By Agba Jalingo
If as required by your own traditional religious practice, you take your sacrifice, either alone or in a group, to your traditional deities in the middle of the night when everyone else is asleep; maybe at a “T” or “Y” or “W” or whatever junction or even in your compound, and some passer-by or frightened neighbour decides to either interrupt and shame you or call the Police on you, what crime exactly under our laws will the Police be arresting that person for?
If truly there is freedom of religion as enshrined in our Constitution, are we saying that Christians and Muslims don’t pray on our roads or at night or is the freedom of religion and respect for other people’s religion an exclusive preserve of Christians and Muslims?
Is it not even more cautionary to go and do your religious worship at a time when no one will be disturbed than to usurp other people’s movement during work hours like other religious worshippers do to us?
Don’t worshippers of other religions strain our ear drums and restrict our movement with impunity even in breach of extant laws, without retribution?
Why are traditional African worshippers continually humiliated for no particular offence?
What exactly is the interest of those who want to exterminate a legitimate part of God’s own creation?
Why are people who have no in-depth knowledge of African spirituality, hell bent in demonizing and suffocating our roots?
Why is African spirituality not afforded the same equal opportunity like others, to grow and transform?
Why does it not smell like racism to you, for you to think that everyone must approach God in a manner you have been tutored to believe?
Where do these folks derive this effrontery to do to African spirituality what they cannot do to Japanese or Chinese spirituality?
I’m just wondering sha!
Yours sincerely,
Citizen Agba Jalingo.
