FWPI Editorial: Religion As An Enslavement Tool And The Need To Break Free
Religion, according to the description of a German sociologist and economic theorist, Karl Marx, is the opium of the masses. Herein, lies the very key root of the slavery and poverty, bedeviling the entire African continent. This is the reason behind Nigeria's unworkability as a country.
Opium, as lifted from a website, www.adf.org.au, is defined as "depressant drug", which means that it slows down information (messages), being transported or conveyed between the brain and the body. Needless to say then, why a lot of Africans especially, in the Nigerian contraption, find it difficult to comprehend the very root cause of the seeming perpetual problems confronting them. The failure to proffer solutions to these numerous problems has become the greatest undoing. The people entrapped in this entity, have been drugged through this depressant substance (opium) called RELIGION. And the resultant effect has majorly and most unfortunately, revolved around every issue and definition of this very subject.
An adage says, "if one does not know where he/she is coming from, such an individual will definitely not know the destination headed to". There are very critical questions black Africans must truly ask themselves and that is: who were they before the advent of the whitemen? What kind of religion was practiced before the colonialists (whitemen) introduced their own version? Since the reckless embrace of the whiteman's religion, were Africans better of or not? Were the whitemen having the same version of religion with the blacks? Any sincere mind that provides answers to these posers, will only arrive at the conclusion that the blacks were much better of in their own way, before the eventual arrival of the whites. They came and taught our people to trade on fellow brothers and sisters for mere objects like mirrors and cigarettes. Warrant chiefs who were their representatives, were cruely imposed on the people who were helplessly cultured against asking questions. They were conditioned not to criticize obnoxious policies as well as holding the "leaders" accountable for their actions.
The once gloriously rich Africa, especially the hyper-democratic Biafraland, was terribly decimated. Our value system and culture, were compromised. A religion that permitted the whiteman to recklessly exploit our rich natural resources in exchange for peanuts with our minds conditioned into the belief that they were gods, took firm grip. There was this grossly erroneous belief held so dear, that these colonialists (whitemen), were closer to God. They seemed unchallengeable and unquestionable. This encoloration of docility and intellectual laziness, have so terribly over the years, morphed into human beings who only sit and pray to God, to descend and practically execute everything for them, even including spoon feeding them. On the contrary however, these whitemen that sold this version of religion to our forefathers, disgustingly soiled their hands in trying to make things work out well in their own respective countries. They held their own leaders clearly accountable in all they did.
Recently, a Nigerian gospel preacher, was quoted to have stated that no one should talk against or criticize those who are messing up the lives of millions of the people encaged in Nigeria. This goes further to prove the fact that enslavement has really been perfected and handed down to the taskmasters (religious leaders), to continue to ensure that the the oppressed remain cowed. If not, how can one explain the fact that the same God in the Bible that was given to us, who sent the prophets to declare the truth and forewarn the leaders of the people concerning their injustices in the land, sent His begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who came and uncompromisingly preached against the excesses and the evils of the Pharisees, calling them "brood of vipers", will now suddenly see it sinful to tell the evil leaders of our time that what they are doing, is wrong even amidst the people's suffering?
If black lives must really matter, the blackman himself, must as a matter of expediency, break free from the religious and psychological slavery which were handed down to us as a people from our forefathers. We must completely jettison this grevious version of imposed religion made possible by the slavemasters. This then, will pave the way for easy and flawless control, with the conviction that there exists no feat we cannot achieve. We must get rid of the tainted mentality that we must soil our hands first if we must achieve freedom and development. Our leaders in whatever cadre, must have to be held accountable. It is also understandable that it is an insurmountable task, breaking free from these centuries of enslavement by remaining the way we are. Therefore, anyone who wishes to see the reality of this truth, must firstly and humbly, open his/her mind, to learn and focus on new ways of life.
Judgments must be delivered based on irrefutable facts and figures, not on superfluous and superstitious beliefs. It is only through this, that the blackman can truly free himself from all holds of slavery. Black lives will undoubtedly matter if the right things are put in place.
Written by Chukwuemeka Okechukwu
Editor, Family Writers Press International
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