Chigozie Nwabunwanne
According to the Pew Research Center, Nigeria is the second most prayerful country in the world following Afghanistan by a narrow margin, it is no exaggeration to say that an average Nigerian prays immediately after rising from bed, before work, after work, before eating, after eating, before going to bed and even in their sleep.
Both Christians and our Islamic brothers who pray five times daily, have that trait. This combination forms the praying nation.
It is wise to ask why Nigerians are so prayerful.
Many Nigerians seek and obtain solace under the umbrella of prayer, they give thanks to God always even when things go contrary to their prayers.
It serves as an outlet to voice out the pain of the economic conditions of the country which is depressing, desolating and traumatic.
Studies have also shown that prayers reduce stress, increase empathy, and builds relationship. It is also a spiritual exercise where people communicate with God, show remorsefulness to God and find direction.
For Muslims, they pray five times a day to fulfil the obligation bestowed upon them by Allah through his prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
For Christians, it’s more like a communication between a man and his maker.
Under normal circumstances, I should mean that an increase in prayers results in an increase in our morality, but the reverse is the case.
With Nigeria being the second most prayerful nation in the world it is ironically, in the top ten list of the most corrupt in the world. In our country, the “prayer syndrome” has penetrated every sector of our daily life which includes business, industry, economy, government/politics and even education.
Every Monday morning in the university, chants, praises, worship and even speaking in tongues are heard all around the school blocks pouring fire and brimstone at the devil and warning students not participating in the heat of hellfire if they don’t accept Jesus as their personal Lord and savior. Some of these non-participants might be Jehovah’s Witnesses, Jews, Traditionalists and Muslims.
In 2022, a Nigerian Christian student, Deborah Samuel was beaten and burnt to death in Shehu Shagari College of education, Sokoto Over allegations of blasphemy by fellow students, these are reprisals of choosing religion over humanity.
Travelling in Nigeria, chances have it that you might meet a preacher in the bus park and on transit the person sitting next to you might suddenly turn into a preacher and soon every passenger including the driver will be in the spirit realm. Sunrise to sunset you here church megaphones screaming prayers even in an incomprehensible language.
In the north, the muezzin cries out in the megaphone to remind the inhabitants that it’s time to pray.
Is it right or wrong? The answer depends on the reader, for the holy book asks us to “pray without ceasing” even when we are down, in pain, sick and also when our rights are trampled upon under the jackboot of our politicians who are sworn in with the holy books.
The paradox in prayerfulness and corruption can be seen in our society today when a scammer prays to God before scamming people, a politician prays before siphoning public funds to his private foreign account, a trader prays before cheating a customer, a customer prays after cheating a trader by paying with counterfeit notes, a murderer praying before committing murder, a teacher praying before demanding sex for academic scores, a lady praying and giving thanks to God after gaining thousands of followers on her social media page by dancing naked. It’s endless, in Nigeria everybody prays.
What’s wrong? Does prayer bring holiness and peace to a land? Of course if does but it will be a reality the day we stop seeing each other as Christians, Muslims, Traditionalists etc.
But start seeing each other as a fellow human being. Speaking out when our rights are violated, contributing to active community efforts, thinking critically, being our brothers’ keeper, being good when no one is watching or without cameras, being a servant, not a ruler, living together with one another and defending our homeland when the need comes.
These, backed up with prayers can pull us out from the quicksand we are rapidly sinking into. We should help God to help us by keeping this country safe, healthy and progressive for our children and their descendants.
