NATIONAL INSECURITY AND RELIGIOUS BIGOTRY: the role of Catholic corpers

1. NATIONAL INSECURITY AND RELIGIOUS BIGOTRY: the role of Catholic corpers Dr. MC Asuzu [Professor of Public Health & Community Medicine, CoM, UI] [Consultant Community & Occupational Physician, UCH] Dept of Community Medicine, University College Hospital, Ibadan.

2. Background 1 • The need to understand Nigeria, some important aspects of her history, the religions in it; the nature of religion, spirituality and religious bigotry and fanaticism and therefore, the Nigerian situation in context • The need to understand the National Youth Service Corps programme; its history, purpose and history so far • The need and place of political justice but also of ecumenism and evangelization

3. Background 2 • Nigeria before colonization; Othman Dan Fodio; Northern and Southern Protectorates; [even Southern Cameroun and Sardauna Province]; Eastern and Western Regions; regionalization; independence; republican Nigeria; coups and counter coups; pogrom; civil war; the three Rs; post war running of Nigeria a-la-Sardauna of Sokoto as inheritor of the Othman Dan Fodio Empire bent at “dipping the Koran into the Atlantic Ocean”

4. Background 3 • Spirituality and its relation with religion • The tendency of religion to end up in fanaticism and bigotry – with examples from every religion, e.g., the modern born-againism!! • The leadership of Islam in religious fanaticism and bigotry – because of its inherent adventures into politics! – see Judaism as well • Secular [atheistic] Humanism as the modern world’s counterpart of Islam in religious fanaticism and bigotry and why the two are breeding the modern world religious terrorism – a la Osama Bin Ladin

5. Background 4 • The background of the Boko Haram in Nigeria from their background African quasi-Al Qaeda (Sufiyat) movements and their infiltration and usage by the Othman Dan Fodio political Jihadists and the resultant national insecurity beyond the bigotry previously limited to personal and institutional religious fanaticisms of the past – Borno State as the most advanced example thereof • Reflection of positively minded northerners on the situation – origin of the background poverty as the primary background, etc

6. National results and responses already • Abandonment to their fate as has happened to Borno State – Maiduguri town especially • Self-defence – individual and corporate • More state and regional responses in the context of a one-nation philosophy • Federal Government/GLJ Northern Challenging response – including the dismissal of IGP and NSAs if ineffective within reasonably short time intervals • Corpers should support these as the case may be

7. The specific Youth Corper responses • Self-education and informed security self responses – personal and corporate • Organized home-state pressure responses • Ecumenical political and spiritual response • Positive evangelical, anti-fanatical, solidarity and response • Public mass-media discussions and enlightenment • Prayer – a constant companion of every spiritual matter

8. Thank you for your audience!