By Desmond Mgbo
Last week, Kano State government hosted a one -day National Inter- religious conference, which attracted leading members of the two major religious faiths in Nigeria.
Fourth in a series, this is the first of the conferences that took a national outlook and effectively captured the theme of, “Harnessing Nigeria’s Religious Diversity for Sustainable and National Development”.
The historical occasion was jointly chaired by His Eminence, Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan and the leader of Jamahatu Izalatu Bidia Waikamatu Sunnah in Nigeria, Sheikh Abdulahi Bala Lau and attracted leading religious figures, traditional rulers, scholars among others.
Offering insight into the push to host the conference in the ancient city, Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, explained that Kano is one of the oldest cosmopolitan settlements and civilizations in Nigeria, accommodating people of different cultures and religious beliefs.
He observed also that the conference was timely given the present threat to peace and security in Nigeria, adding that the outcome of the deliberations would lay a solid foundation for sustainable peace, inter – religious harmony and development in Nigeria.
He, therefore, encouraged the presenters and panelists to brainstorm and come up with resolutions that would enable government implement policies that would lead to sustainable peace and harmony in Nigeria
Several encouraging and referral papers were delivered by eminent scholars and clergies at the conference. Yet one theme that was common to all is the urgent need to continue to dialogue and “To talk in a way that would get us results in the short, medium and long term”.
Issues that propped up included the forthcoming 2023 elections and the need to get it right. The remarks by Ganduje, the Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero and the Chairman of the National Mosque, Abuja, Professor Shehu Ahmad Saidu Galadanchi all harped on the imperatives of peace and a violence- free 2023 electioneering process.
For instance, Galadanchi admonished the political class against using religion to divide Nigerians, saying it would not augur well for the country.
In his words, “Some of our politicians, unfortunately from the two religions, are using their religion to emphasize our differences and cause disagreements, violence and fight among Nigerians.
“This has already begun to happen during their campaigns. Some of the politicians are determined to rig the coming elections by hook or by crook; they are determined to use all illegal methods in their campaigns, including religion to achieve their goals, “ he declared.
“One would be standing on a highly dented ground if he used religion in this manner and at the expense of his own country” he affirmed.
Another silent dimension of the conference was the Muslim – Muslim ticket of the APC which echoed in the welcome remarks of the Bishop of the African Church, Dr Peter Ogunmuyiwa.
He confessed that, “It is true that Christians in Nigeria are not happy with the choice of Muslim- Muslim ticket by APC, and they have the right to be unhappy with the decision, especially with the level of insecurity trending in Nigeria today, especially in the North.
“Christians bear more of the consequences of this, hence the apprehension about what the Muslim- Muslim President and Vice president will spell for Nigerian Christians if elected.
“It is now left for the APC, in particular and the presidential candidate to allay our fears as Christians and to win back the confidence of their admirers.
“The election cannot be won by a section of the country or a particular religion. We need ourselves to build a strong nation. It is also important for religious clerics to know that the immediate objective of politicians is to win elections based on ideology and programme.
“Nigerians must understand that Politics is basically about interest and strategy to win elections while the religion of faith is sacred and personal”, he stated,
In his typical undecorated manner of speech, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Matthew Hassan Kukah, observed that despite his initial cynicism about conferences of this nature, there is a need for a diagnostic initiative in a form of an inter- faith conference.
He stressed: “Our inability to manage our diversity has accounted for the tragedy that we find ourselves in today as a country” while adding that, “rather than facing the hard choices that the political class has made in managing our differences, we have ended up with the wrong diagnosis.”
He insisted that there is no trouble between Christianity and Islam or between Southerners and Northerners, saying that these possibilities and situations were mere symptoms of the disease. According to him , the real disease killing Nigeria is deprivation of one group by the other while stating that, “Where there is a threshold of deprivation, people might react violently.”
Standing on this premise, Kukah raised a few uncomfortable issues about the fortunes of Christians in Northern Nigeria. He stopped at the issue of citizenship of Nigerians in any part of the Nigerian state while faulting the demarcations that divide Nigerians as Northerners and Southerners or as Christians and Muslims.
In his view, no one should be treated as a stranger anywhere or should anyone claim to be the host of anyone in any part of Nigeria while tasking the government to make laws that guarantee that we all obey such policy direction.
He also charged at the fact that Christians in Northern Nigeria are under severe stress accounted for by the level of deprivation they face in their relationship with others, saying that they do not feel a sense of belonging despite their enormous contributions in the areas of business and education.
He argued that one of his several examples of the unfortunate situation is the fact that “Churches are seen but not accepted as part of our heritage in our cities”
He, therefore, tasked the governor to lead by example and do the right thing, saying that,“ When you stand with the victim, you point to a higher ideal about the future and you shame the extremists.”
Kukah also charged the governors of the region to take courageous steps towards integration by making appointments and creating opportunities that point in the direction of genuine integration of the people in their state.
He also cautioned about the rising wave of secularism, which he declared is a threat to religion.
“We will not solve the problem by putting people in prison but on the contrary, imprisonment merely toughens people and serves as a rallying point for others with grievances. What we see as a rejection of religion is not a rejection of faith. It is rather the lifting of the veil imposed by dogma at a time when citizens want freedom to think, dream and to be what they want to be.
“The duty of the state is to ensure that space is created and that our views and actions do not hurt other people in the course of our freedom”, he declared.
Some of the key issues raised by the Communiqué, which was signed by the Secretary of the Committee, Mohammed Garba, include the implementation of all the provisions of the law that promote peace and harmony in Nigeria.
The Clergy were tasked to continuously educate their followers on the positive impact of religious tolerance and the negative consequences of its intolerance.
The conference recommended that there should be strict control by the relevant authorities to control the spread of fake news, inciting statements, disinformation and hate speech in the social and main stream media.
Generally, the conference was a huge success by every measure. It opened avenues for a rich dialogue allowed leading cleric to remind Nigerians that the things they share in common are far more than the things that divide them.
For the governor of Kano State, again he has assumed the higher pedestal both of a statesman. His administration has done well in the management of religious diversity and his eight year tenure of relative peace in Kano State, despite transgressions and insurgency in states around the North, can only be an affirmation of his status as a fervent promoter of inter- religious peace and harmony for all mankind.