CHIBUZO UKAIBE recounts the interfaith dialogue held last week in the light of the forthcoming general election.
As preparations for the general elections enter the final stages and the campaigns by candidates gets more intense, expectations on all critical stakeholders is also put on the spot.
This was clearly the essence of the 2nd general assembly of the Interfaith Dialogue Forum for Peace (IDFP), with the theme, 2019 general elections and national security: the role of interfaith communities.
As forthcoming elections shapes up to be contentious, the need to ensure that it is peaceful, credible and transparent was a focal issue at this gathering of religious leaders.
With the Sultan of Sokoto, Abubakar Saád III, who is the president-general of the Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), and the president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Dr Supo Ayokunle, as co-patrons of the IDFP, the forum has been at the fore of defining dialogue along religious issues in relation.
Essentially, IDFP is a national Interfaith and Intercultural dialogue forum that has the peaceful coexistence of adherents of all governments recognised religions as well as all ethnic groups in Nigeria as its central objective.
Establishment in February 2016, it was funded and facilitated by KAICCIID Dialogue centre Vienna in partnership and collaboration with Interfaith Mediation Center (IMC), IPCR and Kukah center.
IDFP is focused on Interfaith activities and inter– religious awareness, dialogue and understanding for the two dominant faiths in Nigeria – Christianity and Islam.
It is a forum that is hoisted to discuss, ask questions and arrive at a mutual understanding about the beliefs and practices of these faiths.
The purpose of the dialogue being to dispel stereotypes, to mitigate violence, to create understanding and to enable co- operation and peaceful co-existence whilst maintaining mutual respect for the religious differences of the two religions.
The major core and stance of the IDFP is to achieve peace in Nigeria. Hence, sincerity is the watch word for her inter faith activities.
So at this year’s gathering in Abuja, the issues at the front burner were the role of religious leaders ahead of the polls, the proper conduct of politicians and the non partisanship of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies.
There were also issues of proper governance, infrastructure deficit and insecurity. Social ills like fate news, hate speech and unguarded utterances capable of causing chaos were discussed.
Setting the stage for the dialogue, the co-chairman of IDFP, Bishop Dr Sunday Onuoha, in his welcome remark, decried the current state of insecurity across the country.
He however added “it must be stated that one of the remote causes of electoral violence is when the process is defective and lacks the needed as people will always desire.”
He nonetheless gave a charge to the religious bodies, civil society organizations, town unions, Youth groups, women organizations, thus “we have a critical role to play to ensure that people are allowed to cast their votes and to douse tension already being felt across the country. Similarly, INEC and security agency must be encouraged to remain neutral in discharging their duties.”
On his part, the co chairman of IDPF, Alhaji Kunle Sani, who recounted the successes the forum has made regardless of how daunting the task has been, recounted that they visited some flash states like Zamfara, Benue, Plateau, Kaduna, to seek deeper interfaith dialogue.
The keynote speakers at the event were Wazirin Katsina, Prof Sani Lugga, and James Uko Kalu Igwe (SAN). They spoke on 2019 general elections and National security: the role of interfaith communities”.
Giving the Islamic perspectives, Lugga, who lamented that “Nigeria is currently more divided than ever before along religious and ethnic lines coupled with serious political tension and massive insecurity”, however noted that it is fortunate that “every type of conflict or insecurity challenge in Nigeria today is being given a religious coloration.”
He added that the international community are concerned about the prospect of peaceful, free, fair and credible general elections, noting that “these concerns are founded on the unfortunate rise in criminal activities and foul political utterances and actions; coupled with massive insecurity where Nigerians fear for their lives and properties in the homes, market places, places of worship, on the roads, on the farms, and indeed at wherever one finds himself or herself.”
He however noted that Nigerian Muslims and Christians, who make up more than 90 percent of the Nigerian population have the “ultimate responsibility of making Nigerian peaceful and progressive by not only professing religiosity through church and mosques services, but also putting the religiosity into practise in daily private and public lives.”
He added “Nigerian Muslim and Christian leaders at all levels must take up the challenge of seeing to religious understanding and accommodation. This is the most important role the Interfaith community in Nigeria can play towards the attainment of peaceful, free, fair and credible 2019 general election.”
On his part, Igwe, advocated more proactive approach to addressing challenges that will beset the elections.
He recommended a peaceful and intellectually stimulating process of harmonising views on contents of proposed legislations such as the Electoral Act.
He urged religious leaders to “stimulate the use of professionals in it’s membership in discerning matters that require insights. This will promote greater peace and security, particularly at this time.”
He nonetheless tasked interfaith leaders to in the interest of peace and security, “exercise restraint in putting to public domain persuasively optimistic views in form of prophesies that declare who will win or loose the 2019 election. Nigerians are yet to cast their votes yet some religious leaders are seen as biasing the minds of voters and swaying votes from one candidate to the other.
“Whoever will win lies in the power of the votes yet to be cast by Nigerians. I urge that interfaith leaders use prophesies to promote peace and love as well as act in manners consistent with tolerance and harmony,” he said.
The Sultan of Sokoto, Abubakar Saád III, warned political actors against recruiting children of the poor as thugs during the forthcoming election.
In his address, the Sultan, who is the president-general of the Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) appealed for calm during the forthcoming election and urged politicians not to forget that God gives and takes power.
While he expressed happiness at the assurances given by President Muhammadu Buhari that his government was committed to ensuring transparent and peaceful elections, he however, wondered if politicians were on the page as the government on the issue, asking: ”The most important thing is, are the politicians ready?”
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The Islamic leader went on: “Let us reason for a while and ask which children they use for perpetrating these crisis. They don ’t use their children and not rich men’s children, but the children of the poor.
“In most instances, these children are killed and their bodies are nowhere to be found. And when they (politicians) succeed in using these children and they get to their offices, you never see them again. So we must never be allowed to be used.”
He stressed the need for spiritual leaders to continue to preach the word of God with honesty and sincerity for the good of humanity and sustainable peace in the country.
“As religious leaders, we should be careful about what we say to our followers in churches and mosques, bearing in mind that we will all one day stand before Allah and account for our deeds.
“What is our role as religious leaders? Simple, preach the word of God in all sincerity and love for humanity. That is what our role is . It is not for us to say it is A or B because we don ’t know if God Almighty wants Mr A or B. Because sometimes , the people may say we want candidate A and God Almighty will give them Candidate B . “We should never allow ourselves to be used by any political party or candidate. If you want to support any party or candidates do it personally,“ Sultan said .
“So whatever we are going to do or say as religious leaders, we must do that with the fear of God. We must be careful and know that the world is watching. Let us also be guided by the fact that whatever we have in this world, we will leave it here.
“We must be ready to give education to our people – and all of us have a role to play. If you are educated either in the Christian or Islamic way, you are better equipped to deal with any situation that you encounter. Whatever God has destined to happen will happen, but you must work to make it happen,” he said.
On his part, the CAN president, Ayokunle, urged security agencies not to become a source of threat to the elections by working for politicians to intimidate voters, even as he lamented that the people in the North East may be disenfranchised due to the continued insecurity in the region.
The CAN president urged the youths to desist from allowing themselves to be used as thugs.
Ayokunle said: “In fact, you should not be desperate at all in these forthcoming elections. For me, leadership is a burden; if you want to serve your people, know that on the other hand you are in for trouble because you have made yourself open to criticisms by the people.
“They will attack you left, right and centre. Leadership will take away sleep from your eyes; it will make you work extra time if you want to serve your people. But if you are going into an election and God said it is not time yet, and the people say, maybe we should choose you later, why should you intimidate people? Why should you intimidate the people who have asked you to go and rest, is rest not good for you? Why should you say you must be there at all cost? When you want to be there at all cost, I suspect you . I know you are not coming to help us. You are coming to kill us and the Lord will deliver us from you.
“So, desperation should be taken out of it completely. In advanced countries, politics is not taken as a full time job. The president of America is a successful businessman. He can serve the nation without taking out one Kobo because there is no money he has not seen before that he will now see while in government.
“So we the electorate should be careful. People that don’ t have any other job apart from politics shouldn’t be voted. And when you see them carry huge sums of money about to persuade you to follow them, please run away from them because when they win they will first of all recover what they had expended. And what are they recovering? They are recovering what they spent on you.
“I want to urge those in government and politicians generally to please calm down so that there will be no breakdown of law and order. We need our peace. We don ’t want you to set our nation on fire. Election is for a better society; it is not for the destruction of the nation. Therefore, don ’ t let your ambition be greater than the existence of the nation and the wellbeing of Nigerians.”
The Christian leader further pleaded with the security agencies and the Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC) to maintain professionalism and neutrality in discharging their mandates of administering the elections and securing the process .
“I want to sincerely plead with another stakeholder in this election – the police, DSS, civil defence and all the law enforcement agencies, please help build our nation. Don ’t help in enthroning wrong leaders. Those who want to use you to get there are your own enemies and they are enemies of the nation. Don ’t use your uniforms to do dirty jobs . A nation that gave you the opportunity to serve in that position should not become your enemy.
“You turn yourself into our enemy when you allow yourselves to be used by these politicians, either to intimidate voters by shooting in the air or preventing them from getting to where they will vote. We have seen all these things before and we are saying we don ’t want to see them again. If you don ’t want us to lay dirty curses on you, don ’t do that again if you don ’t want to mortgage the future of your children.
“I also want to plead sincerely with another stakeholder, INEC. You will use the media to promise us heaven and Earth, please sincerely deliver heaven and Earth. It is not by word of mouth, it is by action. I have always told people that good government is not about religion, but about individuals. When we elect people that are credible, we will make progress. If we have good roads, everybody will use it because it is good.”
On insecurity he said, “I will not repeat what others have said but how will the people in the North East vote when they are being disturbed daily by insurgents?The people in the North East will be disenfranchised in their own places . They will not be party to the government that emerges and that will be unfair to them. So whatever the government can do between now and 16 of February, they should please do it .
“We should not play politics with security . We must provide it and it must be seen that we have provided it . If we do not rise up to it , nothing will move forward . And I want to plead with the security agents and the commander in chief to pay more serious attention to fighting the security challenges of our people. ”
He advised politicians against using indecent campaign rhetoric on their opponents.
“I also want to add that, in your campaigns, be wary of what you say.
Don ’t provoke opposition. Everybody campaigning has a right to campaign You don ’t have the right to hurt others with your utterances . Don ’t heat up the polity, you don ’t need that . Where we are is delicate enough , we don ’t want it to become complicated.
“I want to appeal to my fellow religious leaders, please let us not make divisive statements at this time. The nation can catch fire if a wrong statement comes out of our mouths,” he added.
