By Donu Kogbara

AS we enter a brand new year and approach the elections, I thought I should share some important observations about love and religion. They were made by my dear uncle, Jonas Odocha, a former senior executive of NNPC and knight of the Anglican Church. I’ve also included a thought-provoking response from one of his friends.

PLEASE permit me to express my understanding of religion as the pathway to acknowledging a superhuman power responsible for our existence and which demands our obedience. Yes, there are different religions but I have taken time to review each of their cardinal tenets.

CHRISTIANITY: Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them.

ISLAM:  No one of you is a believer until he loves for his neighbour what he loves for himself.

JUDAISM:  What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow man. This is the entire Law, all the rest is commentary.

BUDDHISM:  Hurt not others with that which pains yourself.

HINDUISM:  This is the sum of duty; do naught unto others what you would not have them do unto you.

We can all see a common thread of love in all these religions, but with all our religiosity where is that love today?

Indeed the problem is not with the various religions but obviously with us the adherents and our human frailties. This morning I woke up wondering whether that police officer that shot and killed the pregnant lady in Lagos on Christmas day would love this done to his own wife.

A couple of months back I wondered whether those classmates of Deborah who stoned her to death in Sokoto would love that done to their own sisters.

What of employers of labour withholding the salaries of employees and pensioners for months on end? What of leaders and politicians denying the people good governance and development?

What of religion being turned into drama, and faith being commercialised? What of youths engaging in banditry, terrorism, kidnapping and other vices?

What of victimisation in higher institutions? What of the Judiciary delaying or denying justice? What of superpowers invading weaker countries to achieve expansionism?

We can go on and on to show how we have deviated, individually and collectively, from our religious tenets of love and good neighborliness.

Why are we then surprised that we are living in a depraved world? Surely where there is no Love, definitely there shall be no Peace; be it in our homes, in our communities or in our countries or globally. Love is the summary of the law.  

Professor Phil Amadi, who is based in Phoenix Arizona in the United States, is a former schoolmate of Uncle Jonas and they wound up going to the University of Ibadan together to read Geology. 

Here is his response:  

Dear brother, love is the summary of the Law. The golden rule is immutable and must apply to all Humanity. The problem or the deviation from all this is human frailty, and that is the essence of my post. Nothing more and nothing less. Whatever goes amiss in Religion or Politics is traceable to our frailties as humans, and this is why the walk with God is ever work in progress with God as our guide and guardian. God bless.  

I was just reading your commentary on Religion – essentially all Religions that dominate and ultimately control faith obligations across the globe…What seems to be missing in all the perspectives is the confluence between Religion and Politics. Where contradictions exist, they are implicated by morality, including self and collective righteousness. Islam is as much a religion as it is the prescription for governance.  

  The Church of England is not too far removed from being the founding principles of monarchical control upon which politics resides to the extent possible. The Vatican tries very hard to hide its historical history but still the separation of Religion from Politics has remained blurred and often misinterpreted and misunderstood.  

Again back to history, the slave traders were overheard chanting Christian songs and reciting their version of the Bible while the slaves they had on board were held in chains in the basement of the slave ship.  Love is inherently unaffiliated to and with religion. The African Traditional Religion preaches fairness, righteousness and, above all, it admonishes its subjects to keep their hands clean, upholding the golden rule established by their ancestors through the ages.  

In essence Love becomes an abstraction towards the real value imposed by religion and politics. Impunity and protectionism generated by religion and politics does not allow Love to thrive in the collective or in self interest and certainly not essential towards sectarian bargaining,   commitment or contract. It is for the same reason, there is no mathematical model for predicting Love and its trends.  

The same cannot be said of Religion and Politics where people are paid for conducting polls, surveys, and analyses to decipher trends.  

Comments please!  

Vanguard readers are not always as reactive as they should be when topics that are relevant to all of us – as Nigerians or members of the human race – are discussed on the pages of newspapers. Let one of your new year’s resolutions be to make your voice heard!