According to a report on the news agency Naij.com, there are plans in place by the federal government to impose a ban on Christian and Muslim prayers at public functions.
It is believed that this is a move to keep the two predominant religions on equal footing. It is reported that the National Orientation Agency’s acting Director General Mrs. Ngozi Ekeoba is spearheading the movement.
The religious nature of Nigeria and Nigerians have made the move progress more slowly and the relevant parties are still consulting to see if it’s a viable move.
According to Naij.com’s source, “The new DG has been promoting it since she came on board, but she is also careful not to receive a backlash for the idea given the very religious nature of Nigerians.
“So at the moment it is not been enforced but they are pushing the idea to many people, agencies, government departments and parastatals and many are okay with the idea. The feedback so far has been positive.”
The source also revealed that the idea has been sold to the minister of information and national orientation, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
These reports have of yet been unverified as the NOA have not been unavailable to react.
The move has been hailed by some, for instance Mr. Bamidele Salako, co-founder of Outright Communications who said “While still acknowledging the existence of a God – a theme central to the beliefs Nigeria’s two major religions, it gives no pre-eminence to either.
“It also captures the greatest needs of the good leadership, truth, honesty/integrity, love/unity and the actualisation of our national potential.”
Naturally others have disagreed stating that the move is foolish as Nigerians are too deep rooted in religion to want it any other way.
This seems like a debate that will rumble on for a while longer.
Leave a Reply