|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
News & Events
AUTHENTIC RELIGION, AGENT OF SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION – Archbishop Kaigama
Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama has described authentic religion as agent of social transformation and peaceful co-existence, as opposed to the impression being created by the myopic members of the Boko Haram Islamic fundamentalist group who have promoted violence in the name of religion.
Archbishop Kaigama, who is the Catholic Metropolitan of Jos and President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) made this assertion in his address while receiving the Golden Dove Peace Award in Italy, recently, at the the National Museum of XXI Century Arts – MAXXI, Rome.
Previous awardees include Nelson Mandela (1987), Perez de Cuellar (1989), John Hume (1997), Federico Mayor (1998), Jesse Jackson (1999), Mahamed ElBaradei (2007), and Jane Goodall (2010).
According to the CBCN President who has been in the forefront in the quest for religious peace and harmony in the North for more than a decade: “Religion vertically binds one to the Supreme Being in a worship relationship and horizontally to one’s neighbours in a loving relationship, promoting the common good.” He continued: “Like anything of value, religion can be used irresponsibly or irrationally to cause tension and destruction but that does not make it bad just as education does not become bad because some persons choose to use it negatively.”
Archbishop Kaigama pointed out that the Boko Haram fundamentalists, out of their narrow mindedness, erroneously believe that they are serving God by their violent actions which have sent many innocent people to their untimely deaths, destroyed properties worth several millions of Naira and promoted instability and religious disharmony.
While articulating the efforts of the government, political and religious leaders and other organizations, including youth groups, at curtailing the situation in the country, the award recipient insisted that peace is possible in Nigeria as there is no war between majority of Muslims and Christians in the country.
His words: “There is a false impression that Muslims and Christians are at war with one another in Nigeria. Actually, Muslims and Christians live fairly well together. It is a few anti-social elements that employ religion in order to cause disaffection. They distract attention from what should be our national preoccupations such as social injustice, poverty, youth unemployment, ethnic disaffection; struggles over ownership of land, conflicts between farmers and pastoralists, bad governance, corruption, etc.”
He continued: “Some senior Muslim and Christian clerics as well as youths are encouraging channelling the positive values of the two dominant religions in Nigeria to peace, justice and development rather than resorting to violent confrontation over mere religious arguments. They are more forthright now in condemning acts of violence even if committed by their own. Interfaith youth groups are springing up.”
The Archbishop added: “Northern political elders have been speaking out more loudly about the connection of violence and underdevelopment. Traditional rulers are fervent in mobilizing for peace at the grass roots, reasoning that our war should be war against crime, diseases, corruption, illiteracy and vices and not war against one another. Peace NGOs continue to multiply in Nigeria. The road to peace is still long, rough and tough, but I maintain that peace is possible.”
The Metropolitan of Jos noted that, global insecurity and poverty should be the concern of all people of the world and should be collectively tackled. He called on the government to compliment the heavy budgets on security and deployment of armed men to the flash spots of the country with the benefits of democracy, good social infrastructure, social welfare and proper security.
He stated further: “Leaders in governance must emphasize the common good of Nigerians and Nigeria first rather than their selfish interests. They must look beyond religion to identify the multidimensional sources of disaffection, reappraise the security system, intelligence gathering, improve security equipment and adequately train security officials. Muslims must put into practice the pillars of Islam, so the Christians, the cardinal virtues of Christianity and the traditional worshippers, their sacred values for a stable, prosperous and peaceful Nigeria.”
While outlining his practical efforts at promoting religious harmony and peace, particularly in the north, Archbishop Kaigama stated that the award will spur him to do more in his capacity as the President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria and the first Vice President of the Regional Episcopal Conferences of West Africa. He thanked the organizers for the award which according to him is a great honour to him and by extension, his country Nigeria.
The Archbishop dedicated the award partly to his late Muslim friend and Emir of Wase, Alhaji Dr. Haruna Abdullahi, with whom he initiated various peace initiatives until his death last year and the good people of Plateau and Taraba States who have shaped his formative and working life. He promised to be more committed to the promotion of peace and conflict resolutions in the country for the overall benefit of humanity.
It will be recalled that early last month, the renowned Italy-based international organization, Archivio Disarmo Institute Richerche International gave the Archivio Disarmo for Peace Golden Doves for the year 2012 award to Archbishop Kaigama for his remarkable role in the promotion of peace and interreligious harmony in Nigeria and Plateau State in particular.
See Other News & Events »
|
|
| | |
| | | | |
|
|
News & Events »