerians mete out to one another in the name of religion, and the uncomplimentary roles of religious and political leaders, in the state of affairs. Finally, the authors posit that state actors will do well to keep religion away from state affairs, the public space. Government officials in the legislative, executive and judicial arms of government should provide good governance and a working economy, so that Nigerians would be less fearful.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Some of the issues participants raised had been documented in: Perriera (2005) who recorded that in 1992, the Katsina State House of Assembly in Northern Nigeria, passed a Bill to expel all unmarried women from the state; http://www.hrw.org/reports/2004/nigeria0904/5.htm where Amnesty International provided a comprehensive documentation of discriminatory practices against women following the introduction of the Sharia Penal Code in some states in Northern Nigeria from 2000; and in Mejiuni and Obilade’s (2012) report where they recorded that some religious leaders have taken undue advantage of their positions of trust and power to exploit teenage girls and young women.
- 2.
Nigerian newspapers are replete with news, analyses, conversations, editorials that attempt to explain the growth and spread of the phenomenon of Boko Haram.
- 3.
See, e.g., CNN and New York Times between 2008 and 2010.
References
Akande, A. A., & Akande, T. M. (2006). Polio eradication in Nigeria: Controversies and way forward. African Journal of Clinical and Experimental Microbiology, 7(3), 175–180.
Arinze, F. (1970). Sacrifice in Ibo Religion. Ibadan: Ibadan University Press.
Bateye, B. O. (2010). United We fall, divided We stand! feminist theological ethics and the myth of the Nigerian national consciousness. Ife Journal of Religions, 6(1&2), 42–58.
Bloom, D. C., Canning, D., & Jamison, D. T. (2004). Health, wealth and welfare. Finance and Development, 41, 10–15.
Bowker, J. (1997). The oxford dictionary of world religions. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Brown, K. M. (1994). Fundamentalism and the control of women. In J. S. Hawley (Ed.), Fundamentalism and gender. New York: Oxford University Press. Retrieved March 3, 2006 from Questia On-line Library website: http://www.questia.org.
Fafunwa, A. B. (1974). History of education in Nigeria. London: George Allen and UNWIN.
Fasokun, T. O., & Mejiuni, C. O. (1991). Politics in adult education. In E. T. Ehiametalor & A. B. Oduaran (Eds.), Fundamentals of adult education (pp. 101–107). Benin-City: NERA Publishers.
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. (2000). Democracy in Nigeria: Continuing dialogues for nation – building. Stockholm: International – Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International-IDEA).
Johnson, S. (2001). The history of the Yorubas: From the earliest times to the beginning of the protectorate. Lagos: CSS Bookshops Limited.
Mejiuni, C. O. (1991). Educating adults against socioculturally induced abuse and neglect of children in Nigeria. Child Abuse and Neglect, 15(1), 139–145.
Mejiuni, O. (2006a). Confounding or empowering women through non-formal and informal Education? Religious leaders in Ibadan and Lokoja, Nigeria, on knowledge that matters. In L. English & J. Groen (Eds.), The 25th annual conference proceedings of the Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education (CASAE) (pp. 161–166). Toronto: York University.
Mejiuni, O. (2006b). ‘Some women are stubborn’: Power, violence against women and the challenges of religion. CODESRIA Bulletin, 1 & 2, 38–40.
Mejiuni, O. (2013). Women and power: Education, religion and identity. Dakar: Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA).
Mejiuni, O. (Forthcoming). Sustaining collective transformative learning: Informal learning and revisions. In A. Laros, T. Fuhr, & E. Taylor (Eds.), Transformative learning meets Bildung. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers B.V.
Mejiuni, O., & Obilade, O. O. (2012). Unsafe spaces: Dodgy friends and families. Ile-Ife: WARSHE.
Metz, H. C. (Ed.). (1991). Nigeria: A country report. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress.
Moore, G. F. (1923). The birth and growth of religion: Being the Morse lectures of 1922. New York: C. Scribner.
Odujinrin, O., & Fashina, O. M. (2000). The Nigerian child victims of their culture and political system. In J. A. Marvasti (Ed.), Child suffering in the world (pp. 251–269). Manchester: Sexual Trauma Center Publication.
Pereira, C. (2005). Domesticating women? gender, religion and the state in Nigeria under colonial and military rule. African Identities, 3(1), 69–94.
Taiwo, O. (2010). How colonialism preempted modernity in Africa. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
United Nations Development Programme. (2013). Human development report 2013-the rise of the south: Human progress in a diverse world. New York: UNDP.
Acknowledgement
The authors wish to thank Dr. Oluseyi Olanrewaju of the Population and Reproductive Health Programme of the College of Health Sciences, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife for transfer of data to line graphs.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Mejiuni, O., Bateye, B.O. (2016). Religion, Education and the Well-Being of Citizens of Nigeria. In: Tiliouine, H., Estes, R. (eds) The State of Social Progress of Islamic Societies. International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24774-8_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24774-8_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-24772-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-24774-8
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)