From Damola Adeloye, Ibadan
Dignitaries have declared that for Nigeria to move forward, citizens must love one another, embrace peace and unity.
Speaking at an event at the University of Ibadan, organised to mark the 2025 World Interfaith Harmony Week and awards with the theme, ‘The Love of the Good and the Love of Neighbours, Peace for Our Time,’ on Wednesday, the dignitaries, which include former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former governor of Ogun State and serving Senator, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, the President, Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, and Co-chairman, Nigerian Interfaith Council, Most Reverend Daniel Chukwudumembi Okoh, the Sultan of Sokoto and Co-chairman, Nigerian Interfaith Council, Alhaji Sa’ad Abunakah III, President, Baptist Convention of Nigeria, Reverend Israel Akanji, lamented that lack of love and peace are responsible for the mult- dimensional crises in Nigeria.
Obasanjo stated that love of God is the foundation of all love in the Bible and followed by “love of your neighbour as you love yourself.”
The former president said he found it difficult to include traditional believers when Nigerian Interfaith Council was established in 1999 during his administration.
“We have worshipers of Ifa, Obatala, Osun, Ogun, Esu and so on. So we don’t know which of them to invite; not that we did not recognise the African Traditional Religion.”
In his keynote address presented on his behalf by Timothy Golu, Dogora said since 1999, ineffective leadership is responsible for the lack of peace and unity in the country.
“For the 12 months preceding December 12, 2024, 10 countries were categorised as extreme-conflict countries.
“They are Palestine, Myanmar, Syria, Mexico, Nigeria, Brazil, Lebanon, Sudan, Cameroon and Colombia. It is no surprise that Nigeria occupies the sixth position on the global chart.
“We have had a number of crises since independence, the worst of which was the civil war from 1966 to 1970. It seems we did not learn much from that sordid episode, after all.
“The evidence of our abysmal failure at nation-building are right under our noses – the formation or the rise of secessionist groups such as the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, Niger Delta Voluntier Force, Indigenous People of Biafra, Oduduwa Peoples Congress, among others.
“Some states are classic examples of our failure to achieve unity in diversity as a nation.
“However, it is in this democratic era that we are now witnessing the worst security challenges in Nigeria. The Boko Haram insurgency that broke out in Borno State in 2009 has now metamorphosed into one of the most dangerous international terrorist organisations leading to the death of thousands of people and displacement of over five million others.
“At some point, Nigeria was ranked the third most terrorised country in the world after Afghanistan and Iraq.
“This is apart from mass kidnappings for ransom, banditry, armed robbery, ethnic and religious clashes.
“Also, farmers-herders crisis has bedeviled Nigeria for some unbroken years now.
“It has displaced hundreds of thousands of people, damaged local economies and entrenched ethnic and religious polarisation which continue to claim thousands of lives. Successive administrations since 1999 have been unable to tackle this primarily due to ineffective response.
“Only the uninformed doubts the fact that, as it is, we have arrived at our moment of national peril.
“The point has severally been made that Nigeria is the ‘greatest Islamo-Christian nation on earth. It is difficult if not impossible to find any other nation that aggregates so many Muslims and so many Christians within its borders.
“Some of us live in communities comprising men and women of different faiths. We equally have Muslim friends and confidants whom we can genuinely call brothers. Regardless of the tension that religion generates resulting in occasional clashes and mayhem, we cannot deny the fact that there is an exceptional level of brotherhood and solidarity across people of all faiths in Nigeria.
“No doubt, the positive exercise of religious freedom in Nigeria can help in no small measure in integrating our diverse and heterogeneous people.
“Unfortunately, our history is marked by disturbing anecdotes of a series of ethno religious violence that have profoundly stymied nation building.
“No society throughout history has ever risen above the level of its leadership. Sadly, when we abdicate our responsibility, all we have left is to cover up our weakness as is the case with us now,” Dogara posited.
