By Nsan Ndoma-Neji, Calabar
Despite celebration of World National Religious Freedom Day recently marked by interfaith group in Nigeria on January 16, 2024, religious war still persist, with several churches and mosques razed down, many killed and properties worth millions of naira destroyed in the fresh crises rocking Plateau State, Nigeria.
Expressing displeasure over the religious war at the Ikoyi residence of the United States of America’s Consulate-General, where a parley held for few national leaders of civil society organizations and staff of the Department of States, The international President of The Remedy For Victims of Religious Persecution and Discrimination Initiative and the General Overseer, CCCI, Calabar; Bishop Dr. Emmah Gospel Isong, stated that this is not the first of its kind in Nigeria.
Isong, who spoke in the presence of the United States’ Secretary of State, Mr. Antony Blinken, averred that the plateau crises was capable of derailing our democracy and lamented the lost of lives and properties, even when the inter-religious groups had worked so hard to ensure that people of all faiths and ethnicity co-exist peacefully.
He said, “Yet this is not a topic for discussion among many policy makers in government circles, maybe because of our several overwhelming or beclouding pending issues.’’
Archbishop-elect Isong, who is also the Co-director, Inter-Faith Coalition Against Corruption Nigeria, ICACN, stated that the overwhelming issues like the aftermath of the last presidential and states elections and subsequent court cases can also be responsible for the delay of actions in the crises affecting the nation.
Other issues discussed include the lack of political will to implement the various reports on #EndSARS riot, the national minimum wage saga, coupled with economic crises, kidnapping epidemic, even within the Federal Capital Territory and terrorists’ activities have become major problems to national integration.
He said that this has caused mass exodus of millions of Nigerian youths, also known as the ‘Japa’ syndrome as within a period of two weeks, more than 32,000 Nigerians had applied for international passports, a development the clergy said was not good for national development.
Stressing the need for religious acceptability, otherwise known as religious intolerant, Isong said, “I believe we can co-exist fundamentally as humans – children of Adam, also as children of Abraham and finally as Nigerians.
“The same knife a surgeon uses to save life can be the same knife an assassin uses to take life, so religion and ethnicity in themselves are not harmful.”
Drawing inferences from the constitution of The Federal republic of Nigeria, the banker-turned Bishop said that the constitution has given its citizens opportunity to worship where they prefer, saying, “The constitution stipulates that neither the state nor the Federal Government shall establish state religion and prohibits discrimination on religious grounds.
Present an the meeting were; the US ambassador to Nigeria, the Consul-General, staff of the US Department of State, Brittany Orange, Assistant Secretary for Africa, Molly Phee; Imam Shefiu Abdulkarim Majeku of Strength in Diversity Center, Lagos, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin of Women Arise for Change Initiative, Blessing Abiri, CLEEN FOUNDATION, and others.
