‘Why Do Humans Need God To Justify A Gun?’ — Ifowodo Speaks After $100,000 Prize Win

In an unique interview with LEADERSHIP, Ogaga Ifowodo, the poet who was once awarded the Nigeria Prize for Literature, valued at $100,000, for his choice of poetry, Why Does God Want A Gun?, spoke about religion, extremism, energy and the violence that has formed portions of Nigeria’s fresh historical past.

Requested, “If God does now not desire a gun, why do you assume human beings so steadily want God to justify one?”, Ifowodo mentioned, invoking God can turn into some way of protecting human motives from scrutiny.

“As a result of by means of falsely invoking the identify of God, they attraction to our innate concern, awe and worship of God, hoping thereby to stop any rational exam in their motives, their quest for energy and domination over the remainder of us,” he mentioned.

“If we settle for that it’s God’s instructions they’re obeying, then we will’t query their movements, regardless of how vile, murderous and evil.”

This can be a reaction that is going immediately to the guts of Why Does God Want a Gun?, a set that interrogates non secular violence and what occurs when religion is used to legitimise energy and brutality.

However the query of God and the gun is just one a part of Ifowodo’s dialog with LEADERSHIP.

Within the complete interview, he speaks about Leah Sharibu and why she has turn into such the most important determine in his poetry. He additionally confronts Nigeria’s tendency to disregard sufferers of violence and explains what he believes occurs to a rustic when tragedy turns into so widespread that individuals start to reside with it.

And there’s a good larger query: has Nigeria turn into too pleased with non secular and political violence?

Ifowodo has a solution.

Learn the entire unique interview with Ogaga Ifowodo in the next day to come’s version of LEADERSHIP, as he speaks to Adejoke Alabi-Henry about his prize-winning assortment, Leah Sharibu, non secular extremism, Nigeria’s forgotten sufferers and why literature should refuse to appear away.