The Federal Government has been called upon to end official discrimination against minority faith and belief groups at Nigerian airports.
The call was made by the Vice-President of Humanist International and Director of Advocacy for Alleged Witches (AFAW), Dr Leo Igwe, in a statement he released to journalists in Owerri.
Igwe said the entrenched exclusion of Nigerians who are neither Christians nor Muslims is evident at the nation’s airports, where only Christians and Muslims are provided with prayer rooms.
He stated that while statistics present Nigeria as predominantly Christian and Muslim, millions of people counted as such do not profess the faiths, but are so designated because of where they were born or where they live. Many, he said, pay lip service to the two religions for fear of being persecuted, prosecuted, jailed or murdered if they openly identify as non-believers.
According to him, Nigeria is constitutionally secular and prohibits a state religion at the federal and state levels, but in practice operates as a de facto Chrislamic state where Christianity and Islam function as state religions.
Igwe noted that the Constitution guarantees Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), including the right to change religion or profess no religion, but lamented that the right is not protected. He cited the enforcement of blasphemy and apostasy laws in some states and the use of state funds to sponsor Christian and Muslim pilgrimages as evidence of government privileging of the two religions.
He questioned the rationale behind providing prayer rooms only for Christians and Muslims at airports while ignoring millions of Nigerians who are traditionalists, atheists, humanists and members of other faiths who do not pray the Christian or Islamic way.
“Why are there no prayer, meditation, or reflection facilities for Nigerians who are neither Christians nor Muslims? How can the Nigerian government justify that it treats equally Nigerians of all faiths and none?” he asked.
Igwe recommended that the government should make the prayer rooms inclusive by converting them to meditation rooms as is done in some airports abroad, which would allow people of all faiths and beliefs to pray or reflect together and help maximise space at transit points.
He also suggested the provision of a third facility, an ‘Other Room’, dedicated to persons of other faiths and none.
The humanist advocate said Nigeria has faced intense international criticism for violating FoRB, but the government has continued to deny it while reiterating its commitment to religious freedom. He said the situation at airports contradicts that commitment.
He stressed that airports should showcase Nigeria’s best in respecting FoRB, as they are used by people from different parts of the world, including those who are neither Christians nor Muslims, who should be able to use prayer facilities regardless of their faith or belief.
Igwe urged the Federal Government to rise to its constitutional duty and demonstrate its commitment to protecting the FoRB of all Nigerians at airports and beyond.