ABUJA – Some religious leaders on Friday called on adherents of Christianity and Islam to eschew violence and promote religious tolerance.
The leaders made the appeal in Abuja at the end of a meeting under the aegis of Inter-Religious Dialogue and Ecumenism Commission.
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The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the meeting was attended by Christian and Muslim leaders from some West African countries.
The meeting also called for the promotion of human dignity by adherents of the two religions.
The convener of the meeting, Bishop Matthew Kukah of the Sokoto Catholic Diocese, in his opening address, said that the dialogue was an opportunity to create harmony and consensus among religious groups.
“This dialogue is a laudable initiative and a great opportunity to create harmony and consensus amongst all faith-based groups in the continent of Africa,” Kukah said.
He further said that “sustenance of this initiative is necessary in view of the experience of insurgency in parts of the continent’’.
Earlier, Rev. Fr. Cornelius Omonokhua, of the Catholic Secretariat Chapel, in his welcome address, lauded the idea of religious leaders from across West Africa forming a synergy on religious tolerance.
He said that the dialogue, tagged “Religious Extremism and its Challenges in West Africa”, was necessary to address the decline in human dignity as perpetuated by some religious extremists.
“The coming together of the countries of West Africa to discuss the common concerns of interreligious dialogue is imperative now more than ever before.
“Our region is witnessing a serious decline in the sense of human dignity because of the spate at which some people take human lives due to religious extremism.
“It is hoped that ECOWAS response to religious extremism in West Africa would direct citizens in the region to peaceful coexistence and religious harmony,’’ he said.
In his response, Prof. Kyari Mohammed of the Centre for Peace and Security Studies, Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Yola, called for regional cooperation to curb insurgency.
He urged religious leaders in the sub-region to avoid political influence as a way of promoting integrity.
“There is the need for the Nigerian Government to cooperate on regional basis as a way of curbing insurgency.
““We shouldn’t give social problems religious coloration and our governments should focus on women and children who constitute majority of our population,’’ he said.
Mohammed advised governments to work with the civil society across the sub-region to build a stronger resilience against extremism. (NAN)
