President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called on Nigerians across religious divides to shun hate speech and embrace common ties that could promote the nation’s corporate unity.
He also called for stronger national and international cooperation to nip in the bud the emerging security threats facing Nigeria and other parts of the world.
President Tinubu spoke Tuesday in Abuja during a two-day international security conference organised by the Jama’atu Izalatil Bidiah wa Iqamatis Sunnah (JIBWIS Nigeria).
The conference, with the theme, “Diversity and Social Peace: Partnership for a Promising Future,” was organised in partnership with the Muslim World League (MWL) of Saudi Arabia.
The event had in attendance notable religious leaders from both the Muslim and Christian communities, including scholars and representatives from Saudi Arabia and other African countries.
In a message to the occasion, President Tinubu said his administration remained committed to working with other countries and international organisations to build a stable, secure Nigeria while contributing to global security.
Represented by Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, President Tinubu said: “Working within the Committee of Nations (sic), the government is collaborating every day to ensure that security remains not only in our country but in the entire globe.”
Underscoring the significance of the conference, the president said it was coming at a time of the nation’s evolving security challenge.
He, therefore, stressed the need for government authorities, faith leaders and other stakeholders to deliberate on emerging threats to national and digital security systems.
Tinubu said the conference was expected to examine emerging trends placing pressure on Nigeria’s national and digital security architecture and to develop recommendations that would complement ongoing government efforts to address the country’s security challenges.
The president further stressed the need for the preservation of Nigeria’s unity, despite the differences among its citizens, calling on Nigerians to work together to protect the country’s cohesion and stability.
While commending the MWL for the choice of Nigeria as the conference venue, the president said the decision was significant and assured participants of the federal government’s readiness to support initiatives that promote peace and security.
According to him, the platform would avail participants of an opportunity to exchange notes and deliberate on viable, as well as sustainable approaches to addressing contemporary security challenges.
…Sultan, Yilwatda urge tolerance
Also in his remarks, the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, called for sustained dialogue between Christians and Muslims.
According to him, Nigeria’s problems could be addressed if leaders were honest and committed to implementing solutions.
“Christians should stop insulting Muslims. Muslims should stop insulting Christians. And that’s how we live in peace,” the monarch admonished, saying this engender mutual respect among adherents of the two faiths.
Speaking in the same vein, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, urged religious leaders to make churches and mosques centres of peace, saying religion should promote human dignity, tolerance and peaceful coexistence rather than hatred and division.
Yilwatda called on clerics to use their influence to foster peaceful relations among Nigerians of different faiths, stressing that religious convictions should never be used to incite violence or hatred.
“Let us preach faith without hatred, conviction without contempt, and truth without incitement.
“We can preach truth without inciting people. That’s the whole way of teaching as a religious leader,” he said.
The APC national chairman said religious differences should not undermine the shared humanity of Nigerians, arguing that genuine faith must compel believers to protect the lives, dignity and freedom of people of other religions.
“Can we truly change the people of faith if our faith does not compel us to protect the life, dignity, and freedom of those who worship differently from us?” he asked.
“If your religion does not protect the dignity of all human life, then we are not acting in religion,” added Yilwatda.
He said his understanding of peaceful coexistence was shaped by his childhood in Yola, Adamawa state, where his father, a pastor, maintained a close friendship with a Muslim leader.
The APC chair recalled that the two families visited one another and celebrated religious occasions together, saying the experience taught him that religious differences should not prevent people from building strong relationships and living peacefully.
However, he said his later experience of communal violence in Bauchi, where his family lost its home and possessions, showed him the devastating consequences of violence perpetrated in the name of religion or ethnicity.
“Sometimes they commit it in the name of religion, but I don’t believe they spare anybody. Sometimes it’s committed in the name of tribal diversity. I believe it spares nobody. All of us are victims,” he said.
According to him, displacement and suffering also reinforced his belief that Nigerians have far more in common than their religious and ethnic differences suggest.
“We have different places of worship and different religions, but in that moment of suffering, none of these different places will protect anyone.
“We may worship differently, but we suffer together. We dream together. We can build together, and ultimately, we can rise and fall together,” he said.
The APC chairman also cautioned political leaders against exploiting religion and ethnicity for political advantage, urging them to promote unity and peaceful coexistence.
He called on traditional rulers to use their moral authority to encourage dialogue, reduce suspicion and strengthen relationships among communities.
Yilwatda further urged Nigerians to exercise caution when sharing claims and information that could deepen religious and ethnic divisions, particularly when such claims could inflame tensions.
He said Nigeria should aspire to a society where citizens protect and support, urging all to build a country where children inherit schools, homes and opportunities rather than displacement camps and memories of violence.
The APC leader further called on citizens to choose peace over violence and to work collectively towards building a more united and peaceful Nigeria.
…MWL scribe, others
Addressing the gathering, Secretary-General of the MWL, Sheikh Dr Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, reiterated the organisation’s commitment to religious tolerance, moderation and interfaith dialogue.
According to him, the League abhors extremism and supports initiatives that promote understanding among people of different faiths, noting that religious differences should not become a justification for hatred or violence.
…JIBWIS, NIREC’s remarks
Earlier in his welcome remarks, the Chairman of JIBWIS Nigeria, Sheikh Dr Abdullahi Bala Lau, said the essence of the conference was to encourage tolerance and strengthen peaceful relations between Muslims and Christians.
According to him, religious leaders had a responsibility to use their influence to promote peace and reconciliation, rather than allow their platforms to become instruments for division.
Also in a remark, Executive Secretary Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), Fr. Prof. Cornelius Omonokhua, stated that humanity remained the strongest bond between Christians and Muslims.
While saying the difference in religion should be secondary to the value of humanity, he said: “No one is created a Christian, and no one is created a Muslim. We are created as human beings; hence, what binds us together is humanity.”
He said NIREC was established by Christian and Muslim leaders to promote common good and peaceful coexistence, cautioning against attempts to weaponise religion or ethnicity.
The Christian leader said adherents of the two faiths in Nigeria were not at war with one another, and therefore called on the citizens to sustain the existing bonds between the two communities.