By IBRAHIM OBANSA, Lokoja –
A Non Governmental Organization (NGO), Community Peace Action Network (CPAN), has cautioned Nigeria’s religious and traditional leaders to always verify information before they respond to curb religious and other crisis.
The Coordinator of CPAN, Mr. Samson Auta made the call on Tuesday while speaking at a workshop organised by Inter-faith Mediation Centre in conjunction with Mercy Corps and USAID in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital.
Mr. Auta noted that most of the religious crises recorded in Nigeria were due to misunderstanding and wrong response to information handling among followers of different religious groups.
“This is the main reason for organising this kind of inter-faith workshop involving Conflict Mitigation and Management Regional Council (CMMRC) and Community Peace Observers (CPOs) within the northern and central parts of Nigeria to enlighten them on how to handle information.
“We conduct this kind of awareness campaign in six states of Kano Kaduna, Katsina, Plateau, Benue and Kogi.
“The good thing about this training is for you, the CMMRC and CPOs, to endeavour to always feed us with quarterly reports on happenings within your communities, particularly on how best to co-exist peacefully,” he explained.
Mr. Auta pointed out that the challenges of the centre is lack of feedback, especially when the response within the communities that help mitigate conflict are not handled properly.
Also speaking, a facilitator, Hajiya Ramatu Adamu, advised the citizens to always investigate any information received before responding.
Hajiya Ramatu, who quoted from Quaran, said that any wrong action taken without proper verification shall surety be regretted.
“The holy books admonish us to first see ourselves in humanity and not in difference because whether you are Christian or Muslim, you are but human created by God Almighty,” she said.
Another facilitator, Rev. Michael Ikpa, said: “As Nigerians, we must co-exist and understand one another so as to peacefully co-exist for the growth and development of Nigeria.
“Any information received must first be investigated before responding to avoid taking wrong decisions or actions that will inflame crisis or conflict among us,” he noted.
