National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, and Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, have called on Nigerians to come together in unity and promote inter-religious harmony and peaceful coexistence to achieve a greater Nigeria.
The two political and traditional leaders urged all religious faithful in Nigeria, irrespective of their beliefs, to always seek for peaceful co-existence.
They made the call in their separate speeches at the opening ceremony of an international conference on “Diversity and Social Peace: A Partnership for a Promising Future,” organised by the Muslim World League in Abuja.
Yilwatda and Sultan on the need for inter-religious harmony
Yilwatda described diversity as a defining reality of Nigeria’s national existence.
He added that the country’s different faiths, ethnicities, languages, cultures and traditions should be transformed from potential sources of division into instruments of national strength and development.
He challenged Nigerians to look beyond religious and ethnic identities and recognise their shared humanity and common destiny.
This was as he stressed that the fundamental question confronting the country was not whether Christians and Muslims could live together, but “what kind of nation are we building by the way we live together?”
As stated in a statement by his Special Adviser (Media and Information Strategy), Abimbola Tooki, the APC national chairman spoke from his personal experiences growing up in Yobe State and later witnessing communal conflicts in Plateau State.
He recalled the close friendship between his late father, a pastor, and the Chief Imam of Nguru.
According to him, the relationship between the two religious leaders demonstrated that religious differences should never become barriers to friendship, mutual respect and peaceful coexistence.
He said: “Religious difference does not have to produce human distance. Indeed, our differences should not prevent us from recognising what we share.
“We may worship differently, but we share the same humanity. We may speak different languages, but we share the same hopes for our children. We may come from different communities, but we share one country and one future.”
Yilwatda, however, warned that Nigeria’s diversity could become dangerous when citizens were encouraged to dehumanise people of other faiths or ethnic backgrounds.
He identified terrorism, banditry, farmer-herder conflicts, communal violence, ethnic suspicion, religious intolerance, hate speech and the political manipulation of identity as major threats to national cohesion.
He noted that, while terrorism could attempt to wear a religious identity, banditry could exploit ethnic narratives and political actors could seek to weaponise identity for electoral advantage, none of these should be allowed to define Nigeria or its people.
“The real battle is for the soul of our nation. And that battle cannot be won by security measures alone,” he said, adding that lasting peace required justice, education, responsible leadership, economic opportunity, dialogue and moral courage.
He called on religious leaders to deploy their enormous moral influence to promote tolerance and reconciliation.
This was as he urged churches and mosques to become centres of peace and platforms for teaching citizens how to live together despite their differences.
He urged political leaders to resist the temptation to exploit religious and ethnic sentiments for political gain, while calling on traditional rulers to use their influence to make reconciliation stronger than retaliation, dialogue stronger than suspicion and justice stronger than vengeance.
Yilwatda also challenged academics and civil society organisations to educate a new generation to see Nigeria’s diversity not as a threat, but as an asset capable of strengthening the country.
He proposed what he described as a “Nigerian Covenant for Coexistence”—a shared moral commitment by religious leaders, political leaders, traditional institutions, civil society and citizens to reject violence, hate speech, religious intolerance and the politicisation of identity.
Under such a covenant, he said Nigerians must commit to protecting places of worship, defending vulnerable communities and teaching children that those who worship differently are not their enemies.
He stressed that whenever any community was attacked, Nigerians should not first ask whether the victims belonged to their ethnic or religious group, but whether they were human beings deserving of protection.
“The future of Nigeria cannot be secured by one faith defeating another, or one ethnic group prevailing over another. There is no victory in destroying the house we all call home,” he declared.
The APC national chairman urged Nigerians to choose dialogue over confrontation, reconciliation over revenge, justice over vengeance and humanity over identity.
He said Nigeria did not need less diversity but greater wisdom and leadership to manage its diversity, adding that the country must build a society where Christians and Muslims could defend one another.
This, he said, was not because they shared the same faith, ethnicity or political affiliation, but because they shared the same humanity.
Responding to Yilwatda’s remarks, the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, commended him for what he described as a profound and comprehensive intervention on how Nigeria could resolve its differences and build a peaceful society.
The Sultan recalled that the Nigerian Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) was established by Christian and Muslim leaders as a platform for dialogue and interaction towards peaceful coexistence, rather than as a government creation.
He urged Nigerians to stop insulting and demonising one another, stressing that all human beings were created equal by God, and that no individual or group was inherently superior to another.
According to the Sultan, one of the major challenges confronting Nigeria is the absence of honesty and trust among citizens.
“We lack honesty and trust. We don’t trust ourselves, and that is where the problem is. Nobody is better than another person,” he said.
The Sultan expressed appreciation for the APC national chairman’s emphasis on humanity, noting that the message represented a major pathway towards resolving Nigeria’s religious and social differences.
He commended the organisers of the conference for providing a platform for religious leaders, policymakers and other stakeholders to engage in meaningful discussions on diversity, peace and global security.
Representing President Bola Tinubu at the event, the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau I. Jibrin, said the Federal Government was committed to collaborating with governments and relevant stakeholders to strengthen security and promote peace within Nigeria and across the world.
Senator Barau reaffirmed the administration’s determination to preserve Nigeria’s unity despite its religious and ethnic diversity, stressing that the country must remain united and peaceful.
He urged participants to take advantage of the international platform to contribute to the ongoing global debate on peace and security, particularly at a time of increasing global security turbulence.
Jibrin commended the Muslim World League for choosing Nigeria as the host of the important international conference, expressing confidence that the deliberations would be robust and produce practical ideas capable of advancing global peace and security.
The conference brought together religious leaders, government officials, traditional rulers, members of the diplomatic community, academics, civil society actors and other stakeholders.
The gathering deliberated on the management of diversity, inter-religious relations, social cohesion and the search for sustainable peace in Nigeria and beyond.
