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Nigeria: Onaiyekan, Sultan, Others for Peace Summit
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This Day (Lagos)
3 May 2008
Posted to the web 5 May 2008
Michael Olugbode
Maiduguri
Political and religious leaders across the country will converged in Maiduguri from today to promote peace and religious harmony as the Nigeria Inter-religious Council (NIREC) holds its summit.
The leaders who are expected included the governors of the six North Eastern states of Borno, Adamawa, Taraba, Gombe, Bauchi and Yobe, and the head of the Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), His Eminence, Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar III, the Sultan of Sokoto, leading the Muslim community and His Eminence, John Onaiyekan, the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja and National President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) leading the Christian faithful.
Also expected to lead the Federal Government team is the Secretary to the Government of the Fede-ration (SGF), Ambassador Baba Gana-Kingibe.
According to the National Co-ordinator/Executive Secretary of NIREC, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede the council was established about nine years ago to find lasting solution to the incessant inter-religious crises which punctuated the socio-political landscape of the country.
Oloyede, who is also the Vice Chancellor of University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), said the NIREC meeting in Maiduguri between 4-7 May 4 to 7, will provide religious leaders and rulers a forum to proffer solutions to the numerous religious pervading the country and promote peace and harmony in Nigeria.
He explained that the council is made up of 50 members, with each NSCIA and CAN nominating 25 members each and co-chaired by the head of the NSCIA and National President of CAN.
He stressed that it was established through the free initiate of the country's apex bodies of the two major religions and is sufficiently independent and autonomous to carry out its mandate effectively.
Oloyede addressing a press conference on Friday said the council with membership drawn from both the headship of the spiritual and royal structure also promotes the inculcation of morals, ethical, social and cultural values of the Moslems and Christians for the rebirth and rebuilding of a better society.
He said morals have little or no national or international demarcation, stressing that it is almost the same everywhere and in every corner of the world, "the disagreement is smaller than areas of agreement."
The NIREC scribe added that "corruption is wrong everywhere in the world; immoral dressing is largely seen in most part of the world with the same eye." "corruption is an outward indication of lawlessness, the law should be supreme to deal with issues of lawlessness."
Oloyede, who said the right antidote to religious crises in the country is to educate the masses, lamented that our leaders most time fan the ember of religious crises for their selfish gains, urging the masses to open their eyes and see that they are only be used by leaders to promote their selfish cause.
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He said have the masses stopped to consider that most of these leaders that preach religious disharmony almost have common business and political interest and sit at boardroom and party rally to plan their economy and political future or interest together.
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