RELIGIONS IN NIGERIA
Discussions on religion in Nigeria always begin with references to the history of Christian-Muslim relations. In recent decades, religion has become an important factor, both in public debate and as a means of political mobilization. As a multiethnic and multi-religious country, Nigeria is a pluralistic society with African Traditional Religion, Christianity and Islam as its three main religions. She is among the most religious countries in the world. Officially, Nigeria is a secular state with freedom of religion guaranteed in the 1999 Constitution. Nigeria seeks to maintain some forms of neutrality on religious matters, but religion continues to cast an ominous shadow on the governance of the country. This paper examines the undue romance between the Nigerian state and Religion which has caused more harm than good. Among others, the paper recommends that there is urgent need for the Nigerian government to maintain a neutral posture with regard to all religions in Nigeria. The methodology adapted in this paper is historical and phenomenological, with data collected from secondary sources and analysed qualitatively.
Keywords: nigeria, religions