16 November 2009
Our Reporter] — The Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) in Abuja has unveiled an NGO, called Nigerian Interfaith Action Association (NIFAA), to curtail diseases and poverty.
At a joint news conference, Co-chair of NIREC and NIFAA, Alhaji Sa'ad Abubakar, President General, Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), and Archbishop John Onaiyekan, National President, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), said the NGO was a rapid response to the fight against disease and poverty.
"We want the whole world to know what is happening to us in Nigeria, that both Muslims and Christians are working together to address our common problems," Onaiyekan said.
He said NIFAA was a national coalition of the two major religions in Nigeria geared towards tackling all national issues with particular reference to polio eradication, malaria and poverty. "The more we work together as one, the more we enjoy peace in our land. We want all other countries to learn this peaceful and progressive approach from Nigeria," Onaiyekan said.
In his contribution, Abubakar, who is also the Sultan of Sokoto, said NIFAA was the NGO arm of NIREC geared toward actualising all goals relating to tackling diseases and poverty among the followers of the two religions.
Abubakar said NIFAA was formed in Washington DC, U.S., recently in response to a challenge on what religious leaders were doing to combat malaria and poverty in Nigeria.
"I said then that when mosquito bites, it does not discriminate between Muslims and Christians, so we should work together as one body to fight our common enemy, which is disease and poverty," the sultan said.
He said Nigerians should not rush to condemn their leaders as not doing anything.
He said leaders of NIREC were working round the clock to ensure peace among the followers of the two religions.
On the funding of the projects, Abubakar said "we have the support of UN, Federal Government, the U.S. and Nigerians dedicated to peace and eradication of disease and poverty in our country."
Abubakar solicited the support of all Nigerians in their new crusade, saying the leaders of the two religions would soon embark on nationwide sensitisation tour for the people to embrace it and know that they were doing it for the sake of humanity.
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