The Guild of Interfaith Media Practitioners Nigeria (GIMP-Nigeria) has called on Nigerians to promote ethnic and religious tolerance, saying peaceful coexistence and national unity are essential to the country’s socio-economic development.
The Guild made the call in a 66th Independence Day anniversary message signed by the Secretary of its Governing Board, Samuel Egburonu Esq.
GIMP-Nigeria said the anniversary should provide an opportunity for Nigerians to reflect beyond the celebrations on the country’s journey and the kind of nation they want to leave for future generations.
Egburonu described Nigeria’s ethnic, religious and cultural diversity as a national asset that should foster cooperation rather than division.
He cited the Qur’anic teaching in Surah Al-Hujurat 49:13, which speaks of humanity being created into nations and tribes “that you may know one another”, as well as the biblical teaching in Psalm 133:1 on the goodness of people living together in unity.
According to him, the teachings demonstrate that peaceful coexistence is not simply a social convenience but also a moral responsibility.
The Guild also highlighted the economic costs of ethnic and religious intolerance, noting that insecurity and communal conflicts can disrupt businesses, agriculture, investment and employment.
“When ethnic or religious tensions rise, investors become more cautious,” Egburonu said, adding that mistrust between communities also makes economic cooperation more difficult.
He said violence could force businesses to shut down, drive farmers from their fields, destroy homes and schools, displace communities and discourage investment.
Egburonu therefore described peace as “not merely a spiritual virtue” but an economic resource capable of creating an environment conducive to investment, entrepreneurship, trade and innovation.
He said Nigeria would struggle to realise its full socio-economic potential without deliberate efforts to strengthen social cohesion and interfaith understanding.
The Guild urged Nigerians to recognise their interdependence, pointing to the links between farmers, traders, transporters, manufacturers and consumers as evidence that no ethnic, religious or geographical group could develop the country in isolation.
“Our destinies are intertwined,” Egburonu said, urging Nigerians to regard the country as a shared project and resist attempts to turn ethnic, religious or political differences into sources of hatred and suspicion.
GIMP-Nigeria also called on religious leaders, including imams, pastors and priests, to use their platforms to promote peace, reconciliation and responsible citizenship.
Egburonu warned that messages delivered from religious institutions and online platforms could either ease tensions or deepen resentment, depending on how they were communicated.
He urged Muslim and Christian leaders to speak consistently against violence, hate speech, religious bigotry and ethnic discrimination.
“Faith should build bridges, not walls,” he said, citing Qur’an 5:32 and Romans 12:18 as examples of teachings that emphasise the sanctity of human life and peaceful coexistence.
The Guild also advocated greater practical cooperation among Nigerians from different religious and ethnic backgrounds.
It called for increased collaboration between Christian and Muslim leaders in supporting vulnerable families, promoting education and youth entrepreneurship, and developing community-based security and development initiatives.
The organisation further urged religious institutions to establish platforms where young Nigerians from different backgrounds could interact, exchange ideas and develop joint ventures.
It said interfaith engagement should not be limited to periods of crisis but should become a sustained instrument for national development.
As an organisation focused on interfaith media engagement, GIMP-Nigeria also urged journalists and other media practitioners to exercise greater responsibility when reporting ethnic, religious and communal issues.
Egburonu said the media could either deepen divisions or contribute to reconciliation, urging journalists to uphold accuracy, verification, fairness and sensitivity, particularly in conflict-related reporting.
He also warned that misinformation and inflammatory material could spread rapidly through social media and contribute to escalating tensions.
The Guild called for journalism that “informs without inflaming, investigates without demonising and reports conflict without unnecessarily widening it”.
GIMP-Nigeria also identified Nigeria’s large youth population as a major national resource requiring purposeful investment.
Egburonu said unemployment, frustration and identity politics could make young people vulnerable to manipulation and violence.
He called for increased investment in entrepreneurship, technology, agriculture, the creative industries and innovation, while encouraging young Nigerians to participate in interfaith and intercultural activities.
“Our young people should inherit opportunities rather than prejudices,” he said.
The Guild also called on government and public institutions to strengthen citizens’ confidence in national institutions through justice, accountability, equal citizenship, effective security and equitable access to opportunities.
Egburonu said security could not be achieved through force alone, advocating intelligence gathering, community participation, dialogue, trust-building and preventive measures as complementary approaches.
He urged government, religious organisations, traditional institutions, communities and the media to strengthen collaboration in tackling insecurity and promoting social cohesion.
According to GIMP-Nigeria, the 66th Independence anniversary should remind Nigerians that nation-building remains an unfinished task.
The Guild urged citizens to reject ethnic superiority, religious bigotry, persistent suspicion and the use of identity as a tool for political mobilisation.
It called for a culture of citizenship in which every Nigerian is valued regardless of religion, ethnicity or political affiliation.
The organisation also urged parents to teach tolerance, religious leaders to promote peace, journalists to report responsibly, traditional rulers to encourage reconciliation and political leaders to foster unity.
It called on young Nigerians to pursue innovation and enterprise rather than violence and hatred.
The Guild said its vision was of a Nigeria where religion would not determine the value placed on a citizen’s life, ethnicity would not determine access to opportunities and political differences would not become permanent sources of hostility.
Egburonu said such an environment would enable agriculture, industry, education, investment, innovation and entrepreneurship to flourish.
He urged Nigerians to build bridges rather than walls, embrace dialogue over confrontation and choose cooperation over division.
“Let us choose truth where misinformation threatens peace, and let us choose Nigeria where narrow ethnic and religious interests seek to divide us,” he said.
He reaffirmed GIMP-Nigeria’s commitment to promoting peace, justice, tolerance, inclusive development and shared prosperity, and wished Nigerians a peaceful 66th Independence Anniversary.
