RELIGION, RESOURCE CONTROL AND RESTRUCTURING IN NIGERIA: AN ETHICAL APPRAISAL

Abstract

Agitations for resource control and restructuring are in the front burner in the present polity of Nigeria. Religion which is at the center of the polity of the nation cannot shy away from this reality. This paper uses the ethical theory of utilitarianism to evaluate the roles of religious bodies in these calls. The paper concludes that the dominant religious bodies in the nation namely Christianity and Islam have important roles to play in ensuring that justice and fairness prevail in the nation. The paper recommends among other things that religious bodies should take a firm stand on the call for restructuring and resource control in the country; religious leaders should be vocal on the matter and adherents of the different religious persuasions must imbibe the principal of equity and fairness which is key in virtually all religious persuasion as they take their stand on the issue of resource control and restructuring of the Nigerian nation.