ActionAid Holds Interfaith Dialogue With Religious Leaders In Kaduna

By Frederick Peters, KADUNA

NEWSDAILYNIGERIA: ActionAid Nigeria has interacted and dialogued with Religious leaders and several stakeholders across Kaduna State on Peace, religious harmony, and social cohesion.

The one day interaction/ dialogue, held on Wednesday 5th June, drew participation from Key Christian and Muslim leaders and organizations, Faith based NGOs, CSOs, Media among others.

Speaking to Journalists, shortly after, the event, the ActionAid Nigeria program coordinator, Sarve III project , Aliyu Adamu, said the essence of the program is to promote peaceful coexistence amongst diverse ethnic and religious groups in Kaduna State. “Kaduna state has been long standing in terms of conflicts and other forms of violence which has resulted in the lost of lives and property and ultimately, we look at the trends of violence like 30 years is mainly around religious issues

” And as ActionAid, we are here to see how we can bring all faith leaders and stakeholders to see how we could promote understanding and tolerance and also create an enabling environment where the leaders or facilitators of this trainings will go back and step down this to their various religious institutions using the manual produced

” and we believe that peace will start first of all from the home, the parents, from the community, to the state and the country as well, so Kaduna is one of the strategic states, so if, peace reigns in Kaduna, we believe it’s going to reign in the north Western part of the country and if peace reigns in the northwest, ultimately it will reign in north and in the country in general” he stressed

Aliyu further said ” that’s why we have come to look at how we could promote that kind of understanding, unity and tolerance among the people of Kaduna state “

Describing the dialogue, “I’m absolutely impressed with the kind of participation and how people contributed, and I believe if we are able to implement and take those ideas and discussions forward definitely we are going to have peace and positive change in terms of peace and development in Kaduna state” he reiterated.

Similarly, Kaduna state, CAN Chairman, Rev Ma’aji Caleb, while lauding the event said, the engagement has been quite fruitful and inspiring, “it came timely, because we’ve been informed, reminded and we’ve been reawakened over the responsibilities that we’ve been given that is to sincerely preach what we have been called to do, and treat it with every form of sincerity and not to only preach it but to live it out” he added.

According to him, there’s the need to change the usual narrative, ” enough of the rhetorics, people want to see us live out the talk” he stated.

Ma’aji further noted that the dialogue is a challenge for him and others ” I have been challenged to domesticate that which I have been informed and taught, I have a responsibility to step this down to my subordinates that am privileged to work with and lead, and that we’ll do” he averred.

In the same vein, one of facilitators and Imam of Waff Road Mosque, Kaduna, Mall. Mohammed Sani Isa, said his call is for ” the participants who are mostly Christians and Muslims to go back to the beautiful teachings of their religions, pertaining to peaceful coexistence, religious freedom, mutual understanding and respect as well as accommodating others and trying to make peace always as much as we can and to prevent any violent conflict that can engulf both of us,

 ” so the aim here is to go back to the proper teachings of our religions, so that we can do well for our country and for the progress, development and socio-economic growth of Nigeria.”

 He further stressed the need of stepping the training down via further study and implementing of the training manual by religious leaders and participants ” we hope that they will time to time be taking some sections in the manual and putting across to their congregations

” and the remaining participants, who are not Pastors or Imams, I hope they will share with their peer groups and friends the content of the manual so that it can go further than this hall , ” There’s the need for step down of all that we’ll learned here to others , so that we can multiply and replicate ourselves and expand the scope of the beneficiaries” Imam added.

A participant and peace advocate, Hajia Daharatu Ahmed Aliu, commended the organisers of the program, ” because it has brought stakeholders together on the issue of peace building and social cohesion and to ensure that we go back to the same way we have been living before as one, because it’s God wish for making us Muslims and Christians, some people are even traditional worshipers”

She further cautioned against hypocrisy, noting that all faiths talk about peace, because we know that without peace there cannot be development, ” am calling on us and the society to act what we always speak, we should drop the hypocrisy, because you cannot give peace if you are not a peace builder or maker or if you don’t have peace in your heart, you cannot translate it out.” She also advocated for emphasis on our humanity over all considerations.

Another participant and General Coordinator of Women’s Interfaith Council, (WIC) Mrs Elizabeth M. Abuks, called for youth inclusiveness in governance and empowerment ” because with the crises and hardship that we are facing today, many families, and communities are not sleeping again from one challenge to the other and you find mostly with the youths and we’ve had discussions with them, because they do not have anything doing,

” they don’t have even empowerment to develop their skills after attaining their first and even second degrees, they become confused, so we want the government to do something and I want to also appreciate ActionAid for what they have done ,we want to see peace building among communities; conflict is part of life ; but at the end of it, let’s begin to know how, to resolve our conflicts” she stressed