The Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III, yesterday pushed back against fears of a religious agenda in Nigeria, declaring that Muslims were not planning to wipe out Christians, as religious and government leaders called for a reset in how the country understands its conflicts.
According to him, much of the violence often described as religious is being misunderstood, deepening suspicion and mistrust. The remarks came at the first triannual meeting of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council, NIREC, in Abuja, where the Sultan, who co-chairs the council, spoke alongside President of Christian Association of Nigeria, Daniel Okoh, and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume.
Leaders said the way forward laid in dialogue, trust and a stronger push for religious literacy. The Sultan said: “Today, as I stand here, I want to affirm that Muslims are not in a hurry and are not planning anything like decimating the population of Christians in Nigeria.
“We are not in any position whatsoever to remove Christians from Nigeria. No, it is not possible.’’
He stressed that both faiths must coexist in an environment of stability, respect and understanding of one another, and urged Nigerians to rethink how insecurity was described, even as he warned against attaching religion to criminal acts.
Linking the problem to ignorance, he warned against false claims of religious authority, adding that “the fact that you understand Arabic does not make you a Sheikh. Arabic is just a language. So literacy is very important.’’
The Sultan advocated return to dialogue repeatedly, describing it as the only workable path. He said further: “In NIREC, we believe in dialogue. No matter how bad things are, we believe in dialogue. When talking, you need to understand one another, not just tolerate.
“If you do not believe me, what else can you do? You cannot open my heart to see what is inside. We must trust one another.” On those who carry out violence in the name of religion, he said: “Somebody can go to the market, blows his or herself up, kill people and shout ‘Allahu Akbar’. Yes, God is great, but you are going to hell. They will suffer for taking innocent lives.’’
Earlier in his remarks, CAN President, Daniel Okoh, framed the conversation around education and understanding, warning against reducing religion to stereotypes.
“Religious literacy is not merely the academic understanding of doctrines or rituals. It is the cultivation of awareness, sensitivity and respect for the beliefs and practices of others,” Archbishop Okoh said.
While noting that many tensions were wrongly labelled, the CAN president said: “Across various parts of our nation, we continue to witness tensions that are sometimes framed along religious lines, even when their root causes may be social, economic, or political.’
The Christian leader stated that NIREC had continued to demonstrate the possibility of cooperation across faith lines.