• Says nation cannot survive without dialogue, peace
By Cosmos Omegoh
Rev. Fr. Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua is the executive secretary of Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) and the Secretary General of West African Inter- Religious Council.
He was the Director of Mission of Dialogue Department of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN) and also a consultor of the Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims (CRRM) representing Africa in the Vatican.
In an encounter with Sunday Sun, Rev. Fr. Omonokhua, among other things, spoke on the growing need for continuous inter-religious dialogue in the country aimed at promoting peace and nation building.
What does NIREC stand for?
The Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) came into being after the dawn of democracy in 1999 to serve as a platform for high-level dialogue between the leaders of Christians and Muslims in Nigeria, thereby promoting public good and humanity that binds us to the Almighty God.
Faith in our common humanity is key to becoming a better Christian or Muslim. Otherwise, you will be a bad ambassador of your religion. And we pray that our human life on earth gives us the grace to be with God, our creator, at the dusk of our earthly life.
What is the place of religion in building man?
‘Religion’ is derived from the Latin ‘religare,’ meaning, ‘to tie” or ‘to bind.’ In this sense, religion binds us to our communities, cultures, courses of action, and ideologies, among others. Religion has been described in different dictionaries among other things as: ‘A set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe,’ or ‘the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.’
It is also ‘a cultural system of designated behaviours and practices, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organisations, that relates humanity to supernatural, transcendental, or spiritual elements.’
Therefore, religion is commonly regarded as consisting of the way people deal with ultimate concerns about their lives and their fate after death. But sadly, in our world today, religion has become a sword in the hands of self-centered people who keep making it a threat to humanity. And this shouldn’t be so. Sadly too, many of the killings in our world today are carried out in God’s name by people who are actually fighting for their selfish interest. This egoistic concern has taken the form of intra-religious and inter-religious violence as once prophesied by Jesus: ‘Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rise against their parents and have them put to death.’ Unfortunately, some people and communities today fear novelty. This phobia for new ideas coupled with conservatism can make some people declare a brother in the community who has a new message as enemy. Conservative people do not care whether the message is divine or not. They want to remain in the status quo.
How then can Nigerians apply religion for profit?
In Nigeria, there is intra-religious tension and conflicts. There is tension between Christianity and Islam. If the government feels threatened by the Shiites, you can imagine the fears that exist in the citizens, especially in Abuja. Many people have written about how religion has taken over humanity in Nigeria, how some Muslims and Christians have saved victims of violence in Nigeria irrespective of their religious affiliation. These are people with human hearts who have value for our common humanity. I recall Pope Benedict XVI appealing passionately at a traditional Christian prayer saying: “In the world there is too much violence, too much injustice, and, therefore, that this situation cannot be overcome except by countering it with more love, with more goodness. This ‘more’ comes from God: it is his mercy which was made flesh in Jesus and which alone can ‘tip the balance’ of the world from evil to good, starting with that small and decisive ‘world’ which is the human heart. In the world today where some people perceive religion as a problem to be solved, the different religious adherents through their different religious ethics must prove that religion is a problem solver and not a source of problems. Therefore, if every Christian and Muslim obey the laws as prescribed in the religious legal code, I believe there will be peace in the heart of every person and this peace will radiate to the world in a way and manner that peaceful co-existence would be a natural flow. All the religious laws can be summarised in two words, namely, love and peace. This is expressed in the Islamic and Christian greeting, ‘Peace be with you!’ But you cannot wish a person what you do not have. So you cannot tell somebody peace be with you if you have no peace in your heart. This means that the core ethical value for every Muslim and Christian is peace that reveals the love in our hearts. We must, therefore, concentrate on peace as a core ethical value in religion. The dictionary defines ‘peace’ as the absence of war, but the meaning is deeper in a religious context. Peace is a transformation of all forms of hostilities. It is freedom from quarrels and disagreement, harmonious relations, inner contentment, serenity, peace of mind and respect for law and order.
Religion is also important in nation building or what do you think?
Oh yes, religion is important in building our nation indeed.
During the elections, for instance, it is the duty of religious leaders to preach against the big volume of hate speeches that reaches the peak. They should ensure that mutual trust does not give way to mutual suspicion. Religion should not be politicised as if the political parties are Christianity and Islam.
Religious fanaticism should not become a strong point to campaign against an opponent. One would have expected the political candidates to rather defend their political manifestoes instead of using religion to condemn the opponent. It could be more edifying for a political candidate and his supporters to tell the electorate their capacity and what they have on the table to offer. Therefore, religious actors can and must work across sectors to build fair and efficient governance systems that respect human rights and promote robust forms of pluralism. The 2013 Religions for Peace (RfP) emphasised the need for a just and harmonious societies. The Commission argued that religious communities must and can promote a ‘robust principled pluralism that yields courteous candor and genuine mutual respect.’ That ideal and goal remains valid and central. In working for social change in the society, the Christians and Muslims must understand that material things undermine traditional and religious cultures. We must never forget that various forms of religious extremism that threaten human rights, social harmony and human welfare have some political undertone. This is why the churches and mosques, pastors, bishops and Imams must never sell their calling in exchange of lustful nakedness, political positions and appointments. Religious leaders must tell their followers that inordinate quest for luxuries and empty pride do not lead to salvation. Religious preachers must tell their followers not to promote hate, religious bigotry, tribal sentiments, disunity, financial irresponsibility and laziness in the lives of their flock. Instead of selling immorality with global trend, they must preach truth, love, patience, dignity of labour, peace, forgiveness and zero tolerance for immorality. Religious leaders cannot wait for the president of the nation, governor of a state or any of the political leaders to enter the church or mosque to preach decency and what it takes to grow a better society where we can experience the joy of heaven on earth. We all have in our different capacities and callings what it takes to make a better world if we do not allow ourselves to be distracted by religious differences.
Since Christians and Muslims are creatures of God with Abraham as a common father, and given that politicians do not remember religious differences when they are sharing money even though some innocent people die in the cause of campaigning for them, every Christian and Muslim must understand the mission and vision of salvation. We must, therefore, remain alive through inter-religious co-operation to change the world instead of dying for those who would not value our lives when they are in power. No government can resist the combined action of Christians and Muslims in the joint demand for social justice, education, health care delivery, good roads, potable water, freedom of religion and dignity of the human person. Let us go then and use religion to change the society in trust and love.
For mutual coexistence, what ought to be the right attitude of Christians and Muslims in the country?
To ensure mutual existence among the adherent of various faiths in the country, we need to reflect more on the dictum: ‘To err is human and to forgive is divine.’ I love the expression in the Holy Qur’an that God is the best of planners (Qur’an 8:30). This means that the Holy Qur’an makes provision for human beings to allow God plan for them. In the Holy Bible, God’s says, “vengeance is mine” (Deuteronomy 32:35). Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. ‘Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good’ (Romans 12:19-21). We must bear in mind that vengeance belongs to God alone because God is all knowing. Vengeance belongs to God because he has more strength and energy to protect the oppressed and victims of injustice. We must bear in mind that the mission of every living person is to be happy on earth. Happiness is a virtue that is exhibited in a community hence peaceful co-existence is the soul of life. The vision of human life is to be happy with God on the last day. The eschatological consciousness of the human person is the solemn awareness of the existence of heaven and hell. Those who enabled happiness for others through personal contentment will enjoy the eternal vision of the loving God in heaven while those who made life miserable for others will spend eternity in hell. This is why human beings must strive to avoid greed and injustice that often cause lack of access to natural resources. The result of these are tensions and structural conflict that could end in violence and all forms of insecurity. If we allow God to inspire us to choose leaders who can promote dignity of life with the available natural and human resources; we may not even reach a situation that would call for self-defense.
Aside forgiveness, in what other ways can we build understanding in communities?
We to need to be aware and conscious of the value God has placed on us as humans. The dignity of man and woman calls for respect for each other and one another.
Shared wellbeing calls on human beings to be healers to those who go about with wounded memories and broken hearts as a result of human insensitivity.
Now, we need to say this. Advancing shared wellbeing calls for debriefing and healing of the memory of victims of violence. Above all, shared wellbeing calls for control of temperaments given that the greatest warrior in the world is a person who can conquer his or her temperaments.
I tell Nigerians that for anyone to be a fulfilled person with a sound mind, they need just a little journey into the interior castle, namely the heart to rediscover their true identity. The value of a person is far above any material value. This is because the destiny of each one of us is a final union with God.
Therefore, to live together in communities, it is important that we know who we are. This would enable us to appreciate the other as a person with whom we share the same nature. Consequently, knowledge of anthropological foundation of the human character is important for facilitators of dialogue and peace building.
Now, have we ever bothered to ask any of our parents the events that surrounded our birth? The popular ideas at the time we were born and the people that moved the world around us. These questions can contribute to the affirmation that we are a people who have latent potentials to make the world around us a glorious bliss instead of a blaze.
Therefore, the first stage in preventing conflict is self-examination and respect for the other person. God created the world good. The story of the Garden of Eden symbolizes peace happiness and contentment that human beings would enjoy.
We should understand the need for inter-religious dialogue to educate our people in words and action that fighting in the name of religion is unreasonable.
In addition to that, attentive and sympathetic listening helps each to see the other as a brother or sister capable of loving, speaking the truth, seeking justice, offering forgiveness and sharing compassion. These are the basic values which all religious traditions encourage. They are paths to reconciliation and peace.
We need to live to celebrate our successes together and work together to restore our losses. Let us advance and promote the wellbeing of each other such that we can live in peace and harmony. Say no to conflict! Say yes to Peace!