African indigenous religion is the religion that sums up the total life of Africa in politics, economy, social life, and medical system. Africa as a whole and Nigeria in particular is endowed with religious tourist centres and rich cultural heritage that could no doubt be centres of attraction for foreigners like Saudi Arabia and Jerusalem where people around the globe travel to for religious worship. Though Nigeria claims to be a secular state, religion permeates and plays significant roles in the citizens’ social conduct and in choosing political leaders. Although much had been written on African indigenous religion, there have been scanty works on how religion can be used as a tool for the overall development and to engender good governance. Therefore, this study shall explore how indigenous religion can be used to curtail some of our social and political vices for the development of Nigeria. Given the vast size of Africa as a continent, specific attention is given to Nigeria and the scope limited to the Yorùbá nation. The study adopts qualitative method of research with oral interview as tool for data collection. Twenty priests of indigenous religion and 20 worshipers purposively selected were interviewed, given their vast knowledge as custodians of the religion. Findings of this study provided insights on how African indigenous religion can be used to stimulate social and economic development not only in Nigeria but also across Africa.
African indigenous religion is the religion that sums up the total life of Africa in politics, economy, social life, and medical system. Africa as a whole and Nigeria in particular is endowed with religious tourist centres and rich cultural heritage that could no doubt be centres of attraction for foreigners like Saudi Arabia and Jerusalem where people around the globe travel to for religious worship. Though Nigeria claims to be a secular state, religion permeates and plays significant roles in the citizens’ social conduct and in choosing political leaders. Although much had been written on African indigenous religion, there have been scanty works on how religion can be used as a tool for the overall development and to engender good governance. Therefore, this study shall explore how indigenous religion can be used to curtail some of our social and political vices for the development of Nigeria. Given the vast size of Africa as a continent, specific attention is given to Nigeria and the scope limited to the Yorùbá nation. The study adopts qualitative method of research with oral interview as tool for data collection. Twenty priests of indigenous religion and 20 worshipers purposively selected were interviewed, given their vast knowledge as custodians of the religion. Findings of this study provided insights on how African indigenous religion can be used to stimulate social and economic development not only in Nigeria but also across Africa.