PEACEFUL CO-EXISTENCE IN NIGERIA: AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE OF NEIGHBOURLINESS

Abstract

Peaceful co-existence in Nigeria has consistently been proven almost impossible amidst the various efforts to live together in harmony as a people; and this has been due to the activities evil men who have consistently taken undue advantage of the endemic ethnic biases or religious bigotries in the society to perpetrate their evil agenda. Given the religious stance of the issue, this study was poised to explore a scriptural approach in unraveling the matter. Basically, the method adopted in carrying out the study was an analytical appraisal of the selected text as Paul’s theme in the passage was assessed vis-à-vis the subject matter of the work. The peace in Nigeria was termed negative, where the peace in existence is mere absence of direct violence, war, or fear etc. or anything worse than such as affirms the study. Basically, the deduction of the study was that the issue could not be who a neighbour is but what the problem is. Men of mischief were seen taking undue advantage of the ignorant, idle, and indigent youths to accomplish their nefarious selfish interests; and the counsel of this work is that such must not be accommodated: the appropriate quarters even the government must resist them squarely especially since the Government’s primary assignment is to ensure safety of lives and properties of the citizens though such may be hard for them to do on the ground that most of the ills in the society are often caused by majority of them in government.