The only thing that I think can prevent future violence is for our government to be fair to all, especially in the utilization of the country’s resources. Nigerians are not the Nigerians of yesterday.
Now, even teenagers know their rights as they follow the developments in the world, largely on the internet. Gone are the days when government officials would go to FRCN or NTA to spread propaganda and expect Nigerians to accept it.
Nigerians now have ways of knowing all the activities of their leaders and their country. Two, government should pay attention to the issue of religion. The government takes religion as the strict affairs of the clerics and their students. This is very wrong.
A situation where government consults the clerics only when they need prayers should be stopped. Government should be sincere in its dealings with clergies. Clerics are the ones who are with the people at the grassroots. These people talk to the clergies freely about their problems.
Buying cars or houses for clergies is not what I am talking about. Building mosques, schools or bringing books with government stamp or feeding people during Ramadan is not what I’m talking about.
Government should be consulting the clerics to know the needs and the problems of the people at the grassroots. Islam was revealed in order to solve the people’s problems and provide the needs of the people.
But buying big jeeps for scholars and big houses is not the solution to what is happening now because when you do that, the people would even become enemies of the clerics.
We have all seen what happened in April, where houses and cars of some scholars were burnt or destroyed. Some scholars were even killed because they were seen as agents of this government. Government should be involved in the running of religion in this country.
Lastly, government needs to come closer to the clerics now being regarded as extremists. When I say close, I don’t mean to use SSS to be harassing them. They need to come to them to understand them and know what informed their perceived extremism.
The government that is in constant war with its people or part of its people can never bring development.
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