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A humanist meeting held on Tuesday 9 April 2019 took place very quickly and highlighted the best of Lagos. One of the board members of the Humanist Association of Ghana (HAG) was visiting and the event was due to host it. It was therefore planned as a meeting, an evening. A conference on pants rituals and superstition was added to spice up the meeting and give participants a common discussion theme, apart from Jollof Rice!
Thanks to the combined efforts of the media teams of the Atheist Society of Nigeria (ASN) and the Humanist Association of Nigeria (HAN), the event was announced and broadcast online. Online advertising took place a few days before the event. On the ASN and HAN Facebook pages, the article had a few "likes" and three to five people confirmed their presence. When contacted, the organizers indicated that they were expecting about ten people. Given the short notice, it was a good number for an evening with our humanist friend from Ghana.
Again it was a day of work and the traffic in Lagos could be difficult. All this would make it difficult for some to attend.
I remember one person reportedly being able to attend if she was able to leave work earlier than expected, and another saying that he would try to fight the traffic by arriving early on the day. 39, Lagos Island.
I traveled to Ibadan to attend the event and, fortunately, I arrived at the scene, the Onikan National Stadium, at 5pm, an hour earlier. Shortly after my arrival, the coordinators of ASN and HAN joined the group. Soon, a few more people arrived. At the time we started, there were about fifteen people. I heard people calling the organizers and telling them that they were on the way. In fact, a humanist colleague from Calabar who was in Lagos for another event was not able to attend the meeting because of the traffic. The discussion about Pant Rituals was well received and people sometimes laughed at the strange thoughts and actions of people who participated in monetary rituals.
The humanist colleague from Ghana spoke about the humanism situation in his country, the challenges the humanists were facing and the progress they had made. Like Nigeria, Ghana is one of the most religious nations in the world and non-religious people are in the minority. There was a very lively question and comment session. In all, there were four major categories of comments. In the first category, we had the first comments of the timer. Some people were delighted to meet for the first time physically atheists, humanists and free thinkers. In fact, a person said they came on purpose to see what an atheist looked like and to know what atheists do each time they meet.
In the second category, it was mentioned that the humanist / atheist movement was not active enough given the religious devastation of society. One person was visibly frustrated by the slowness of humanist actions and interventions. He suggested that humanists and atheists should organize a campaign to combat religious indoctrination in society. In fact, he noted that the situation was such that he would like to distribute leaflets in the streets with bold inscriptions such as: JESUS WILL NOT HAVE COME. It has also been suggested to combat religious indoctrination in families, in schools and to explore ways to repair the wrongs caused by the local film industry, the Nollywood.
In the third category of comments, participants called for caution in combating religious brainwashing in society and promoting critical thinking. One of the participants urged that children be exposed to all options – religious and non-religious – while growing up. Another participant pointed out that it would be difficult to promote critical thinking, especially in many parts of northern Nigeria where, according to her, people were not encouraged to think. Others have drawn attention to the risks and challenges that can arise from campaigns to promote critical thinking and secular values, including the risks of ostracization, persecution and loss of life. jobs and businesses.
The fourth category includes suggestions and proposals on what could be done to meet the challenges, including the participation of humanists in the country's humanitarian and emergency services. One participant said the humanist volunteers should have been on the ground when the building collapsed in Lagos and suggested that atheists and humanists from the state meet more often. In the same vein, a participant announced another meeting to further explore the humanism-building strategies held in Lagos.
At the end of the event, the number of participants far exceeded expectations. The organizers said 27 people were present at the meeting. In fact, as we were leaving the room, someone arrived for the event. He said that he had been delayed by traffic. With a population of more than 6 million people from different parts of the country, the prospects and opportunities for humanism are immense in Lagos. The former capital of the country maintains humanistic hopes.
Warning: "The views / contents expressed in this article only imply that the responsibility of the authors) and do not necessarily reflect those of modern Ghana. Modern Ghana can not be held responsible for inaccurate or incorrect statements contained in this article. "
Reproduction is allowed provided that the authors the authorization is granted.
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