Christmas is a season that invites reflection—on love, peace, goodwill, and the ties that bind us as a people. In a country as richly diverse as Nigeria, this reflection must include a sober look at how we live with one another across lines of faith. If there is one enduring lesson Nigeria urgently needs, it is this: religious tolerance is not weakness; it is strength.
Across Nigeria’s complex tapestry, the Yoruba experience stands out as a quiet but powerful testament to what tolerance can achieve. Today, the Yoruba are among the most successful ethnic groups in Nigeria and across Africa. Their presence is felt in governance and politics, education and scholarship, commerce and industry, law and media, culture and tradition, sports and entertainment, music and film, and in the leadership of major religious institutions. This success did not happen by accident—and it is not the product of one religion dominating another.
Politically, the record is instructive. Since the Fourth Republic, the Yoruba have produced two Presidents and one Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, alongside a host of influential governors, ministers, legislators, and technocrats. This political success has been sustained without religious conflict tearing their society apart, demonstrating that tolerance strengthens—not weakens—collective political ambition and achievement.
What sets the Yoruba apart is something deeper and more enduring: a culture of religious tolerance woven into everyday life.
Among Yoruba families, it is common to find Christians, Muslims, and adherents of African traditional beliefs living side by side—sometimes under the same roof. Husbands and wives may practice different faiths without suspicion or hostility. Children grow up learning about the religions of both parents, not through compulsion or fear, but through understanding. They attend church or mosque freely, guided by conscience rather than coercion, until they are mature enough to choose their own spiritual path.
In this environment, there is little room for religious extremism. Faith is personal, not a weapon. There is no obsession with policing names, no insistence that identity must conform to one religious label, and no discrimination because someone bears—or does not bear—a particular religious name. Difference is normal. Coexistence is natural. Respect is assumed.
This tolerance has had profound consequences. By removing religion as a source of internal conflict, the Yoruba have freed their society to focus on education, enterprise, innovation, governance, and cultural excellence. Energy that might have been wasted on suspicion and division is instead invested in building institutions, nurturing talent, and competing confidently on national and global stages. When families are united despite religious differences, communities are stable. When communities are stable, progress follows.
The lesson for Nigeria is clear and urgent. Religious intolerance fractures families, weakens societies, and diverts attention from development to endless conflict. It turns faith—which should inspire compassion—into a tool of exclusion. No nation can thrive when its people see one another first as religious rivals rather than as fellow citizens.
This Christmas, as we celebrate the birth of Christ—a message rooted in love, peace, and goodwill—we must ask ourselves hard questions. What if we chose understanding over suspicion? What if we allowed our children to learn before they choose? What if we respected faith without enforcing uniformity? What if, like the Yoruba example shows, we treated religion as a bridge rather than a battlefield?
Nigeria does not lack talent, resources, or promise. What we often lack is the discipline to live together despite our differences. Religious tolerance is not about abandoning conviction; it is about honoring humanity. It is about recognizing that diversity, when embraced, becomes a source of strength rather than division.
As we exchange Christmas greetings and look toward a new year, let us commit to a Nigeria where faith inspires unity, not hatred; where difference enriches, not divides; and where tolerance becomes a shared national value. In learning from the Yoruba example, we may yet discover that peaceful coexistence is not only possible—it is the surest path to collective success.
Merry Christmas, and may peace, understanding, and tolerance guide Nigeria into a brighter future.
Capt. Bishop C. Johnson, US Army (rtd), is a national defense and military strategist, and a political commentator.
Gatekeepers News is not liable for opinions expressed in this article, they’re strictly the writer’s
