Amidst 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 encourage violence.
However, the Sultan emphasized that enduring peace cannot be attained by force alone during his speech 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 harmony, understanding, and neighborliness while cautioning against hypocrisy, backbiting, and division.
“You can really sit and discuss any issue between you as people, as religious followers,” he stated. God is error-free, as I have stated. He divided us into nations and tribes so that we could communicate with each other.
“I won’t begin quoting from the sacred texts for a number of different reasons. However, I think that when we wrap up the meeting, we ought to be sincere and truthful without using any euphemisms. We have to be really direct.
Daniel Okoh, the president of CAN, emphasized the connection between justice and peace in his remarks and demanded that those who commit acts of violence be held accountable.
Additionally, Okoh called on religious leaders to help people reject violence and false information while promoting interfaith harmony and unity.
“Peace requires justice; those who commit or finance violence must be held accountable,” he said. Religious leaders need to help people reject discord, violence, and false information.
“We can save lives, assist victims, foster social harmony, and make sure that compassion and unity become the cornerstone of a peaceful Nigeria by cooperating across faiths.”
