“Thus Says the Lord”: Religious Clerics and Political Mobilization in the 2023 Presidential Elections in Nigeria

In Nigeria, there is a concubinage relationship between religion, state and politicians. The structural dynamic is such that ‘purely’ religious calculations must contend with ethno-regional and sectional preferences. Previous studies on religion and political mobilization have shown the struggle for state power by religious leaders in the pre and post-independent years as well as a detailed study in the fourth republic. However, there remains a gap in the literature regarding the active involvement of religious clerics speaking as Divine agents of God with a particular message for the masses as to who they should vote. The aim of this paper is to investigate the active role religious clerics played in the 2023 general elections in Nigeria by assessing their messages in favour of their choice aspirant. How was religion weaponized in the articulation of campaign messages and what was the role of religious Clerics in Nigeria during the last presidential elections? How did presidential aspirants resort to religion for political mobilization? Religious Clerics charged their members to vote their faith and thus, the direction of this paper suits the appropriation and mobilization of religious messages by clerics with their strategies in the Nigerian political terrain in 2023. This will be explored through qualitative research methods. This study applies a socio-religious approach in its methodology. It relies on surveys and content analysis of political discourses and religious teachings found in books, audio sermons/ messages, published books, articles and newspapers. The study concludes that religious devotion and messaging is a major determinants of electoral outcomes in Nigeria.