African religion and environmental challenges in post colonial Africa

The relationship between religion and the environment has been one of contest. But in African belief it is a rested argument because the cosmos is conceived as a whole and subsumed under God, the creator. This traditional belief has come in contact with serious Western ideologies on the environment that calls for a re-evaluation of the role of the moral agency in African Religion, namely, the ancestors. It is argued that in spite of the Western influences that have vitrified the traditional belief in the place and potency of the ancestors, a transformative-ecozoic model, with its all-compassing moral, social, cultural and educational contents, provides African Religion with challenges it must rise up to in the context of the comity of global religions. Through analytical and contextual framework, the paper argues further that African Religion still has crucial roles to play in the maintenance of the environment in the 21st century, but that these roles are anchored on its ability to match academics with praxis

Theory and praxis of religious tolerance

More often than not, intolerance is extremely rejected in favour of tolerance simply because of the belief that the latter produces a better chance of inter-personal relationship in a pluralistic society. In this sense tolerance will mean to allow others to practise their religious belief without hindrance. While the term ‘allow’ carries a legal import i.e. authorisation, toleration means only the absence of objection rather than genuine approval of another’s religious belief. It is therefore the argument of this paper that tolerance already divides between the powerful and the less-powerful, the privileged and the less-privileged. It is this inherent weakness in tolerance that makes the paper to insist on frank dialogue; truth-meeting-truth

An African religious discourse on names and identity

African names are not philosophical rhetoric, but they are believed to convey deep intrinsic significance for the bearer and the community as a whole. It is argued that African names evaluate nature, essence as well as provide a string of relationship between the living and the dead. This paper argued that though African names function thus much, the various incursions into Africa have continued to vitrify their context, nature and continuum. Through the gristmill of religious interpretive framework, it is argued that if this trend remains unabated, African names as part of African religious cultural value or heritage would in no distant time ebb into oblivion.KEYWORDS: Names, African, culture, community, colonialism, Christianit

A theo-political analysis of Muslim–Muslim presidency in a ‘secular’ Nigeria

The question whether or not religion matters in the Nigerian political system for Christians is more than a rhetorical one; it is indeed an existential one. Although most Christians, by their understanding of the Constitution, maintain that Nigeria is a secular country, the politics of religious and demographic manipulation has raised important challenges to them bordering on the political processes in the country. The article utilised the historical method to foreground the religious politics of the country generally and Christian–Muslim relations particularly. This method underscored the political processes from the colonial to the postcolonial period and showed how Christians and Muslims have fared in power distribution, revealing that to date, no Christian has been elected or appointed vice president from the northern part of the country because they are regarded as ‘incompetent’. From the observations of the current political engineering that birthed the Muslim–Muslim presidential ticket by the ruling political party (All Progressives Congress) and other two parties Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) that flouted the regional understanding that the next president should come from any part of the south, the article further historically situates the reasons for the decision towards northern Christians in particular and other Christians in general in Nigeria politics. The article employs a theo-political method to analyse the position and arguments of Christians on same faith ticket in a ‘secular’ country. The article concludes that Christians now have the opportunity to challenge the demographic myth and incompetency assumption that have been the contentious issues in Christian–Muslim relations. Contribution: This article contributes to knowledge in theo-politics by bringing to Christian’s attention that their faith is not just a ticket for a flight to heaven; it is first and foremost a mantle for existential survival in a skewed secular state like Nigeria

Karl Marx on religion: the perspective of Boko Haram in Nigeria

One memorable quote from Karl Marx’s conception of religion is, “religion is the opium of the masses.” By this, he critiqued religion as an analgesic that dulls the senses, thus inducing a false sense of satisfaction, and preventing the oppressed from revolting against the grubby socio-economic system. As the sigh of the oppressed, religion makes them to resign to fate since it only gives an unrealistic eschatological hope. Rather than conceive religion from this prismatic way, contemporary events have shown that religion has become an amphetamine or a catalyst for revolt, not only at the global but also national level. This work argues that religion is used as an amphetamine, an energizing pill, to pursue other goals than religious as depicted in the activities of Boko Haram sect, which has raised security challenges in contemporary Nigeria

BOKO HARAM SHARIA REASONING

In the decade since Al-Qaeda, led by the late Osama Bin Laden, attacked America, there has been a resurgence in the debate about the relationship between religion and politics. The global Islamic terrorist networks and their successful operations against various targets around the globe increasingly draw attention to what constitutes the core values of Islamic extremism: the logic of evangelistic strategy, the import and relevance of its spiritual message and consideration of the composite view of life that does not distinguish between sacred and temporal mandates. Suspicions have been fuelled that Islam is incompatible with modern democratic systems and pluralist outlooks. The real cause of Islamic militancy is at once universal and particular. The Nigerian experience of this radical Islamism–Boko Haram–brings home the once “distant” threat to global peaceful co-existence. While there exist arguments regarding the raison d’etre and means or methods of the operations of Boko Haram, the end has been normative; to achieve a purely religious nationalistic system on the basis of the sharia code of ethics. This paper, therefore, critically analyses the historical and philosophical interpretations of Islamic history constructed as an infallible corpus, and how it has been impacted by the democratic vision in Nigeria. It concludes with a consideration of the possibility and practicability of a liberal system at once free and religious in a pluralist and global society

Building community ownership of maternal and child health interventions in rural Nigeria: A community-based participatory approach

Although community engagement has been widely reported in the literature, there have been limited reports of this approach in many African countries. We report the methods of community engagement used in an implementation research that was designed to increase women’s use of primary health centres for skilled pregnancy and child health care in rural Nigeria. The study was conducted in 20 communities in two Local Government Areas of Edo State in Nigeria. The study used a community-based participatory approach in engaging the project communities through all phases of the project cycle. Some of the activities for achieving community ownership of the project included advocacy activities and engagement with community stakeholders; community conversations; the identification and training of ward development committees; and community sensitization workshops. The project was implemented over three years - November 2017 to October 2020. Key informant interviews conducted at the end of the project reported narratives on key points that were appreciated by community members. These included the recognition given to the community members in decision-making, the elimination of costs through the health insurance scheme, the transparency and accountability embedded in the project implementation, and the absence of adverse maternal and child health outcomes during the project implementation. We conclude that the use of a community-based participatory approach enhanced the attainment of positive outcomes for a project designed to improve the use of skilled pregnancy care in rural Nigeri

Why rural women do not use primary health centres for pregnancy care : evidence from a qualitative study in Nigeria

Pregnant women in rural communities in Nigeria often do not use Primary Health Care Centres. Through focus group discussions, the study found four broad categories of reasons underlying non-use: 1) accessibility factors – poor roads and transportation, long distances, and facility not always open; 2) perceptions relating to poor quality of care, inadequate drugs, abusive care by health providers, long wait times, and inappropriate referrals; 3) costs of services, including inability to pay for services even when costs are not excessive; the introduction of informal payments by staff; and 4) partner support (or lack thereof), and misinterpretation of signs of pregnancy complications.Global Affairs Canada (GAC)Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR

Taking up the cudgels against gay rights? Trends and trajectories in African Christian theologies on homosexuality

Against the background of the HIV epidemic and the intense public controversy on homosexuality in African societies, this article investigates the discourses of academic African Christian theologians on homosexuality. Distinguishing some major strands in African theology, that is, inculturation, liberation, women’s and reconstruction theology, the article examines how the central concepts of culture, liberation, justice, and human rights function in these discourses. On the basis of a qualitative analysis of a large number of publications, the article shows that stances of African theologians are varying from silence and rejection to acceptance. Although many African theologians have taken up the cudgels against gay rights, some “dissident voices” break the taboo and develop more inclusive concepts of African identity and African Christianity

Natural Competence Is a Major Mechanism for Horizontal DNA Transfer in the Oral Pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis

Porphyromonas gingivalis is a Gram-negative anaerobe that resides exclusively in the human oral cavity. Long-term colonization by P. gingivalis requires the bacteria to evade host immune responses while adapting to the changing host physiology and alterations in the composition of the oral microflora. The genetic diversity of P. gingivalis appears to reflect the variability of its habitat; however, little is known about the molecular mechanisms generating this diversity. Previously, our research group established that chromosomal DNA transfer occurs between P. gingivalis strains. In this study, we examine the role of putative DNA transfer genes in conjugation and transformation and demonstrate that natural competence mediated by comF is the dominant form of chromosomal DNA transfer, with transfer by a conjugation-like mechanism playing a minor role. Our results reveal that natural competence mechanisms are present in multiple strains of P. gingivalis, and DNA uptake is not sensitive to DNA source or modification status. Furthermore, extracellular DNA was observed for the first time in P. gingivalis biofilms and is predicted to be the major DNA source for horizontal transfer and allelic exchange between strains. We propose that exchange of DNA in plaque biofilms by a transformation-like process is of major ecological importance in the survival and persistence of P. gingivalis in the challenging oral environment