When is south-west government going to stop wasting tax payers money on those people intending to attend personal spiritual rituals in Mecca and Jerusalem ? Religion is a private affair.
I intentionally skip other parts of the country because our needs, priorities and orientations are totally different especially from the north. The north are known for their religious sentiment and in way they are not ready for serious development because of their fear for restructuring and lack of support for it. So their elite are very okay with current system.
This is a controversial activity that serious governments in the developed countries don't have business with but in our own developing and third world country where we need aggressive and urgent development we are here wasting tax payers money on it despite having no social amenities and lacking necessary infrastructure. Whereas all these basic social amenities and solid infrastructure are available in those countries.
Religion is a private affair and personal issue therefore south-west states should have no business in it so it should be the sole/financially responsibility of anyone aspiring to go Mecca/Jerusalem for any religious activities.
The current governor of Ogun state, Ibikunle Amosun promised at the beginning of his first term that government will not sponsor anybody on pilgrimage which he failed to do. In fact, I was very happy when he made such promise. I don't know the reason for his failure.
In fact religion is now a big business venture across the world and in a way a tool of slavery in most places so a serious and business minded government especially in this part of the world where we lack everything, and they believe they have the interest of the people at heart should tax places of worship from all angles. The religious leaders are managing director/ceo of their respective house of worship. Their primary motive is profit making.
I feel disturbed when I saw a news item this week when Lagos government promised to pay some religious leaders so that they can assist them in promoting moral and right values among people so that they will shun corruption and other immoral activities. What the government failed to understand is that you can not give what you don't have. Most of these religious leaders are part and parcel of the people.
The practice of religion has had more negativity on our country than positive. Just simply look at the people at the helms of affairs of our country, they belong to one religion or the other. They are always proclaiming their religion to loot the country and commit all sort of atrocities. Even the followers too are doing the same at their level. I have worked in both public and private sectors where people will finish praying and return to the habit of office stealing, contract inflating and looting. So what is the essence of religion ? Why are we so fake ? Instead of religion to purify our hearts, it has actually hardened it. This is the case with majority. With all our religiosity many people are not honest and trustworthy. No integrity !
Over the years it has become very clear that we are contributing financially and otherwise to the economy of Saudi Arabia and Israel without having anything physical or visible in return at the expense of tax payers by sponsoring people to Mecca and Jerusalem. This is draining on our collective resources. Individuals should be allowed to shoulder the financial responsibility for this spiritual journey.
Like some of Islamic scholars will ask during their sermon..... why are we so daft ? Both Mecca and Jerusalem have all the basic amenities and good infrastructure in place.
Yet the governments in the south-west will waste tax payers money to sponsor people there, and they will return to jungle called Nigeria with no basic things of life.
Are we mad ?
By the way this religion of a thing is not going to take us out of poverty but is only going to compound the level of poverty in the south-west. It is also killing our thinking, industries and entertainment industry. Throughout the south-west the old cinema houses have been turned to places of worship.
Instead of us to build massive industries we are building massive auditoriums for worshipers with zero contribution to the economy. Serious countries that are not religiously inclined have the best and superb standard of living.
Based on available information Lagos state has stopped sponsoring pilgrimage exercise in the south-west region about three years ago because of economic meltdown. That is good enough. Till they stopped they spent an average of N1.5 billion annually to sponsor people. The state said it had saved N4.5 billion in the last three years. But they are still providing some side supports like giving lecture on medical tips and other stuffs to intended pilgrims. So we don't know how much they are spending on this.
Therefore, now is the time for other states in south-west with meager resources to stop sponsoring pilgrimage activities. They have no business with that. The earlier they do this the better for the citizens.
The south-west region needs serious development and real integration in all areas....healthcare, education, staff training, roads, waste management, potable drinking water, information technology, exchange of ideas and so on. The resources they are spending to sponsor people to Mecca and Jerusalem can be pooled together and channel to one of these areas.
Therefore, I mean everything that has to do sponsoring people to Mecca and Jerusalem should not be undertaken by any state government in the south-west, so private and professional people should be encouraged to learn A to Z of these pilgrimage activities and allow to do it. - Irunmole-nla
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