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.”
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
