WIC, YIC Meet With Faith-based Youth Organisations In Kaduna

.. To organise skill acquisition training for youths

By Frederick Peters, KADUNA.

NEWSDAILYNIGERIA: The Women’s Interfaith Council, ( WIC) in conjunction with her youth wing, Youth Interfaith council, (YIC) on Saturday met with several faithbased organisations to enhance the membership drive of the organisation’s youth body.

The meeting attracted youths leaders across different faiths and organizations in the state among others, pledging their commitment to join the group and contribute their quota to peace in the state and country.

Speaking the Executive Director, WIC, Rev. Sr. Veronica Ifeyinwa Onyeanisi, OLA, said, ” the meeting with youths of different faith groups organizations both Muslims and Christians is to enhance their capacity in building peace processes, safeguarding, countering extremism and respecting each other’s rights in order to live peacefully in Nigeria”.

She said the essence of the event is also to enhance the membership capacity of WIC organisation’s Youth wing, the Interfaith council, (YIC),which she noted has been in existence since 2011, adding that the turn out of potential new members is quite unprecedented.

“The youth attendance turnout is very encouraging as they were over a hundred of them, from different faith organizations, Muslims and Christians and they are very willing to promote peace in our society and you know when youths are involved in peace processes and decision making the results is a peaceful society.

“Hence the WIC organization creates a platform for them to build their talents, promote good relationships among divides, to relate and work together as Christians and Muslims, to promote FoRB, respect of each other’s rights and bring development and peaceful coexistence in their communities” she said

According to her, the aim of the proposed 6 months to one year skill acquisition training for the youths” is to empower them socially, economically, and to counter extremism in the society, as engaging the youths positively through such training will keep them busy and creative in nation building” she added.

Similarly, a participant, from Catholic Youth Organisation of Nigeria, (CYON), Ben George Chia- yakua, said the initiative is profound, welcomed and appreciated, adding that, “the process of peace making or building is often a venture that’s less appreciated, but we see the consequences of not doing this in wars and aftermath of wars,

” so when we gather here for peace and discuss peace is not a sign of cowardice, it’s not a sign of weakness; but it’s strength to accommodate each other’s differences , to want to live with other people; it takes courage to actually want to accept other people and live together with them” he stressed.

He further urged fellow youths on the need to work for peace, noting that experiences have shown that youths are both victims and wilful participants in conflict situations, ” if we as youths, who are used as tools to cause mayhem, we can also be tools for peace building; we owe our future generation, our children, as much as that, coming together to work for sustainable peace in our society”.

In the same vein, a member of Nasfat youth, Kaduna branch and YIC, Jelila Abidoye, said the event is a necessity that is long overdue ” because Youth Interfaith council, ( YIC) needs to be revived as it used to be one of the cornerstones of all youth engagements especially in peace building and conflict management in Kaduna,

” and so today’s event is a stepping stone in bringing back together youths from different faith-based organizations and societies and encouraging them to also participate in peace building, because we are all benefitting from peaceful society, and where there’s absence of that peaceful society, we all have something to lose in violent- conflict situations” she averred.

A representative of Organisation of African lnstituted Churches, (OAIC,) Youth wing, Kaduna, Dr. Comfort O. Temidayo, elated by the event, said, ” coming here, I realized is much more than a training, it goes a long way to breach gaps; the knowledge gap, the belief gap, the peace gap that we have been facing in the country at large, not just Kaduna state, the gaps have been the reason why insecurity has been on the rise daily,

” so I have come to realize that this gathering is providing that bridge that we need to come together as youths both Christians and Muslims to ensure peace reigns wherever we find ourselves ” she stressed.

A participatant, Coordinator of the initiative of Muslims in Nigeria, youth wing Comrade Isa Abdulkadir Sale, said he’s happy with the development ” we need this kind of initiative in this era, why because we are in the unemployment and insecurity era, where we need to empower youths with sources of income and skills to fend for themselves,

” we also need this kind of initiative, because we need to be campaigning for peace, unity and nation building, by doing that, we are going to be in peace, live violent free and l’m ready any time to be part of it” he added.