Truth that must be told - Insecurity: Can’t religion help?

As the Roman Catholic Pope said at the weekend during a solemn ceremony to commemorate a century of World War 1, greed and lust for power are the pillars of insecurity for "a third war, one fought piecemeal, with crimes, massacres, destruction,".

Pope Francis was right, although as a protestant, I disagree with him for the canonical decree prohibiting Catholic priests from getting married.

Whether it is Boko Haram in West and Central Africa, Isis in Iraq and Syria; al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula; Al-Shabaab Ansar al-Sharia in Tunisia, the pirates in the sea or land grabbing crooks in Fako division, they are driven by greed, selfishness and the craving for power. In the process, they all are killing and maiming in wars of varying dimensions, tactics and ammunitions.

The question posed is: Would there have been such demonic desire for illicit acquisitions and absolute power if religion was given its deserved place in nations? My answer is no because faith and belief affect every facet of human existence.

Even in China where atheism is almost officially accepted, they are now thinking religion. The country has started to encourage the creation of departments of religion and centres to study Christianity in its universities because it believes Christianity plays a significant role in the strength of the West.

Presidents of the United States swear by the Bible while taking over office, our own Paul Biya swears to God. So why do we abandon religion even to the point that the GCE certificate in such an important subject is not recognized?

Many have been lobbying to get it recognised and I think if that is done, it would be the beginning of the fear of God. It certainly will discourage those who are provocatively drowning in illegal wealth while the majority wallows in abject penury.

It will make those who want to kill others; made in the image of the Almighty, to grab land, hang on to power they do not deserve or steal from the common purse to rethink their actions.

The expression that “politics and religion don’t mix” is often used just by egoistic minds who want to employ all means to get to power and get drunken by it. Politics and religion do mix. I see it even in ecumenical services on some government occasions; the Vatican has its ambassadors, the papal nuncios.

A survey by Robert Barro and Rachel McCleary of Harvard University indicates that “Religion appears to have an effect on economic growth and development by fostering thrift, a work ethic, honesty and openness to strangers. This has led to the notion of "spiritual capital," analogous to human capital, which focuses on knowledge and behaviour stemming from transcendent concepts and ultimate concerns.”

I embrace the views of mixing religion with politics on moral grounds and I believe many do. If politicians and administrators are God-fearing, there wouldn’t be the satanic desire to be greedy or selfish as Pope Francis has said. That would prevent the possibility of insecurity that can gradually build into a third World War caused by the offspring of Lucifer who have become disciples of corruption, bribery and power mongering.