"The White Men (those slave traders), brought Christianity to colonize we Africans and subdue us; whereas Islam, brought to us by those desert Arabs should belong to them only...
these two religions should have no place in black Africa...
these religions have come to divide we Africans...
just cast a glance at the turmoil in the Middle East...
and in some parts of Africa...
the White Man or Arab will only respect us if we Africans go back to our own roots and practice our own religion - which is traditionally African - this is what our ancestors practiced - the best for we Africans.
Mr.
Chinedu asserted.
He then went on rumbling: "I will never cheat on my wife or girlfriend.
And if I fall in love, I shall remain faithful to my lover.
I also oppose same-sex love and same-sex marriages - those Western notion of sexuality that threatens to pervert we Africans and turn our Continent upside down.
Chinedu then attacks this writer: "So you this writer, what are you talking about if you claim that I'm not a true lover because I don't believe in your God of Islam?" "Hold your fire!" This writer counters.
And in trying to appease Chinedu, he says: "Nedu, a short form of Chinedu", please don't misunderstand me, I 'm not saying you can't be a true lover if you believe in Traditional African religion that entails ancestor worship and the worship of some lesser gods.
" You can still be a true lover and why not? Turning to Mr Lee, my Chinese friend, this writer said: "Your not believing in God doesn't mean He exists not.
Secondly, there are lots of people, despite their claim to be 'men of God' aren't true lovers.
It doesn't therefore, mean that belief in God is tantamount to true love in any romantic relationship.
This writer continued: "Mr Lee, I understand some Asians like you (both old and young) still have the age-old belief of spirits possession, and destinies written in the stars.
Your being a true lover has been bestowed upon you (for free) from someone you don't believe in, or love...
He is God.
" The writer concluded.
To "Nedu" who believes in Traditional African religion, the writer had some thought-provoking words for him: You are worshipping your ancestors who are long gone - they couldn't even prevent themselves from falling ill or dying.
You are worshipping things some people molded with their hands - that could be devoured by fire; carried away by torrential rains; or annihilated during a major earthquake.
Lee and Nedu need to be reminded that, even though they do not believe in God, they still believe in something they are not aware of - culture.
In most parts of the world, cultural leanings are more powerful than religious leanings.
It's for this reason that my friends, Lee and Chinedu consider themselves to be true lovers.
They assert they will never cheat on their "significant halves", but how realistic are they? Since they don't believe in any accountability after death, there will be no any hindrance on their part if they decide to stray out of the marital bed - provided they won't get caught.
Whereas a person who believes in God knows that he will be accountable to his Lord if he fools around.
In conclusion, whether one believes in God or not, and whether one is a true lover or not, all depends on one's culture.
If culture is construed as a shared consciousness; our common experience; the small things we all know; the characters in our stories; the morals those stories carry, then culture is what we absorb as we grow up - what we hear and see so often that we call it reality.
Out of culture comes behavior - either we become true lovers or fake lovers.
And out of religion comes the fear of God - that supersedes culture.
Chinedu and Lee therefore, could still be true lovers advocated by this writer in their own terms.