Amid growing insecurity throughout Nigeria, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, the Sultan of Sokoto, has called for dialogue as a crucial instrument for reestablishing peace.
According to reports, the Sultan’s request coincides with the Christian Association of Nigeria’s (CAN) calls for swift action against individuals who support violence.
However, the Sultan emphasized that enduring peace cannot be attained by force alone while addressing at the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council’s (NIREC) second triennial conference in Abuja, which had as its theme “Collaboration of Inter-Religious Councils with Government to Promote Peace in Nigeria.”
He urged religious leaders to promote interfaith understanding, neighborliness, and unity while cautioning against hypocrisy, backbiting, and divisiveness.
“You can really sit and discuss any issue between you as people, as religious followers,” he declared. God doesn’t make mistakes, as I mentioned. He divided us into nations and tribes so that we might communicate with one another.
“I won’t start citing from the holy books for a lot of different reasons. However, I think that when we wrap up the meeting, we ought to be sincere and truthful, without using any foul language. We have to be quite direct.
Daniel Okoh, the president of CAN, emphasized the connection between justice and peace in his statement and demanded that those who commit acts of violence face consequences.
Additionally, Okoh called on religious leaders to help people reject violence and false information while promoting interfaith tolerance.
“Peace requires justice, and those who commit or finance violence must be held accountable,” he said. Religious leaders need to encourage people to reject discord, violence, and false information.
“We can safeguard lives, assist victims, foster social harmony, and guarantee that compassion and unity become the cornerstone of a peaceful Nigeria by cooperating across faiths.”
