*Says conflict entrepreneurs frustrating peace building efforts in Nigeria
By; ISAAC ODEH, Kaduna
Global Peace Foundation Nigeria, (GPFN) has met with Faith Leaders to commemorate the 2024 World Interfaith Harmony Week on the theme, “Celebrating Unity In Diversity: Building Bridges Of Harmony.
The Country Director, GPFN Rev. John Joseph Hayab, in Kaduna on Tuesday, said that the event is a celebration of people of faith beginning from 1st to 7th of February every year, as instituted by the United Nations in 2010.
He added that the essence is for faith leaders to come and discuss the importance of harmony, tolerance and respect for one another.
The peace Ambassador who also lamented the activities of conflict entrepreneurs in Nigeria, said that they are frustrating peace building efforts in the country, as division amongst residents gives political class opportunity to milk common wealth freely.
While calling on Nigerians to resist the temptation of seeing their fellow human being as enemy, the Country Director urged that members of the two major Faiths in the Nigeria should team up together as one family under God and thereafter synergize to get what belongs to them from the political class.
“We realized that those who further the division do that because through that they can continue to have a filled day milking from our common wealth and we cannot challenge them. The reason why today we see that patriotism is not really strong in our country is because we are not treating citizens as citizens but as though they are visitors, creating divisions amongst them as if it is we versus them.
“Every citizen is a citizen and has equal rights in the constitution. Therefore, this nation should not be divided using any form of identity but let everybody be respected, treated equally with justice, equity fairness. When people know that their country care, love and want to defend them, they will be patriotic.
“At the global peace foundation we try to promote that we are one family under God, we have gathered Faith leaders across the wide today to remind them of the important of this day so that we can continue to promote peace together we want a situation where every faith leader cut across the two major religions make a new friend today and even follow up to know each other’s family.” He said.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Director, Bureau Of Interfaith, Kaduna state, Rev. Fr. Anthony Shawuya, said that they are doing everything possible to ensure that their mandate to see religious harmony and peaceful coexistience in Kaduna state thrive at all costs.
Shawuya, disclosed that they have established an inter-religious harmony committee and as well as religious preaching bill, to curb the menace of hate speech especially by clerics who use their podium to instigate their followers to cause different degrees of unrest in the society.
Speaking with newsmen shortly after the event, the Project Leader for Global Peace Women in Nigeria, Aisha Yakubu, said “women are more vulnerable and at the receiving end when it comes to whatever kind of conflict in the society, adding that meeting like this that fosters harmony, peaceful coexistience will give room for peace and more economic development for women and social inclusion because what causes the vulnerability is the lack of social inclusion.
“So gathering like this should also include a lot of women so that women can be given the chances to speak because they are the first respondent to Violence and conflict.”
In his remarks, the Northern Coordinator, GPFN Sheikh Abdullahi Halliru Maraya, called on the political class to concentrate more on their constitutional mandate of protecting the lives and properties of the citizenry and prepare social welfare for the people, stressing that Nigerians today is suffering multidimensional challenges.
One of the participants, Coordinator, Justice, Development and Peace Caritas, (JDPC) Kaduna state, Rev. Fr. Joshua Achir explained that, “as stakeholder in peace building and the promotion of inter-religious dialogue, the meeting will bring about awesome resolutions that will help us to live aright especially as brothers and sisters.
“You see Christians and Muslims interacting on issues of common interests, you see us eating together, talking about breaching peace and the call that we should not just be seen preaching peace but also should be seen living what we preach as practical examples of our expectation from our followers.”
In thesame vein, the new Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria, (CAN) Kaduna state Rev. Ma’aji Caleb, said his leadership will leverage on the existing relationships between the two major religions in the state.
Rev. Caleb who expressed his dissatisfaction over the rate at which clerics use sacred places of worship for political rallies and campaigns, reiterated that, “we need to have a robust relationship, a proper understanding to deepen our appreciation in the way we understand, live, work, correct and appreciate each other for the sole purpose of improving our faith, our relationship in ensuring that peace and harmony is achieved, and that can only be done where we have a remarkable relationship that exists between the two adherent major faith in our land.
“By the grace of God I want to leverage on the relationship between Christians and Muslims. Clerics must consider their podium as sacred place for sacred worship and services to draw the heart of men closer to God for proper relationship between man and his creator because after our sojourning on earth, we shall go back to God.
“Politicians should know their boundaries and operate within their boundaries. We must accord proper respect and honor to these sacred places of worship but that will begin with the religious leaders.”
The Secretary, JNI Kaduna chapter, Ibrahim Kefena, who also spoke with Journalists, at the event caution politicians against instigating any sect of persons to cause conflict for their own selfish gain.
He reminded them that whatever they do here on earth, they will die one day and meet with God to give account of their stewardship to God, even as he explained that all sins committed by man especially murder will attract heavier punishment.
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