Last Saturday, July 27, 2013, in
Abuja, the Archbishop of the
Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja,
John Cardinal Onaiyekan, made
a sobering statement. At the
Ramadan Interfaith Youth Seminar
entitled: “Religious Re-Education for
Harmony and Peaceful Coexistence,”
jointly organised by the National Council
of Muslim Youth Organisations and the
Catholic Youth Organisation of Nigeria,
the venerable clergy admonished Muslim
and Christian youths in the country on
the need to deploy their youthful energy
in the pursuit of peace and progress of
the country rather than being used by
nefarious politicians and retrogressive
forces to commit violence and all
sorts of vices inimical to our country’s
sociopolitical and economic stability.
According to the clergy, “He who says
he knows God must love his neighbour
and live in peace with all. I think we
should go beyond coexistence and work
for cooperation and solidarity. This is a
great value in any religion and in every
human society. For all of us in Nigeria
who take religion seriously, we must
work for religious harmony, peaceful
coexistence and solidarity. It is only
then that religion will not be a curse but
a blessing from God,” he said.
Coincidentally, a similar message was
echoed by the president of the Northern
Youth Forum, NYF, Alhaji Jibril Tafida,
in Kano on the same day during the
forum’s North-West rally on peace,
unity and security of the country. In his
words, Alhaji Tafida said, “We call for
peace, unity and stability in our country.
The imperative of peace and security for
development cannot be overemphasised.
We need to talk more on what unite us.
We are all one and there is no difference,”
Tafida said. The NYF scribe expressed the
readiness of his organisation to support
the present administration’s efforts at
transforming the fortunes of the country
for the better.
This is a very important message that
should be underscored and harped upon
frequently by patriots and genuine lovers
of peaceful and united Nigeria, especially
as the country inches closer to 2015
electioneering campaigns. Quite often,
we have heard these kind of statements,
but that it is coming from a statesman of
no mean worth like Cardinal Onaiyekan
at such an occasion, as well as a notable
youth body at a time a part of the country
is seething with violence and killings
motivated by religion and politics, is a
necessary encouragement and a message
of hope for the future of this country.
Of course, Cardinal Onaiyekan is one of the
best gifts to this country and humanity,
a symbol of a good, sound and sane mind
and spirit among some hypocritical,
lying and criminal bunch of self-serving
elders in our country today. Like he said,
the country cannot achieve peace and
stability unless there is mutual tolerance
and understanding among the different
religions in the country. The youth factor
is central because youths are usually the
unfortunate canon fodders being used by
unpatriotic and wicked individuals in the
country to unleash mayhem and bloodshed
on law-abiding citizens of this country.
The development of Nigeria is dependent
on the socioeconomic and political peace
and stability. This is as a result of the fact
that, each time there is crisis with its
inherent spate of destruction of lives and
property, the struggle for personal safety
and what to eat takes preeminence over
socioeconomic development of the larger
society.
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The demand for peace and stability
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