“FOR GOD’S SAKE…!” REFRAIN AT INTERFAITH SUMMIT

Even without formally asking him, Senior Brother Mohammed would most happily approve this Column to appropriate his title, as it is the kernel of what was discussed and agreed by people of religion from Islam and Christianity on those two days earlier in the week.The conference, themed “The Imperative of Interfaith Understanding and Cooperation for […]

Even without formally asking him, Senior Brother Mohammed would most happily approve this Column to appropriate his title, as it is the kernel of what was discussed and agreed by people of religion from Islam and Christianity on those two days earlier in the week.
The conference, themed “The Imperative of Interfaith Understanding and Cooperation for Responsible Politics”, was convened by the Interfaith Initiative for Peace (IIP), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) established by Their Eminences the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar and the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan. IIP is dedicated to serving as a platform for influencing public policies and private attitudes in order to achieve mutual understanding and respect among Muslims and Christians in Nigeria.
At the Conference, the refrain was the same: “For God’s Sake” let the politicians not plunge this country into further mayhem on account of the forthcoming 2015 elections. All speakers, from President Goodluck Jonathan who made a personal appearance at the Conference (a brave move considering his alleged closeness to CAN President Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, the very anti-thesis of such Interfaith Dialogues), to the Sultan and the Cardinal and the lead paper presenters, harped on it – “For God’s Sake!”
In his speech while declaring the Conference open, President Goodluck Jonathan vowed that he will not allow the country to disintegrate in spite of the challenges confronting her. “I can say categorically,” he said firmly, “that Nigeria will not disintegrate, will not fail. We will surely get over our challenges and become even stronger as a nation.”
The President condemned politicians who misuse religion to foster enmity, violence and insecurity, further urging religious leaders to condemn the misuse of religion by some politicians, promising that the 2015 elections will be peaceful, free and fair, and that every vote will count. “I once again assure Nigerians and international community that 2015 ‎elections will come and go and Nigeria will stand stronger”, the president promised.
Many a participant heaved a huge sigh of relief at the President’s 2015 commitment but, of course, as a politician himself, many of us “civilians” will all have to wait, and wait, and see.
On their parts, the Sultan and the Cardinal strongly advised the Federal Government to do all it can to have credible elections in 2015. The Sultan called for better understanding by adherents of the two major religions in Nigeria, saying that transparent leadership will help Nigeria overcome its challenges. He added that credible elections in 2015 will give Nigeria a new lease of life. Similarly, the Cardinal called for tolerance by people of diverse faiths in the country.
In his lead paper, Mohammed Haruna, a syndicated veteran columnist (and who gave today’s Column its title), identified bad faith as the main reason for the lack of success in attempts at inter-religious dialogue in this country. He said if Nigerians imbibe the culture of being good shepherds at various levels of society, the efforts at such dialogues will succeed.
Haruna opined: “It is often said that the voice of the people is the Voice of God. And since God can do no wrong it follows logically that the collective voice of the people can never be wrong. The snag is that Democracy as a means of measuring the volume of the voice of the people cannot, as a human invention, be perfect. At any rate what is popular is not necessarily what is right. However, since people governing themselves as equals is the best type of government Man has yet invented, it follows that it is the most morally correct form of politics. [But t]he big question that arises from this is what or who is the ultimate source of this morality?…”
“[R]religion”, Haruna continues, “is universally accepted as the ultimate source of what is right or wrong. For some believers, religion is not just the ultimate source of morality. For them it is the only one…It is this critical, if not central, role of religion as a guide to what is right or wrong in politics – and, for that matter, in almost everything else we do – which makes dialogue among Nigerians of different faiths and even those of no faith at all, an imperative for politics that responds to the wishes of the people, as every good politics should.”
The second lead paper was presented by Professor Dogara Gwamna of Nasarawa State University who observed that Nigerians are religious but, paradoxically, Nigeria is bedevilled by inter- and intra-religious conflicts. He identified several factors responsible for the conflicts and recommended value reorientation to include tolerance, compassion and understanding, which should lead to the emergence of responsible politics and good governance.
In his discussion of Haruna’s paper, Justice Muhammad Lawal Uwais said interfaith understanding and co-operation is captured in Chapter Two of the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 as amended, which provides for the culture of fairness, justice and the well-being of all citizens. Prof. Isawa Elaigwu, on his part, discussing Gwamna’s paper, said that the country suffers from too much religiosity and little righteousness.  (How apt!)
At the end of the Summit, Conference participants strongly identified with the idea of interfaith dialogue for understanding and cooperation at all levels of society and observed that the inadequacy of interfaith dialogue had given rise to religious and ethnic conflicts in Nigeria generally and the North in particular; and that interfaith dialogue is central to peaceful coexistence and responsible politics.
The participants further observed that mutual suspicions, mistrust and ignorance have been the source of failure of attempts at interfaith dialogue; that reckless, inflammatory and hate speeches by some clerics, politicians and community leaders have also been inimical to peaceful co-existence and responsible politics; that some sections of the media have a tendency of promoting purveyors of hate speeches and divisive politics; and that poverty, unemployment and corruption have become pervasive and are contributing to suspicions, mistrust and divisive politics among the populace.
Participants at the Conference finally recommended that interfaith dialogues such as these should be entrenched at all levels of the society, going up from the family unit to neighborhoods, communities, schools, places of worship, NYSC Orientation Camps, etc.; that such dialogues should involve leaders and followers in the society in order to promote rule of law, good governance, transparency and accountability and discourage impunity; that government should establish functional trauma centers for victims of crises, conflicts and natural disasters; that a Council of Eminent Statesmen should be established to mediate between governments and citizens on constitutional, human rights and other infractions; and that women should be encouraged and supported in playing their role of inculcating moral and religious values in children.
Perhaps the icing on the cake of the Summit was the participation of two international academics with long standing relationship with Northern Nigeria – Professor John N. Paden (biographer of the late Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sardauna of Sokoto and Premier of the Northern Region) from the United States and Professor Murray Last (expert, historian, scholar and chronicler of the Sokoto Caliphate) from the United Kingdom, who both spoke at the conference.
To the President, the Sultan and the Cardinal, we repeat FOR GOD’S SAKE! And for Nigeria, for 2015, for Chibok Girls and for our journey through Allah’s trial, we continue to invoke HasbunalLahu wa ni’imal Wakeel!