1758: Adeyemi Ademowo Johnson on Humanism, Freethought, and Critical Thinking in Nigeria
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2026/10/06
“Freethought is still unpopular in Nigeria; although there are so many youngsters who doubt their beliefs, they have not muster sufficient courage to openly express their admiration for freethought and desire to treat religion with caution.”
“Yes! I definitely believe that the younger generation will realize that it is foolish to kill in the name of any faith or any God and that all we have are one another as humans.”
“Yes! The University where I teach, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, prioritizes entrepreneurial skills development; this makes it imperative for many of the students to offer courses in critical thinking and creative thinking. I, for instance, developed and teach a course: Sociology of Creativity and Innovation. Critical Thinking is an integral part of the course. There are other courses that encourage critical thinking to satisfy its outlines.”
“There are two of them: religion and active citizenship. In religion, indoctrination of the young ones, Boko Haram recruitment of children/women as suicide bombers and the brazen display of wealth by Pentecostal pastors are issues that have dominated academic discourses. The importance of citizens in democratic governance and their attitudes towards tackling corruption are other issues. These are issues at the heart of sociological discourses from diverse angles.”
“Religion and religious leaders have a place in our political landscape. Aspirants lay claims to being ordained or ‘called’ by God to contest for elections to get favours; they also attend big Pentecostal revivals and crusades to show their loyalty to and believe in religion. Humanists are rarely taken serious and sometimes demonized when they should interest in politics or to contest.”
“Humanist Association for Peace and Social Tolerance Advancement (HAPSTA) is the first Humanist association to be registered formally by the Nigerian Corporate Affairs Commission. I am one of the driving forces that worked relentlessly for this as the President.”
“I later became the Projects Director in charge of HAPSTA life changing projects like ‘Humanist Against WitchKilling in Africa’, Stigmatized Children Rights Project (SCRIP), Omuo Humanist Against WitchKilling and Stigmatization’, Humanist Anti-Indoctrination Project (HApI) and Youth Leadership and Tolerance Training Project. I work to manage and raise funds for these projects which have been funded in the past by HAMU, Norway; Swedish Humanist Aid, Africa Unite Against Child Abuse (AFRUCA, UK). I also coordinate the international links for the organisation. As a member of HAPSTA Board of Trustees, I represent it at fora and work with others to coordinate its activities.”
“Let me start by appreciating the Norwegian Humanist Association and the Swedish Humanists, they have really supported financially and human capital development in the past years. Other well-established groups can get in touch with us for supports: funding of our ‘Anti-Indoctrination’ Campaign handbills; annual social tolerance leadership training for youths, invitation to attend humanist programmes; support for website hosting, etc. We would really appreciate supports that would strengthens the group more.”
“Having been a humanist for about 18 years; a university teacher for over a decade and worked with a lots of children and women stigmatized as witches, I am convinced that the world needs humanism and critical thinking. Hence, I would be happy to work with any Humanist Foundation and initiatives that will promote its humanist ideals in Africa and other continents.”
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