Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has disclosed that religion is Nigeria’s primary problem.
Soyinka made this disclosure during a discussion with Louisa Egbunike, a Professor of African Literature and said religion has become an excuse for Nigerians to contravene the laws and exhibit irrational behaviour.
He added that religion was used to limit the rights of others in the country.
He said: “All over the place, I find that religion has cost too much. And liberty has been taken by religionists, which would not be considered to other movements which are considered secularists.
“If you put on the garb of a religious leader, you can close up the expressway between Lagos and the rest of the nation, simply because you are having a religious celebration.
“You are just a fraction of the rest of the nation. And you should be accorded no special privileges. So, until that is done, people will always find something extra by belonging and manifesting, even to an extreme extent, your religious adhesions.
“Religion has become the number one problem for Nigerians. Hope is all very well; but hope itself can become putrid, especially if it is hope for unearned advantages in society. If religion becomes an excuse for flouting the law, then that religion has got to be tackled head-on.”
