“In 1986 Nigeria joined Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Many of us don’t bother” – Femi Falana (Video)

Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, addressed the appropriateness of President Tinubu’s participation in the Arab Islamic Summit given Nigeria’s secular status. In a video shared by Channels TV, Falana explained that Nigeria has been part of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) since 1986 and has regularly attended its conferences.

Falana emphasized the importance of adhering to section 10 of the Nigerian constitution, which prohibits the government from establishing any state religion. He pointed out that public funds should not be used to sponsor religious pilgrimages or build religious structures, highlighting that if Christians and Muslims receive such support, practitioners of traditional religions could similarly demand state-funded trips for their worship practices abroad.

In his words: “In 1986, Nigeria joined the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and since then, Nigeria has been attending the annual conference of OIC. To that extent, many of us don’t bother. But what is important is for the government of Nigeria to appreciate section 10 of the constitution which says the government of Nigeria shall not adopt any religion as a state religion. You can’t send people to Mecca with public funds and you can’t send people to Jerusalem with public funds. You cannot build churches and mosques as it is done now because traditional adherents also have the right to say they want to go and worship their own God in Brazil or Cuba.”

The video can be viewed from the 51:38 mark for more details.