Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Monday lamented that religion has often been deployed to create division, spread hate and unleash violence on one another.
Osinbajo added that notwithstanding the negative use of religion, it still remained a veritable tool for a national and global development, stressing that the Federal Government would continue to use the mandate given by the people to cater for the welfare of the citizens.
The Vice President spoke during the ninth Toyin Falola annual international conference at Babcock University, Ilisan-Remo, Ogun state.
The conference, put together by the institution, had “Religion, the state and global politics”, as its theme.
Osinbajo, who was represented by the Registrar, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, also noted that religion in Nigeria has not been properly understood.
The vice president, who described the theme of the conference as germane to the prevailing situation in the country, said: “The Interface between religion and the state was limited to issue of secularism, secularisation and separation of power between state and religion.
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“Contemporary scholarships have, however, noted that religion covertly or overtly, places more role in human and societal lives, than previously acknowledged.
“Religion is a veritable tool for a national and global development.
“On the other hand, religion has often been used or implicated as a divisive factor, often employed as instrument to spread hate and unleash violence over one another.
“It is therefore expected that this conference will make its finding available to the federal republic of Nigeria for the improvement for the welfare of all.”
