Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has called on religious leaders in the country to avoid playing partisan politics in order not diminish their worth or get smeared in the process.
The president, made this call on Saturday, October 13, 2018 while speaking at the closing ceremony of the “Interfaith Conference on Religious Harmony in Nigeria: Towards the 2019 General Elections” organised by the Interfaith Initiative for Peace, co-convened by the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, and the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan between October 11 and 14, 2018.
According to President Buhari, religious leaders enjoy wide respectability because of the value that Nigerians attach to religion. By being partisan, therefore, he warned they risk being embarrassed as those who should otherwise respect them would treat them like common politicians with selfish interests.
The President also tasked traditional rulers to mobilise and enlighten their subjects to exercise their voting rights as parts of deepening democracy.
He reiterated the commitment of his government to free, fair and credible elections while noting that his government deserves continuity to deliver more dividends of democracy.
While appreciating the co-conveners for their Initiative, President Buhari cautioned Nigerians to be wary of materialistic polticians who would want to buy their conscience with dollars.
Earlier speaking on the occasion, the Sultan of Sokoto said Nigerians should shun violence in all its forms before, during and after the forthcoming elections. He also canvassed interfaith understanding as a prerequisite for moving the country forward.
In his own address, Cardinal Onaiyekan likened religious leaders to salt and that when they do not promote peace, they become tasteless and discarded. He canvassed moral revolution and stressed that politics should be about service, not self-service.
In his keynote address delivered on the occasion, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Archbishop Justin Welby, noted that the desire for peace is universal but its achievement is conditional, adding that justice is a requirement for peace.
The Archbishop appreciated the co-conveners for inviting him saying that Nigeria has been his teacher, his friend and passion, a place of abundant energy.
He admonished religious leaders to encourage people with love and understanding, saying that when the Super Eagles play, they can be criticised by spectators even if the spectators cannot play better.
Other speakers on the occasion included two former Heads of State, General Yakubu Gowon and General Abdusalami Abubakar, the Minister of the FCT, Alhaji Mohammad Musa Bello, the Chief Justice of the Federation, the National Security Adviser, the President of CAN and the Secretary General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs.
Among those in the audience were traditional and religious leaders, academics and activists including the President of the Women Arise, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin, the immediate past Director of the Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies, University of Ilorin, Dr Mahfouz Adedimeji, the immediate past President of the National Union of Journalists, Comrade Waheed Odusile, the National President of the Youth Wing Christian Association of Nigeria, Apostle Nyeneime Andy and the President of the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria, Dr Taofeeq Yekinni.
