Nigeria and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation: A Discourse in Identity, Faith and Development, 1969–2016
Nigeria is both a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society, with Islam and Christianity being the dominant religions. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is therefore an institution that the Muslim segment of the country can readily identify with. However, there is the question of the secu...
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doaj-4449db01144749b5b84876bed5b5c4e32020-11-25T02:14:52ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442019-03-0110315610.3390/rel10030156rel10030156Nigeria and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation: A Discourse in Identity, Faith and Development, 1969–2016Babajimi Oladipo Faseke0Department of History and International Studies, Redeemer’s University, Ede 00176, NigeriaNigeria is both a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society, with Islam and Christianity being the dominant religions. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is therefore an institution that the Muslim segment of the country can readily identify with. However, there is the question of the secular posture of the country, which Christians within the polity use as an excuse to distance the country from an institution they perceive to be exclusively for Muslims. However, despite being an organization that emerged from Muslim solidarity, the OIC transcends faith to provide economic and political opportunities for member nations. The fact that Islam remains a rallying point within the OIC, however, made Nigeria’s relationship with the organization tenuous for the most part. It is against this backdrop that the paper traces the origins and evolution of Nigeria’s involvement with the OIC, identifying its cost and benefits. The essay argues that Nigeria will be the better for it if both the Christian and Muslim segments of the population embrace the OIC as a whole or are unanimous in discarding it. The divisive tendency that Nigeria’s membership breeds, however, will be detrimental to the nation’s unity and development.http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/3/156NigeriaOrganisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)foreign policysecularityeconomic aids |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Babajimi Oladipo Faseke |
spellingShingle |
Babajimi Oladipo Faseke Nigeria and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation: A Discourse in Identity, Faith and Development, 1969–2016 Religions Nigeria Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) foreign policy secularity economic aids |
author_facet |
Babajimi Oladipo Faseke |
author_sort |
Babajimi Oladipo Faseke |
title |
Nigeria and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation: A Discourse in Identity, Faith and Development, 1969–2016 |
title_short |
Nigeria and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation: A Discourse in Identity, Faith and Development, 1969–2016 |
title_full |
Nigeria and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation: A Discourse in Identity, Faith and Development, 1969–2016 |
title_fullStr |
Nigeria and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation: A Discourse in Identity, Faith and Development, 1969–2016 |
title_full_unstemmed |
Nigeria and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation: A Discourse in Identity, Faith and Development, 1969–2016 |
title_sort |
nigeria and the organization of islamic cooperation: a discourse in identity, faith and development, 1969–2016 |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Religions |
issn |
2077-1444 |
publishDate |
2019-03-01 |
description |
Nigeria is both a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society, with Islam and Christianity being the dominant religions. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is therefore an institution that the Muslim segment of the country can readily identify with. However, there is the question of the secular posture of the country, which Christians within the polity use as an excuse to distance the country from an institution they perceive to be exclusively for Muslims. However, despite being an organization that emerged from Muslim solidarity, the OIC transcends faith to provide economic and political opportunities for member nations. The fact that Islam remains a rallying point within the OIC, however, made Nigeria’s relationship with the organization tenuous for the most part. It is against this backdrop that the paper traces the origins and evolution of Nigeria’s involvement with the OIC, identifying its cost and benefits. The essay argues that Nigeria will be the better for it if both the Christian and Muslim segments of the population embrace the OIC as a whole or are unanimous in discarding it. The divisive tendency that Nigeria’s membership breeds, however, will be detrimental to the nation’s unity and development. |
topic |
Nigeria Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) foreign policy secularity economic aids |
url |
http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/3/156 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT babajimioladipofaseke nigeriaandtheorganizationofislamiccooperationadiscourseinidentityfaithanddevelopment19692016 |
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