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Paper short abstract:

Examining the current situations of security and looking into the future of this extremely religious country, this paper critics the ideas of god, heaven, and hell must be re-ideologized to pave way for a future that is centered on peace, provided through conscious religious re-orientation.

Paper long abstract:

Abstract

Other than the civil war which took place shortly after independence, between 1967 and 1970, there is arguably no incidents or spate of incidents in the history of Nigeria that has led to the loss of more lives and destruction of more properties than the ongoing activities of the Islamic terror group, Boko Haram, and many other religious crises that have engulfed the nation. Scholars have suggested that among other reasons for the perpetration of violence by Boko Haram is their (mis)interpretation of the tenets of Islam. One of those writings is the literary critique of the Boko Haram activities in Ahmed Yerima’s play, Pari (2016). This paper uses the play to critique the influence of religion in the historical atomization of the people, especially the poor in Nigeria and recommendation for the religious future of Nigeria. Examining the current situations of security and looking into the future of this extremely religious county, the play suggests that the ideas of god, heaven, and hell must be re-ideologized to pave way for a future that is centered on general peace: peace provided through conscious religious re-orientation. Constructed around the actual violent event of the kidnapping of 275 Chibok school girls in April 2014 in Maiduguri, Nigeria, the play accentuates the enduring philosophical question of our time: the (in)existence and benevolence and malevolence of God or supreme being, suggesting that the important route to the eradication of all forms of religious violence in Nigeria is finding a robust answer to the question above.

Keywords: Pari, atheism, theism, theodicy, God, Boko Haram, aljana, Islam, Christianity