Religion and region.

“Do noble things, not dream them all day long.” Charles Kingsley 

Sultan of Sokoto Muhammadu Saad Abubakar III and Cardinal John Onaiyekan, Catholic Archbishop of Abuja Diocese convened an Interfaith Mini-Conference last week Thursday in Abuja. The theme of the Conference was “The Imperatives of Interfaith Understanding and Cooperation for Responsible Politics.” The five-hour event was revealing in many aspects, but principally because it signalled a relatively-new approach to dealing with the near endemic inter-religious and inter-communal conflicts that have ravaged the North in the last decade or so. It is difficult to ignore the uniqueness of the initiative, as well as its potential to carve out a new dimension in relations between politics and faith in Nigeria.

The Conference was not organized by the two co-chairmen of Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), who are the Sultan and Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). This should be a matter that ought to arouse some curiosity. It was convened by two leaders from the North who chaired NIREC in the past, and who obviously enjoy deep personal affection for each other and a chemistry that was palpable and infectious. The Conference was  attended by  Muslim and Christian religious leaders, politicians, academics, media, civil society, women and youth groups mainly from the North, although there was a visible presence of religious leaders from the South who live and work in the North with Northerners. Again this is something that should attract more than a passing curiosity.

But by far the most unique feature of the Conference was the clear evidence that it was summoned specifically to address a Northern problem, by two leaders who enjoy tremendous followership and respect. It was evident that most of the people who attended the conference and poured their hearts out in lamentations over the state of Muslim-Christian relations would not have bothered if it had been convened by the Sultan and Pastor Oritsejafor under N.I.R.E.C This should say something about the value and credibility of today’s NIREC; but it should be louder in highlighting what is clearly a regional effort to deal with a regional problem.

The attendance exposed a deep concern that Northern Christians and Muslims are not doing enough to reach out to each other, and limit the dangers which they now face together. The place of credible leaders in leading the efforts to reclaim lost grounds was also evident in the manner the Conference succeeded in assembling people that would ordinarily not breathe the same air. The calm and dignified demeanour of Cardinal Onaiyekan was a factor in reassuring Northern Christians that it is possible and desirable to engage Northern Muslims in discussions over every issue that offends the manner both groups perceive and relate with each other. The Sultan’s personal predisposition to Christian leaders and untiring efforts to encourage dialogue also inspires many leading Muslim clerics and intellectuals who feel that the Nigerian state has long abandoned the interests of its Muslim communities.

It is significant that two Northern religious leaders are leading the search for lasting peace among Muslims and Christians, particularly in the North. The Conference held just one day after the United States announced that it was listing Boko Haram and Ansaru as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. Far from gloating or seeing this as a triumph for Christians, Cardinal Onaiyekan reminded the Conference that the insurgency that has harmed all Nigerians has long been proscribed by Nigerian authorities, and its government and communities are trying to find more genuine solutions. He did not say the U.S government was wrong; just that its action is belated and of little consequence. Compare this to the reported euphoria of the co-chair of N.I.R.E.C, and President of the CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor: “I am elated. I am excited, honestly I feel fulfilled... This is good for us. Anybody who says it is not good needs his head examined...”

The presentations made and the comments from participants at the Conference drew attention to the damage which religious intolerance and the dangerous pitch with politics makes to faith in the North. Everyone agreed that the security and development of Northern Muslims and Christians are inseparable, and endemic conflicts just make everyone less secure and poorer. Everyone lamented the damage of poor governance, impunity, corruption and the dangerous incursions of partisan political interests into relations between Muslims and Christians. Dire warnings were made that 2015 elections could make the North a worse battlefield that it has been. Clerics and politicians lamented the inconsistencies and hypocrisy involved in leaders saying all the right things to each other in public fora, then tearing each others’ faith behind their backs. Virtually everyone agreed that good leaders who can govern with justice and fairness can reclaim a North that was able to live substantially in peace in spite of its pronounced pluralism and diversity.

Perhaps the Sultan-Onaiyekan initiative may signal the start of a process that may prevent further damage to the security and livelihood of people of the North, particularly in the light of the 2015 elections which are bound to make attempts to exploit familiar faultlines. It certainly cannot have many parallels. Politicians are involved in intense jockeying that will polarise the North further between PDP and APC. The final outcome of the epic battles going on in the PDP and their effects on the APC are likely to create contiguous boundaries for faith and partisanship in most parts of the North and, to a lesser extent, the West. Politicians will try and attach faith labels on parties and candidates. Campaigns will be ugly and dangerous, and fallouts from elections will threaten the security and economy of the North and many other parts of Nigeria even more. In a region already devastated by insurgencies, crippled by fear of state security apparatus, abandoned by investors, bleeding from numerous conflicts in remote villages and economically regressing by the day, any more worsening of the economy and society of the North will push it beyond possible recovery.

The Inter-Faith Mini Conference revealed a new resolve to close the distances which exist between Muslim and Christian Northerners. It showed a new determination to close ranks against divisive tendencies which exploit gullible, weak and poor Northerners in the manner their poverty and insecurity is portrayed as the price they pay for their faith. There was evidence of a determination to distance the north from political tendencies which make its communities stepping stones for politicians from other parts from the region and other parts of the country to amass power and wealth at their expense.

There is still a long way to go before religious leaders who build support and followership on the basis of hate and prejudice are marginalized. Politicians who invest in fear and ignorance to secure votes are still on the prowl. There is still a lot of pain and anger in hearts and minds of many Muslim and Christian Northerners over what has been done or is being done to them by others. As we speak, villages are being razed; frightening sermons are being read against the enemy just down the road; and poverty which binds every Northerner together and causes them to fight over every morsel thrown at them is becoming more pronounced. If the Sultan- Onaiyekan initiative has achieved anything, it must be its success in reminding Northerners that they are responsible for their own security and development, and politicians who want power at the expense of peace and development in the region may have to change tactics.