Religious Violence in Nigeria: Christianity as Panacea

Abstract

Nigeria is one of the African countries that is secular and pluralistic in nature. Despite her state of pluralism and secularism, findings have indicated that cases of religious violence, kidnapping and ritual killings have been recorded from time to time. This has brought untold hardship to the unity of the country, to the extent that Nigerians themselves feel unsecured, with the fear of unknown. If nothing is done to bring a lasting solution, the end result would be catastrophic for Nigerian, African and the entire world. This work seeks to identify and proffer lasting solutions to religious violence in Nigeria. The approach to be employed include historical, theological and interpretative methods based on primary and secondary sources. It was discovered that dialogue, tolerance, unity, love, prayer and patience are vital Christian virtues or keys to resolving the violence. It is therefore concluded that, to put an end to religious jingoism in Nigeria, all hands must be on deck. The government, religious bodies, especially the Christian Association of Nigeria, must wake up to their responsibilities, mandate and vision of keeping the peace and unity of the nation.