THE COMMUNIQUE
BEING THE COMMUNIQUE OFTHE 2019 FOURTHQUARTERLY MEETING OF THE NIGERIA INTER-RELIGIOUS COUNCIL (NIREC) HELD AT SHERATON HOTEL AND TOWERS, FCT, ABUJA, FROM 11TH TO 13TH DECEMBER, 2019``
Preamble
The Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), under the Co-Chairmanship of the President, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), His Eminence, Rev. Dr. Samson O. A. Ayokunle, and the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), His Eminence, AlhajiMuhammaduSa’adAbubakar, CFR,held its 2019 Fourth Quarterly Meeting at Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Abuja, between the 11th and 13thof December, 2019. The meeting was attended by eminentpersonalities and distinguished members of NIREC.
The formal Opening Ceremony was held at LadiKwali HallSheraton Hotel Abuja where the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Gida Mustapha declared the meeting open. Also present were other dignitaries, the representatives of Civil Society Organisations and relevant stakeholders in pursuit of peaceful coexistence.
Appreciation
The Council expressesits immense appreciation to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Gida Mustapha, for not only supporting the NIREC with logistics but also for being physically present.This isdeepening the engagement between Government,Traditional Rulers,Religious leaders and the citizens.
Resolutions
After extensive deliberations and consideration of the state of the nation, NIREC made its observations andtherefore:
1. UrgesGovernment at all levels to continue to support and cooperate with Traditional Rulers and religious leaders with a view to engendering peaceful coexistence, political stability and social harmony in their domains, places of worship and other spheres of their influence;
2. Appeals to Political, Religious and Traditional Leaders at all levels to desist from making offensive and divisive comments capable of heating up the politybecause what they say resonates among their followers and subjects across the country;
3. Advocates fidelity to the rule of law and obedience of court orders by the political leaders in order not to appear as law breakers in the eyes of the citizens and the international community since the core function of government is the promotion of law and order;
4. Encourages government to promote, encourage and support the teaching/ learning of Islam and Christianity so that Nigerians may become knowledgeable about their religions and not get hoodwinked by charlatans and extremists who appropriate the pulpit to preach hatred, intolerance and violence to achieve their selfish ambitions and parochial objectives;
5. Dissuades government from imposing additional levies on religious establishment who have already submitted themselves to government regulations, or making lawful marriages difficult for people, hence exacerbate the problem of promiscuity among Nigerians;
6. Expects government to consider Traditional Rulers and religious leaders as partners-in-progress and facilitate easy access to their key functionaries at all times in order to nip certain emergent issues in the bud before they escalate to major crises since many Nigerians have more faith in their Traditional and Religious leaders than politicians;
7. Appeals to government and other stakeholders to consider the courage to speak truth to them by religious leaders as rightful religious duty and not an opposition to their leadership since religious leaders are stakeholders in the country, given that almost all Nigerians are either Muslims or Christians;
8. Recommends that government should engage more with Nigerians across fora since education and enlightenment, which many Nigerians now have, make people easy to lead but difficult to oppress or enslave;
9. Directs Traditional Rulers and religious leaders to seek more knowledge about religions other than their own since human beings naturally oppose what they are ignorant of in order to ensure sustainable mutual understanding instead of misguided mutual hostility and unwarranted religious rivalry that often fuel violence in Nigeria;
10. Reiterates that Nigerians across ethnic and religious persuasions cooperate with law enforcement agencies in ridding Nigeria of crime and criminals by providing information and intelligence to security agencies as well as being stakeholders in community policing;
11. Calls on government and security agencies not to rest on their oars but double their efforts in amelioratingthe suffering and agony of Nigerian families who are victims of terrorism, kidnapping, armed robbery, rape and other crimes that make life very difficult for average citizens;
12. Advises government to formulate and implement policies that will create jobs and offer social security to millions of Nigerians who are idle, hence vulnerable to being used to promote discord both online and offline;
13. Stresses the need for government to respect the sanctity of life and inviolability of the court system by not violating both through its agencies at any time through extra-judicial killings or disobedience of court orders;
14. Emphasizes that given that Islam and Christianity are both ways of life and that the ways of life must be in conformity with the Constitution, all Nigerians are to accept whatever is deemed constitutional by the court without emotions and sentiments either on the issue of hijab or other matters; and
15. Appeals passionately to political actors, TraditionalRulers, religious leaders and opinion molders, including social media influencers, to be circumspect in their reactions to issues and refrain from hastily making comments on matters that come up in the (social) media in order not to ridicule themselves or lose their respect in the eyes of the public as evident in the alleged demolition of a mosque in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State and notice of demolition of a church inZaria, Kaduna State, both of which turned out to befalse or exaggerated.
His Eminence,
Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, CFR, mni
The Sultan of Sokoto/ President General, Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic
Affairs (NSCIA) and Co-Chairman, NIREC)
His Eminence,
Rev. Dr. Samson O. A. Ayokunle
President, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and Co-Chairman, NIREC
Fr. Prof. Cornelius A. Omonokhua
Executive Secretary, NIREC
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