Speaking during a book launch of renowned professor
and author, Olufemi Vaughan on Thursday in Abuja,
Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has lamented
the rate at which ‘religion’ is killing many in Nigeria.
The Nobel Prize winner noted that he was not
canvassing for religious studies but the study of
religion, adding that the innocent ones were the ones
who often pay the ultimate price in religious crisis.
The legendary playwright who called for religion to be
critically taught in schools in Nigeria, said, “If we do not
tame religion in Nigeria, religion will kill us.
“Many Nigerians have paid the ultimate price because of
religion and religion is now embedded in our society.
“The innocent ones are the ones who often pay the
ultimate price in religious crisis. Even religious leaders
cannot denounce the murdering acts of religion.
“Religion now induce trauma and anxiety instead of
solace that it claims to give. Religion is the ironic
product of human inadequacy.
“There is a monster always waiting to pounce on
innocent Nigerians under the name of religion,” he
added.
Soyinka said this in the heat of the recent killings of
Christians in Southern Kaduna, an incident which has
continued to fuel mutual mistrust among the diverse
ethnic and religious groups in the country.
