Abstract:
The decision which was made by the people of Nigeria
prior to independence to become the Federal Republic of
Nigeria from Britain required that the People of Nigeria will
be integrated with one another for the purposes of coexistence,
co-sharing of resources, co-administering and
co-development of the nation. But this goal seems to be
elusive in Nigeria during the nearly 50 years of her existence
as an independent nation. What seems to linger so
much is the cries of marginalization; promotion of individualistic
and ethnic interests such as ethnic resource control;
propagation of exclusive religious ideologies; and the practice
of sectional and tribal politics et cetera. In view of the
above, this paper discusses first, the nature and essence
of religion (specifically, Christian religion); second, the
concept of national integration; and third, the paper suggests
a transcendental religious orientation for national integration.
According to the transcendental religious
perspective, national integration in Nigeria after independence
is not a choice; rather, it is an ontological necessity
(Ajah 9).Therefore, the question of national integration
should not be ignored, sidelined or discarded in the name
of any religious, political or ethnic guise/affiliation; rather, it
should be encouraged, embraced and put into practice by
the people of Nigeria in order to promote unity and development
within and outside the nation.
