INTRODUCTION
Nigeria, as a multi-faith state, has been bedeviled devastatively with religious crises and
civil unrest in recent time than any period in her national history. A lot of recommendations
have been given to the country on her how to curtail the dilemma, all of which have proved
irrelevant. A cursory look at Nigeria’s situation in this decade shows some similarities to the
occasions of war in the Old Testament. The theology of war and national security in the Old
Testament is relevant to our current dilemma of insecurity in Nigeria. In the Old Testament
there were so much war and violence sanctioned by Yahweh.1
The Old Testament is full of
reflections of warring activities in Ancient Israelite time. This is because there was what can be
called ‘the spirit of territorial dominion cum nationalistic expressions.’ The horrific events of
insecurity in Nigeria have served as a catalyst in making us to reflect on how one responds to
such extreme actions of violence and insecurity. While some people advocated for swift military
retaliation, on the other side of the spectrum, many proceeded to embark on ‘bizarre rituals of
symbolic self- flagellation.’