PEACE IS THE FRUIT OF JUSTICE AND GOOD GOVERNANCE

Speech Delivered By His Royal Highness, Alhaji (Dr.) Yahaya Abubakar, CFR, The Etsu Nupe, The Chairman of the Niger State Traditional Rulers’ Council And The Chairman of the Coordinating Committee of the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria; At the Opening Ceremony of the Meeting of the Nigerian Inter-Religious Council(NIREC) on 23rd July, 2019 at Abuja; Which Has As Its Theme: “Justice And Good Governance For Peace”

PROTOCOL

It is with profound gratitude that I accepted to deliver this Speech to this very important Meeting. I feel honoured and privileged to be a Member of this august Council that has distinguished Members from the two major World Religions of Christianity and Islam. There is no doubt that Nigerian Nation is currently looking up to this Council to proffer workable solutions to the myriads of security challenges bedevilling the Country. In these regards, I am happy to note that the Theme of today’s meeting is 

“JUSTICE AND GOOD GOVERNANCE FOR PEACE”

I would like to start by calling on all of us to keep in mind that the Nigerian Government and the Nigerian people have high expectations on the Council’s abilities to douse the religious and ethnic tensions that are pervading the country. In addition, the Council is expected to assist in containing criminal activities including but not limited to insurgency, militancy, banditry, kidnappings and farmers/herders conflicts. The Nigerian people see NIREC as the “Religious Conscience of Nigeria” because of its calibre of Membership consisting of Senior Nigerian Muslims and Christians representing an estimated 90% of the Nigerian population. Therefore, the quantum of unity and harmony exhibited by this Council shall certainly translate into peace and security, with attendant progress and prosperity.

We, and indeed all Nigerians, should persist in prayers and work hard for the Almighty God to grant us peace and security. In Islam, Allah (SWT) told us in the Glorious Qur’an that “Verily, Allah will not change the condition of a people as long as they do not change their state (of affairs) themselves” (Qur’an 13:11). I also understand that God states in the Holy Bible that, “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead”. (James 2:17).

Distinguished Members of NIREC, the Theme of today’s meeting, “Justice and Good Governance for Peace”, could not have come at a better time. Justiceleads to good governance and conversely good governance leads to justice; and both leads to peace and security, which are most needed in Nigeria today. Kindly permit me to start by pointing out that in Islam, a Leader is required to deliver good governance by leading with justice that must be done and must be seen to have been done. This is the only way peace can be attained. Allah (SWT) decreed that in delivering justice, a Leader must treat all people equally irrespective of their religious beliefs, their status in the society or their relationship with Leader. Allah (SWT) says,

“O you who believe! Be maintainers of justice, bearers of witness for Allah’s sake, though it may be against your own selves or (your) parents or near relatives; if he be rich or poor, Allah is nearer to them both in compassion; therefore do not follow (your) low (heart) desires, lest you deviate; and if you swerve or turn aside, then surely Allah is aware of what you do”. (Glorious Qur’an 4:135)

The Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (SAW) said,

“The just shall be on the brightly-lighted first-rows in front of Allah (on the Day of Judgement). Those are the ones who are just in their dealings with their families and were just in running that which was entrusted to them as Leaders”. (Reported Muslim).

There is no better route to the attainment of peace and security and attendant progress and prosperity, than through justice and good governance. Injustice breads all sorts of negative reactions that may culminate into violence and even fatal crisis leading to colossal loses of lives and properties. Over 200 years ago, in ensuring the stability and progress of the new Sokoto Caliphate, its founder, Sheikh Usman Dan Fodio, strongly admonished his followers that, whosoever is bestowed with leadership must rule with justice, fairness and equity. The Sheikh said,

“One of the swiftest ways of destroying a Nation is to give preference to one particular tribe over another; or to show favour to one particular group of people over another; and to draw near those who should be kept away and keep away those who should be drawn near…

Other destructive practices to sovereignty are arrogance and conceit, which take away virtue and bring in the seclusion of the Leader from his subjects, because when the oppressor is sure that the oppressed person will have no access to the Leader, he becomes even more oppressive.”

In order to assist a Leader to administer justice and deliver good governance, Sheikh Usman Dan Fodio advised that a Leader should:-

“Firstly appoint an upright Chief Councillor who wakes the Leader up when he sleeps, gives him light when he cannot see in the dark and reminds him of doing good when he forgets. Secondly appoint a Chief Judge who is not restrained by anyone’s censure in upholding Allah’s Law (of justice). Thirdly appoint a just Chief of Police who ensures that the weak obtains justice from the powerful”.

Distinguished Members of NIREC, these quotations show the very high premium Islam places on justice and good governance, without which there cannot be peace and security. In the absence of peace and security, no community or National can prosper.

In a multi-religious Nation like Nigeria, the National Constitution and the National Laws provide for goodgovernance through justice and fairness. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, for example, opened with the following wordings:-

We the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria;Having firmly and solemnly resolved to live in unity and harmony as one indivisible and dissoluble sovereign Nation under God, dedicated to the promotion of inter African solidarity, World peace, international co-operation and understanding;

And to provide for a Constitution for the purpose of promoting the good governance and welfare of all persons in our country, on the principles of freedom, equality and justice, and for the purpose of consolidating the unity of our people; Do hereby make enact and give to ourselves the following Constitution:

The supremacy of the Nigerian Constitution is in no doubt, therefore anybody breaching its provisions on good governance based on the principles of freedom, equality and justice is committing a serious offence, publishable by the prescribed Laws in the country.

The constitutional opening statement that, “We the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; Havingfirmly and solemnly resolved to live in unity and harmony as one indivisible and dissoluble sovereign Nation under God…” has clearly spelt out the religious nature of Nigeria that has absolute Faith in God.

Therefore, obedience to God’s injunctions should be paramount in the hearts of all Nigerians.

The two great Religions of Christianity and Islam teach the importance of good governance and its benefits. The two Religions also teach the misfortunes of having bad governance. Islam and Christianity teach that, all humans are accountable to God for their actions or inactions while on Earth. Leaders in particular, at whatever level and in whatever capacity, are admonished strongly to administer with justice and fairness without which there shall be no peace and progress. In addition, Leaders are constantly reminded in Islam and in Christianity that they shall account to Almighty God in the Hereafter.

Distinguished Members of NIREC, we shall all account to God for the Leadership of our various Religious Groups. On the Government side, the Executive, the Legislature, the Judiciary and all those in government services who have the authority and responsibility over the wealth and affairs of Nigeria; carry the responsibility of 190 million Nigerians and shall account for that responsibility before God! Prophet Muhammad (SAW) told Muslims that, 

“A leader is a steward in respect of those who are placed under him…and is accountable (to Allah) for those people and things placed under his care”.

(Reported by Bukhari and Muslim). In a similar vein, the Holy Bible states that;

“For they (Leaders) keeps watch over you as they who must give an account (to God)”. (Hebrews 13:17)

Distinguished Members of NIREC, it is very important for us to note that; good or bad governance is normally ascribed to Leaders alone forgetting that the Citizens have an equal share in good or bad governance. Good Leader emerges from a good society and bad Leaders emerge from a bad society. Therefore, each member of a society needs to change his or her bad habits and attitudes for the society as a whole to change from bad one to a good one. ALL people, and not only the Leaders, shall account to God in the Hereafter, therefore each and every member of a community or Nations must strive to contribute his or her positivequota to the good governance of the Nation. It is only by so doing that felicity shall be attained, peace and security entrenched and progress and prosperity achieved.

Thank you for listening and may God bless.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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PEACE IS THE FRUIT OF JUSTICE AND GOOD GOVERNANCE

 

PEACE IS THE FRUIT OF JUSTICE AND GOOD GOVERNANCE

 Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua

 

The bold proclamation of, “Let Peace Reign in Nigeria” was the theme of the second quarter meeting of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) held on March 29, 2019 at the Nicon Luxury Hotel, Abuja, laying a strong emphasis on the imperative of justice and good governance. In furtherance of this aspiration, “Justice and Good Governance for Peace” waschosen as the theme for the third quarter meeting of July 23, 2019 at Sheraton Hotel, Abuja. This theme was necessary more so, now that the nation is increasingly starring into the abyss ofunnecessary religious and ethnic conflict. Central to this, is the need to realize and recognize that God created human beings in his likeness, and the justice of God lies in the fact that God has made Himself and His love known to everyone without admixture of error. God has put in the hearts and minds of everyone how to live and relate to each other on the earth that he has given us freely to dwell in. Ethnic and religious stigmatization will therefore be a distraction in dealing with people who have chosen the path of criminality. Crime has no tribe and religion. Good governance is an antidote to this danger,under which everyone, Zones and Religions are exposed to the dividends of justice. Peace would flow like a river when equity is respected in governance.

 

Irrespective of the definition criteria used, we can perceive a structure of three classes in Nigeria: The Upper, Middle and Lower classes. These classes are not mutually exclusive, as people transit from one class to the other all the time, and peaceful coexistence demands a high level of interaction between them. Largely, in every society, the lowest class tends to have the least education and the means to move up into the other classes. However, many of us have overcome the barriers of moving up and away from the lowest class. Authentic justice would depend on how we manage the lowest class. One of the ways to do this is to recognize and tap into the natural knowledge that is innate in every human being, irrespective of formal education. Every member of the aforementioned classes can actively participate in dialogue of life, religious experience, encounter, action and dialogue of love. In dialogue of theological exchange and literary discourse, we tend to discount any possible contribution from the lowest class, as these are dismissed as “uneducated” or “illiterate”. 

 

To make dialogue more effective, comprehensive or encompassing, it should involve individuals at the grassroots so as not to reduce dialogue only to the pages of newspapers, social media and academic conferences. This is why NIREC is embarking on reaching the Geo-political zones and States ofNigeria. NIREC will continue to engage the youths and this will include reaching out to the students in Primary, Secondary, higher institutions and NYSC orientation camps. Another initiative is the proposed training of trainers in the Board Room of the office of NIREC at the Federal Secretariat complex, Abuja, which is intended to produce experts in dialogue and peacebuilding who will take the message of justice, peace and good governance to every Nigerian. The transformation of any society depends on the level of the positive change of attitude of every one of its members. Once individuals have peace within themselves, we can then guarantee a society and nation adorned with peaceful coexistence. 

 

Since NIREC is made up of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs (NSCIA). it would not be out of place for any Christian or Muslim to write a petition to the council.  The Co-Chairmen of NIREC are committed to looking into matters that could cause conflict between Christians and Muslims. The office of the Secretary to Government (OSGF) is giving the Council appreciable attention. This has made NIREC a visible sign of Government’s promotion of dialogue and Peacebuilding. We,therefore, are encouraged to take advantage of this development, to make Nigeria a peaceful and secure nation. If you must demand justice in writing, think properly of whose interest you are fighting.

 

In collaboration with NIREC, faith-based councils or organizations need to take very seriously, conflict transformation which could bring about harmony and relationship that should exist between all the aforementioned classes using all forms of dialogue. The tools for these relationships are unbiased and focused service delivery; prompt emergency response; faithfulness to our laws; intensive application of basic human rights, as well as close collaboration and transparency among the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary arms of our government. To address some of the challenges, there is also need to develop relationship-building strategies for the elites of the middle class, based on social justice. There is an urgent need for the middle class to engage in rational evaluation before reacting to issues raised on the media or online. Promoting unverifiable, and uncharitable information can lead to anarchy and conflict. While everybody has the right to be listened to, there is need to identify a target partner who would respond, since dialogue is a call and response activity. Those at the bottom level should be meaningfully engaged such that they can take care of their basic needs.

 

Religious leaders should be proactive in establishing and promoting mutual relationships. Already existing friendship helps in preventing mutual suspicion and prejudice. It aidsnonviolent advocacy, limits damage, aids reconciliation, healing of trauma and hurts, regeneration and working on the historic memory. Existing relationships give rise to the creation of social space for offering and receiving graciousness. It creates space for discovery and building new relationships. Justice and good governance can open the hearts of the citizens for peaceful coexistence. Credible people and criminals exist in every tribe. To prevent the syndrome of stigmatizing a particular ethnic group, criminals must be made to face justice regardless of their tribe or religion. To assist the government’s security agents in doing this, traditional and political leaders of each ethnic group must expose the criminals who are destroying their ethnic integrity and shaming their tribes. As the saying goes, “the relation of a mentally-challenged person has a duty to prevent him from roaming the forest and streets”. The bad eggs in the various ethnic groups must be disciplined by their leaders to know that a good name is better than silver and gold.

 

Conflict has never brought success or progress to a person, community or nation.  Let us therefore promote only the information that is true, good and useful to build a healthy society. Let writers keep their pens from provocative publications just as those who talk should keep their tongues from evil and their lips from hate speeches. Government at all levels must have the political will to manage ethnic diversity and religious pluralism. Let us strive to harness the innate beauty and strength of our diversity. Unity is strength and in justice we can stand strong as a united people. Yes, in justice, we can carry our Nigerian passport with pride as good Nigerians. Let us be good ambassadors of our home and native land. May God bless us with justice and good governance! May we love as human beings who will give account to God on the day of judgement! May the peace of God abide with us forever!

 

Rev. Fr. Cornelius Omonokhua is the Executive Secretary of Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) (nirec.ng@gmail.com)

 

 

 

 

THE VALUE OF DIALOGUE PARTNERS

THE VALUE OF DIALOGUE PARTNERS

Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua

 

It appears that the nation is being pushed into unnecessary religious and ethnic conflict. Some people keep publishingdifferent reactions to state and national issues on print and social media. Some write as if they are writing on behalf of Christian or Muslim groups while others write to express their personal opinions on issues that should be of common concern. Some have written to condemn those they perceive to be making statements that allegedly declare a state either Christian or Islamic. On closer enquiry and contact with some of the authors of these publications, one could discover that some write just to react and attack the persons they should have contacted in charity for further clarifications. To promote peace through justice and encourage good governance, there is need for the middle class who falls into the category of the elite or intellectual group to do some kind of rational evaluation through dialogue of encounter. This would assist in dialogue of theological exchange and social engagement. Every writer need to identify the partner in dialogue, the audience and the content of dialogue.  In reacting to issues on the pages of the newspaper, a writer must be sure of the source and authenticity of the information. 

 

Selling unverifiable information can lead to anarchy and conflict. This is why it is necessary to identify the partner or institution you demand response or action. In addressing social, economic and political issues, note that partners in dialogue exist at different levels like government, the Traditional institution, Local Government, State Government, and Religious institutions. While everybody has the right to be listened to, there is need to identify a target partner who would respond since dialogue is a call and response activity. Otherwise, the communicator ends up in a monologue of verbose gibberish. The society is structured in a way that we can identify different levels like the top level, middle class and bottom level. To grow a healthy society, there is need for justice and good governance hence each level and class need some kind of coordination for peaceful coexistence. The people at the top level are the ruling class; those at the middle Class are the intellectuals and those atthe bottom are without formal education. Every one of these group can actively participate in dialogue of life, religious experience, encounter, action and dialogue of love. In dialogue of theological exchange and literary discourse, those at the bottom class may not be able to participate. To make dialogue more effective, it should involve individuals at the grassroots so as not to reduce dialogue only to the pages of newspapers and social media.  The transformation of any society depends on the level of the positive change of attitude of each person from the ruling class to the grass root. 

 

Every aggrieved person needs help to reach a level of personal avowal with a genuine disposition to ask: “Who am I? Where am I? Where am I going to? Why am I not happy with myself? Why am I always conflicting with others? What does life mean to me? Who is God to me? What is my mission on earth? What is my ultimate vision? Once individuals have peace within themselves, we can then guarantee a society and nation adorned with peaceful coexistence. If you must demand justice in writing, think properly of whose interest you are fighting. Are you writing for Christians, Muslims or Traditional religion? If yes, as who? If you are writing for an institution, who are you speaking for and who are you against? These questions are necessary because some individuals write in a way and manner that can lead to inter-religious conflict or heat up the polity. With the existence of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), it would not be out of place for any Christian or Muslim to write a petition to the council. NIREC is a council that is made up of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Nigeria Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs (NSCIA). The Co-Chairmen of NIREC are committed to looking into matters that could cause conflict between Christians and Muslims. We need to make use of what we have to make Nigeria a peaceful and secure nation.

 

Faith based councils or organizations need to take very seriously conflict transformation which could bring about harmony and relationship that should exist between the top level, middle class and grass roots using all forms of dialogue. The tools for theserelationships are service delivery and human rights. Those at the top should be transparent in all the arms of governance: Executive, Legislative and judiciary. To address some of the changes, there is need to identify the strategies of the middle class who are the elites. These strategies should be developed to have capacity to build the relationships that is based on social justice. Teachers belong to the middle class; therefore, they must be given maximum incentive since the formation of character of our future leaders depend largely on them. Those at the bottom level should be meaningfully engaged such that they can take care of their needs. 

 

Religious leaders should be proactive in establishing and promoting mutual relationships. For instance, we should cultivate the virtue of visiting our next door neighbours who do not share the same faith with us. Already existing friendship helps in preventing mutual suspicion and prejudice. It helps in nonviolent advocacy, limiting damage, reconciliation, healing of trauma, hurts, regeneration and working on the historic memory. Existing relationships give rise to the creation of social space for offering and receiving graciousness. It creates space for discovery and building a new relationship. Reconciliation includes healing of memory, being at peace with self, God and neighbour. We must not reduce ourselves to the level of causing violence. If you throw a stone into the market, the stone may hit your own mother. Reconciliation with self is psychological; it is the peace that the world cannot give (John 14:27).Reconciliation with neighbour is public worship (Matthew 5:23-25) and reconciliation with nature is ecological (Psalm 85:10). Allah commands human beings to forgive and pardon so that they too can be forgiven by God who is All forgiving and merciful (Qur’an 24:22). The ingredient of reconciliation is “MERCY” which is a core value for Muslims and Christians. Mercy begets truth, justice and peace. Mercy is unconditional. It diffuses tension and prevents an eye for an eye syndrome. Mercy invites forgiveness; humility; graciousness. Mercy implies relationship among dialogue partners

Mercy, compassion, justice and peace open a space for others to open their hearts in dialogue and day to day living. Conflict has never brought success or progress to a person, community or nation. It is only dialogue that leads to peace and happiness. Let us transform all our conflicts and make this world a better place.We must therefore choose to be connectors and not dividers in a world that is plagued with tales, rumors and unverifiable information that social media has given birth to. Those who think that they are defending religious, social and political institutions through all forms of media must confirm the good, truth and usefulness of their information. It is only the information that is true, good and useful that can build and promote a healthy society. Keep your pen from provocative publications just as you must “keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit (Psalm 34:13). If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless (James 1:26).  “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear you” (Ephesians 4:29). May the peace of God abide with us forever!

 

Rev. Fr. Cornelius Omonokhua is the Executive Secretary of Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) (nirec.ng@gmail.com)