The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof Nentawe Yilwatda, and the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, have called on Nigerians of different faiths to promote religious harmony, unity and peaceful coexistence as a pathway to national development.
They made the call at the opening of an international conference on “Diversity and Social Peace: A Partnership for a Promising Future”, organised by the Muslim World League in Abuja.
Yilwatda said Nigeria’s religious, ethnic, linguistic and cultural diversity should be harnessed as a source of national strength rather than allowed to become a cause of division.
He urged Nigerians to look beyond religious and ethnic identities and recognise their shared humanity and common destiny.
The APC chairman said the central question should not be whether Christians and Muslims could coexist, but what kind of nation Nigerians were building through the way they related to one another.
Drawing from his experiences growing up in Yobe State and later witnessing communal conflicts in Plateau State, Yilwatda recalled the friendship between his late father, a pastor, and the Chief Imam of Nguru.
He said the relationship demonstrated that religious differences should not prevent friendship, mutual respect and peaceful coexistence.
“Religious difference does not have to produce human distance. Indeed, our differences should not prevent us from recognising what we share,” he said.
Yilwatda warned, however, that Nigeria’s diversity could become a source of danger when citizens were encouraged to dehumanise people from other religious or ethnic backgrounds.
He identified terrorism, banditry, farmer-herder conflicts, communal violence, ethnic suspicion, religious intolerance, hate speech and the political manipulation of identity as major threats to national cohesion.
He said criminal and political groups should not be allowed to use religious or ethnic narratives to define the country.
“The real battle is for the soul of our nation. And that battle cannot be won by security measures alone,” he said, adding that sustainable peace required justice, education, responsible leadership, economic opportunity, dialogue and moral courage.
The APC chairman called on religious leaders to use their moral authority to promote tolerance and reconciliation, urging churches and mosques to serve as centres of peace and platforms for teaching peaceful coexistence.
He also urged political leaders to resist exploiting religious and ethnic sentiments for electoral advantage and called on traditional rulers to promote reconciliation, dialogue and justice in their communities.
Yilwatda challenged academics and civil society organisations to help educate young Nigerians to regard the country’s diversity as an asset rather than a threat.
He proposed a “Nigerian Covenant for Coexistence”, under which religious and political leaders, traditional institutions, civil society organisations and citizens would commit to rejecting violence, hate speech, religious intolerance and the politicisation of identity.
He said such a commitment should include protecting places of worship, defending vulnerable communities and teaching children that people of different faiths were not their enemies.
Yilwatda stressed that Nigerians should regard attacks on any community as attacks on fellow human beings, regardless of the victims’ religious or ethnic identities.
“The future of Nigeria cannot be secured by one faith defeating another, or one ethnic group prevailing over another. There is no victory in destroying the house we all call home,” he said.
Sultan urges Nigerians to rebuild trust
The Sultan of Sokoto commended Yilwatda for what he described as a comprehensive contribution to the search for peaceful solutions to Nigeria’s religious and social challenges.
He recalled that the Nigerian Inter-Religious Council was established by Christian and Muslim leaders as a platform for dialogue and peaceful coexistence rather than as a government initiative.
The Sultan urged Nigerians to stop insulting and demonising one another, stressing that all people were created equal and that no individual or group was inherently superior to another.
He identified a lack of honesty and trust among Nigerians as one of the major challenges facing the country.
“We lack honesty and trust. We don’t trust ourselves, and that is where the problem is. Nobody is better than another person,” he said.
Abubakar welcomed Yilwatda’s emphasis on shared humanity, saying it provided an important pathway towards addressing religious and social divisions.
He also commended the Muslim World League for bringing religious leaders, policymakers and other stakeholders together to discuss diversity, peace and global security.
Federal Government reaffirms commitment to peace
Representing President Bola Tinubu at the event, the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau I. Jibrin, said the Federal Government was committed to working with governments and other stakeholders to strengthen security and promote peace in Nigeria and beyond.
Barau reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to preserving Nigeria’s unity despite its religious and ethnic diversity, stressing the need for a peaceful and united country.
He urged participants to use the international conference to contribute to discussions on global peace and security, particularly amid growing security challenges around the world.
The deputy Senate president commended the Muslim World League for selecting Nigeria to host the conference, expressing confidence that its deliberations would produce practical recommendations for advancing peace and security.
The conference brought together religious leaders, government officials, traditional rulers, members of the diplomatic community, academics, civil society representatives and other stakeholders to discuss diversity, inter-religious relations, social cohesion and sustainable peace in Nigeria and beyond.
