Group harps on peaceful co-existence among Christians, Muslims

From: Rose Ejembi, Makurdi

A nongovernmental organisation, the Next Generation Youth Initiative International (NeGYII), has stressed the need for peaceful co-existence and mutual understanding between Christians and Muslims in Benue State.

The call was in furtherance of its project in the prevention of violence and youth radicalisation for possible extremism in the state.

NeGYII’s President, Mr. Ambassador Onoja, stated this at one-day Inter-Religious Exchange Sharing session/workshop held at Doo Palace Hotel in Makurdi, the state capital.

“This is one of the initiatives of our project which aims to build religious and cultural harmony, mutual understanding and trust and promote religious and cultural tolerance among different religious Faiths, cultures and ethnic groups in the state.”

While noting that violence, radicalisation and terrorism knows no religion, Onoja maintained that a terrorist remains a person and not a religion.

Hence, the war against terrorism has nothing to do with Islam as people often misconstrue.

“No religion is a terrorist. It is a person who is a terrorist not religion. So why hold a religion for the evil a person commits? Why religion and religion only? What of his/her family, culture, social milieu and other intervening forces both internal and external?”

The NeGYII’s President who commended CLEEN Foundation and other donor partners for partnering NeGYII in the project assured that peaceful coexistence would help deepen understanding of one another, build trust and remove mutual suspicion and distrust to build a common sense of neighborliness among adherents of the two major faiths.

“We use this opportunity to appeal to all and sundry that our country needs unity across board in every sphere. We need to build collective trust in one another. We need to build a great sense of tolerance for one another. We need peace in our country to achieve our collective interest. We need to love one another irrespective of Faith, Creed, ethnic nationality, colour or religious belief,”

he said.