I was at work sometime last year, and just walked outside the office when I saw a fellow worker but from another department. He held his phone tenaciously to his ears and was listening to something with a very rapt attention. He had one of his colleagues with him and while he seemed to add some glee to his attention which showed he enjoyed what he was listening to, the other young man was only attentive.

We exchanged greetings and I moved on, albeit with some sluggish style which permitted me to hear some of what they were listening to, without betraying my intention.

I heard someone claiming to be a pastor, talking rather endlessly as he reeled out many reasons he felt and was convinced (probably by his personal holy spirit) that one major political party was an Islamic Party (just like the Muslim brotherhood in Egypt) and that they wanted to Islamise Nigeria. He alluded to a lot of the high positions in the party being held by Muslims as one major reason for his conclusion.

I was awed!

I walked away and just a day or so thereafter, I read and heard more about the infamous and ungodly submissions of the acclaimed pastor, Bosun Emmanuel.

Religion, the axiom goes, is the opium of the people, and from time immemorial, it has served as a weapon to used by politicians to gain undue favour or pull down their opponents. However, this opium seems not be very intoxicating and lethal in places where the people are well educated and enlightened, and it is therefore not a surprise that it is most widely used in the under-developed and developing countries.

This act by politicians should be condemned by every well-meaning human being, and in this case, Nigerians. If allowed to keep festering, especially alongside ethnicity, there is no way our leaders will take us serious because no matter how much they mess up, they fall back on this whenever the time for reckoning comes, and we who are at the receiving end of their misrule start fighting each other either overt or covertly, based on their religious affiliations.

As condemnable as this act is though, it leaves quite a bitter taste in the mouth when it comes from the pulpit. Everyone of us, including men of God from any religion, could have our bias or soft spot for some people, but when we take it to the level of the Pastor Bosuns, it becomes not only condemnable but very dangerous.

Now, it makes me wait for the day the Pastor will prove his sincerity of purpose, by coming to retract his statements and possibly ‘turn the table around’.

You ask why?

Weeks ago, while the campaigns were hot, the Vice President was at Kano and he called our attention to the fact the major office holders and contenders for juicy posts in the APC were predominantly Christians, while those in the PDP were Muslims. Thereafter, he reiterated same in Minna with some interesting style.

His message is enough for people in saner climes to tell him he is not fit to contest again, but maybe we should not go there for now. However, it behoves Pastor Bosun Emmanuel and his ilk to come out and retract their false statements and apologise to a party they have tried endlessly to demonise, and more so, the populace whom they have tried to mislead, albeit grossly unsuccessfully.

We still await them and implore anyone that knows them we are looking for them.

Personally, and I am sure for millions of Nigeria, religion is a private matter and should not be used to gain undue advantage or bring down one’s opponents. For me, I care not a hoot where my governor or president comes from or what religion he practices. I have come to understand good men exist in every religion and even among aethists. Spirituality is different from humanity and having a good conscience.

Funso Akinlade, a physiotherapist, writes from Abuja. He communicates via @funso_akinlade as well as This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..