Nigeria is a secular state in theory, religion supremacy functions has been the expression of political identity and facts obviously in conflicts over resources, land, and political offices. Increasing clashes between religious groups, predominantly Muslim and Christian have taken the nation from what used to be peaceful coexistence to violent disharmony. For the course of this paper, region in politics is as old as the history of the Nigerian state. What is new in the current exclusion is the extent to which religion dominates national life. The myth of the secular Nigerian state that purports to separate the institutions of religion from those of the government has failed to translate into reality. Indeed, there is evidence to show that Nigeria's troublesome religious conflict, especially during election and beyond will negatively affect national development. It is against this backdrop that the paper traces the historical and contemporary issues of religion plurality in the challenge of national development, with particular attention to the security dilemma for Nigeria in the 21st century, paying attention to the growing influence of the unchecked religion in politics, and its significance to modern politics and how this accounts for increasing manners of conflict in Nigerian states. This paper therefore makes some recommendations and concludes that there cannot be any meaningful without proper interreligious peace and harmony.
Keywords: National Development, Religion Supremacy Functions, Politics.
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