The Sultan, who was speaking as a co-convener of an Interfaith Mini Conference, which held in Abuja yesterday, said it was imperative for Nigerians, regardless of their religious differences, to accept the fact that we were all created by one God and as such, should live as one family.
He said “you cannot claim to love God when you don’t love your neighbour”, adding that the adherents of Christianity and Islam have many things in common.
He stressed the need for peaceful co-existence, which according to him, was imperative now more than ever before.
“There are problems in this country, particularly in the North, that require solutions; let us not deceive ourselves that there are no problems.
“There is no problem between Christianity and Islam but between Christians and Muslims, and we must all agree to find solutions to these problems dividing us rather than uniting us”, he said.
“It is important to know where we started derailing from being one another’s brother”, he stated.
Also speaking, His Eminence, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, who was also a co-convener, said all hands must be on deck to address political crises which often turned religious.
He stressed that if the adherents of Christianity and Islam would live by the provisions of their Holy Books, the country would be better off.
He decried the manipulation of religion and politics and called on religious leaders to be on guard and intensify efforts aimed at finding solutions to religious crises tearing the country apart.
“If we have no peace, it is because we forget that we belong together, and if people live by what they profess, the world will be in peace”, Onaiyekan reiterated.
Contributing, His Highness, the Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar, called on religious bodies to adhere strictly to the rules of their religions.
While decrying the high level of impunity in the system, the Etsu Nupe stressed that “unless and until the laws of Christianity and Islam and those of the Federal Republic of Nigeria are adhered to strictly, the results of our religious differences will be better imagined than experienced”.
He expressed the hope that decisions reached at the end of the conference would be fully implemented.
Earlier in the first paper presentation, Professor Adamu Baikie, who spoke on the theme of the conference ‘The Imperatives of Interfaith Understanding and Co-operation for Responsible Politics’, identified religious, political, social, ethnic and legal issues as the reasons why interfaith dialogue has failed, and the causes of inter-religious tensions and crises in Nigeria.
He stressed the need for religious leaders to put their followers on the right track to achieve peaceful co-existence.
Source: Leadership
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