Does religion rule the lives of Nigerians?
Many surveys show that religion plays a leading role in the lives of Nigerians. A recent BBC survey for the Who Runs Your World? season show religious leaders are the most trusted of leadership groups (according to 85% of respondents), with 86% wanting to give them more power in their country. Social realities on the ground in Nigeria contradict that line of thinking. This programme in the season asks whether Nigerians use religion as a scam to cover-up all kinds of social vices. A retired civil servant was reported to have once said: “If Nigerians were to match in behaviour the level they say prayers or go to churches or mosques, the country would have been a paradise on earth.” Who runs the Nigerian village? Is it the village chief, the farm, a person’s herds of cows and goats, or the weekly market day? Life in Nigerian villages is a sharp contrast to life in the Nigerian capitals like Lagos and Abuja, with different challenges and different priorities. The programme asks what shapes
