By Obasi Ikechukwu LL.B
It is pertinent to begin with the saying that those who advocate for their rights do no wrong. A snake that does not display its strength is treated like a rope. This is relevant to freethinkers because without proactive advocacy in Africa there is a risk that the continent will return to the dark ages.
Most Africans suffer cognitive dissonance. Not only do they receive high doses of deeply rooted indigenous traditional values, they also receive equal doses of the Islam and Christianity brought to them by Arabs and Europeans respectively. Most African countries are now ‘Chrislamic’, a term coined by Leo Igwe to describe societies dominated by both Islam and Christianity.
Freethinking and religious freedom are increasingly restricted in Africa. To take Nigeria as an example, despite the promotion of Humanism by the late Tai Solarin, and by Professor Wole Soyinka, Dr Leo Igwe, Mubarak Bala and others, the country has continued to degenerate into a toxic theocracy where religious freedom seems purely notional. Even so, it is important to emphasize that religious freedom can only be realized in Nigeria, and in Africa more generally, through Humanist advocacy. Indeed, true humanism and secularism are the only hope for a peaceful society.
Thus, the aim of this article is to argue for a proactive humanist advocacy which exploits African law. Most African countries enshrine secularism and religious freedom in their constitutions – which are the supreme law of the land.
To take Nigeria as an example, Section 10 of the 1999 Constitution bestows secular status on the country, and Section 38 guarantees religious freedom. The tenor of these Constitutional provisions suggests that religious freedom is a private right and secularism a public right, and that the provisions are intended to achieve order in a multi-religious society. This is the reason for the limitation of religious freedom in section 45 of the Constitution.
Despite this, laws like the Criminal/Penal Codes and the Cybercrime Act (particularly Sections 24, 25 and 26) tend to restrict religious speech and religious freedom. Critics of religion are intimidated, arrested, and detained for alleged cyberbullying – despite the fact that the extant provisions have been expunged by the ECOWAS Court. In fact, merely to be a critic of religion is seen as blasphemy in Nigeria. Criminal Laws now appear to be above the Constitution.
Southern Nigeria used to enjoy freedom of speech – conflict between religious and non-religious people was limited to verbal abuse. But now the monstrous harassment of freethinkers by the police which previously occurred only in the Islamic north has spread to the south. Some clerics positively delight in using the police to arrest those who expose their staged ‘miracles’. They can do this because of the ‘amalgamation contract’ between religious institutions and the ruling class. The whole country is now experiencing faith-based degeneracy, and there is thus a need for a more proactive advocacy to counter the growing danger.
In brief, humanism is a human-centric view of life that thrives through advocacy. This is why the writer feels that humanism and human rights advocacy are identical twins. Being a humanist is a call to activism. Freethinkers in Nigeria are therefore urged to go beyond social media advocacy and learn the gimmicks of Nigerian Clerics who use the law as a weapon instead of relying on their purported omnipotent God.
Humanist advocates should begin by testing the constitutionality of clerical conduct. A good starting point would be to test the constitutionality of the way in which clerics abuse religious freedom in their sermons by insulting the adherents of traditional religions. It should be noted that Ekwensu, Igbo Christian name for Devil or Lucifer is in fact a deity worshipped by some traditionalists in some parts of Igbo land.
Another point to raise is related to the constitutional right to hold property. Section 11(1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud Act regards money as property. Therefore, appropriating offering and tithes from church members under the guise of serving God is fraudulent given that there is no God. The money which is offered achieves nothing other than to enrich the clerics so that they can buy yet more private jets and bulletproof cars. Money is personal property and appropriating it from the congregation by selling them false hopes amounts to an abuse of property rights.
Armed with both the provisions of the Constitution, and the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure Rules, the constitutional validity of acts derogating the gods of traditional worshippers and collecting offering and tithes in the name of a non-existent God could be tested. No formal locus standi is required when starting a human rights action in Nigeria because the public test applies. However, law suits are more watertight when a party to the action is directly affected by the behaviour complained of.