Ridding Nigeria of hate, bigotry and other ills

Demagoguery by politicians and religious leaders across the country has not and cannot help anybody. No country that once a fought a mutually destructive civil war like Nigeria should take peace and unity for granted. Leaders at all levels have a sense of responsibility to promote peace and love among Nigeria. Nobody should seek cheap […]

Demagoguery by politicians and religious leaders across the country has not and cannot help anybody. No country that once a fought a mutually destructive civil war like Nigeria should take peace and unity for granted. Leaders at all levels have a sense of responsibility to promote peace and love among Nigeria.
Nobody should seek cheap popularity by promoting the message of hate among fellow Nigerians. In the words of the late U.S. President Richard Nixon, “where peace is fragile, make it strong, where peace is temporary, make it  permanent and where peace is unknown, make it welcome.” one cannot agree more.  With this background, I wish to command the organizers of the recent Christian/Muslim Inter-faith Dialogue, held in Abuja with the theme: “Thinking Nigeria.” Putting Nigeria’s larger interest before our narrow interests is crucial to any efforts towards achieving lasting peace and unity. In the words of the late British Prime Minister, Sir. Winston Churchill, “war is the failure of reason.” Once a people fail to think and reason, they tend to move in the wrong direction.
Nobody can put a figure on the number of innocent Nigerians killed as a result of ethnic and religious bigotries across the country, with northern Nigeria taking a notorious lead with the Boko Haram menace, the crises in Plateau and Benue States. Extremism in any form is not good for the well-being and progress of any society. Your own ethnicity and religion does not give you a licence to exterminate others because they are different.  In the 21st century, when countries are making advances in science and technology to improve human progress, we should not devote our energies to destroying one another in the name of ethnic and religious differences. In fact, even our nascent democratic order is being threatened by the explosion of bigotry.
Intolerance and prejudice produce seeds of hatred against others. You cannot express the love of God by the number of innocent lives you have destroyed. Every religion places a high premium on the sanctity of life.  There is no excuse, whatsoever, therefore for anybody to kill innocent people without justification. In Islam, chapter 5, verse 32, of the Holy Quran States unambiguously that killing one innocent soul equals harming the entire humanity. Christianity does not accept the killing of the innocents either. Then why has life become so valueless? Why has humanity deserted people so badly that you wonder whether the teachings of their religions mean anything to them? Are Muslims and Christian zealots truly obeying the teachings of God? Religion preaches love and followers of Islam and Christianity can only demonstrate the strength of their faith in practice, by showing compassion. When cruelty replaces compassion, then you wonder what becomes of the teachings of our religions about the sanctity of life.
It is the height of irresponsibility to seek cheap popularity by encouraging and propagating the messages of animosity against others just because they are different. Leadership should not be in the hands of extremists; hate mongers won’t care about how many people lose their lives to attain their goals of achieving popularity.  Inter-faith dialogue is essential to any efforts towards reducing tension and eliminating intolerance, bigotry and prejudice. The behavior of the followers is directly proportional to the kind of messages they imbibe from their leaders. War and destruction cannot and should never be alternative to lasting peace. No progress and development can take place in a state of conflicts, which compound the social crisis of poverty.
Constructive engagement between Muslims and Christians is necessary to bridge the communication gap between them. Inter-faith dialogue is an indispensable platform to nip crises in the bud. Unless we return to the true teachings of our religions, we will remain backward while other countries are making progress.  Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, the Chief Security Officer to the late General Sani Abacha, who attended the Inter-faith dialogue in Abuja, deserves praise for always indentifying himself with the efforts to promote unity, peace and understanding among Nigerians. This young army Major has always reminded our youths and politicians that the north cannot achieve peace and progress if we continue on the path of mutual destruction. He always criticizes politicians, religious and community leaders that incite people instead of preaching peace and unity. Plateau State is the now the shadow of its former self because of perennial ethnic/religious crisis while the northeast is economically destroyed by insurgents. It is easier to hate than to understand and there cannot be understanding without communication. Therefore, inter-faith dialogues should be promoted and sustained at all levels.
Ahmed wrote in from U/Rimi G.R.A, Kaduna ([email protected])