OIC AND PEACE BUILDING IN NIGERIA
Cornelius Afebu
Omonokhua
When a child is
critically ill, the parents accept suggestions from any person that could
provide healing. In sickness, everybody around you becomes “a medical doctor”. Nigeria is plagued with a terminal disease of
terrorism that appears to defy military diagnosis. President Muhammadu Buhari has visited America
and some West African countries to source for healing to the nation’s malady. On
August 20, 2015, John Cardinal Onaiyekan invited me to a meeting with King
Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and
Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID). The main agenda of the meeting was to seek
for this healing through a conference of inter-religious and intercultural
relations in Nigeria. Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, the Catholic Bishop of
Sokoto, is the Vatican delegate to KAICIID, a Non-governmental and worldwide
organization that was founded in October 2011 by King Abdullah of the Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia.
Although the Headquarters of
KAICIID is in Vienna,
Austria,
the Republic of Austria and the Kingdom of Spain supports the Centre with the
aim of keeping KAICIID free from all political interference and influence. KAICIID
facilitates intercultural and interreligious
dialogue as a humanely strategic forum for cooperation,
communication, partnership and information exchange thereby building
understanding and mutual benefit among peoples of the world. On October 13,
2011 an agreement for the establishment of KAICIID in Vienna
was signed by the governments of Austria, Spain and Saudi Arabia. To know more about this centre,
you may visit: (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KAICIID_Dialogue_Centre).
KAICIID
works in close collaboration with Religions for Peace, the
largest international coalition of representatives from the world’s religions
dedicated to promoting peace. His Eminence, John Cardinal Onaiyekan (the
Catholic Archbishop of Abuja) and His Eminence, Alhaji Mahammadu Sa'ad Abubakar III
(the
Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigerian Supreme
Council for Islamic Affairs) are Co-Chairmen in Africa. The International
Secretariat headquarters is in New
York City, with Regional Conferences in Europe, Asia, Middle East, Africa
and the Americas with more than 90 affiliates at the national level, and a
number of local units. Religions for Peace enjoy consultative status with the United Nations Economic and
Social Council (ECOSOC), with UNESCO and with UNICEF. Dr. William F Vendley is its Secretary
General. The report of the Religions for
peace meeting which I attended in Vienna, Austria is published in my book, “Dialogue in Context: A Nigeria Experience”
(Page 278).
This
non-governmental organization (NGO) serves on all continents representing 90
countries; it networks with World Council of senior religious leaders while
respecting religious differences, common humanity and the influence of peace
within every religion. This organization has created inter-religious partnerships
to confront most dire issues such as stopping war, ending poverty and
protecting the earth. Religions for Peace was founded in 1970 and
supported by various foundations, governments, intergovernmental organizations,
religious communities, religiously affiliated development agencies and
individuals. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religions_for_Peace)
That
Nigeria participates in the activities of the Organization of Islamic
Cooperation (OIC) is no longer news. Ambasador Yahaya Lawal, the Ambassador of
Nigeria to Jeddah, who works in the General Secretariat of OIC, was present at the
meeting with KAICIID in Abuja. He revealed the intention of the OIC to
intervene in the security challenges of Nigeria. He believes that Nigeria can
benefit a lot from OIC because it has nothing to do with missionary work of converting
people to Islam. He reported that they had met with President Goodluck Ebele
Jonathan, the immediate past president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to
discuss the restoration of peace that was being destroyed by the insurgents. He
affirmed that the OIC does not support any form of terrorism given that terrorism
contradicts Islam. The OIC intends to initiate projects that could bring about
peace to Nigeria by partnering with the Institute of peace and conflict
resolution and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). The organization
hopes to collaborate with the Nigeria Inter-religious Executive Council (NIREC)
and other Non-governmental Peace and Dialogue initiatives to restore peace to
Nigeria.
On
June 17, 2015 Mr. Iyad Ameen Madani, Secretary General of OIC affirmed that
peace is not a play on words. He added that Inter-faith and inter-cultural
bridges are critical to peace. Consequently, it was recommended at the meeting that
if OIC really has what it takes to restore peace to Nigeria, the organization
should begin with intra-Muslim dialogue by concentrating mainly on the counter
narratives of the terrorists’ ideology. This suggestion was informed by the
facts that many Nigerians including some Muslims have a single story of OIC as
an organization whose only intention is to Islamize the world. For instance, on February 4, 2015 Niyi posted
this: “Osinbajo Slams Jonathan for Attending OIC Meeting, Defends Buhari on
Alleged Plans to Islamize Nigeria”. Here is the full story: “Vice
Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Yemi
Osinbajo, has berated President Goodluck Jonathan for being the first Nigerian
leader to have attended the meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Countries
(OIC) since Nigeria was clandestinely enlisted by President Ibrahim Babangida
in 1986.” Niyi reported that Osinbajo said, “those accusing the presidential
candidate of the APC, Muhammadu Buhari, of being a Muslim fundamentalist, who
might Islamize Nigeria are getting it all wrong. Throughout his period as
military head of state, Buhari was under intense pressure to drag Nigeria into
the OIC, but he never yielded, because he respects Nigeria as a secular state,
in line with the constitution.”
That the OIC
debate could be used to score a political point in this way and manner shows
that the organization tastes like a bitter pill in the mouth of many Nigerians.
Moreover, Ishaq
Oloyode, the secretary general of NIREC and the Nigerian Supreme Council for
Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) had said that “he was not yet aware that the country
has signed the OIC charter.” It is also alleged that when the first meeting of the organization was
held in Morocco in 1969, General Yakubu Gowon sent a delegation of observers,
led by Abubakar Gumi, to represent only the Nigerian Muslim community. When
a French news agency reported that Nigeria has been admitted into the
organization as its 46th member in January 1986, many argued that as a secular nation, it had no business with the Islamic
body. While the Muslim community saw it as a pleasant surprise, the
Christian community strongly requested the president to deregister the country
from the organization, since our constitution holds that Nigeria is a secular society
(http://nigeriavillagesquare.com).
To
defrost this icy cloud of mystery and suspicion, the organisation should
facilitate a sincere dialogue within the Muslim community to reveal the real
identity and true values of the organization. The true status of Nigeria in the
organization should be made public. Some people are eager to know what OIC has
done about the crisis in Syria and the Middle East where Israeli and
Palestinians are embedded in unending war. Some people may want to know if what
OIC has on the table is beyond bread and butter. If OIC can stop terrorism in
Nigeria, its taste could change from bitterness to sweetness in the month of
Nigerians. Otherwise, the question lingers: “Can OIC restore peace to Nigeria
and the world?”
Fr. Cornelius Omonokhua (omonokhuac@gmail.com /
www.omonokhua.blogspot.com)
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