By; PETER NOSAKHARE, Kaduna
Former president Olusegun Obasanjo, the Sultan of Sokoto and President – General of Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, President, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and other prominent Nigerians have called on President Muhammadu Buhari’s led
government, to as a matter of urgency convene a national reconciliatory conference.
In a report released after their Security Dialogue Retreat in Abuja, convened by Global Peace Foundation and Vision Africa headed by Bishop Sunday Onuaha, the Nigerian leaders said national reconstruction conference will held in addressing numerous challenges including the insecurity issues.
“As a matter of urgency, the government should convene a national reconciliatory conference to address the underlying issues of our challenges and hateful statements/agenda that successive governments have ignored to address; this convening should be organized in order to quell the mistrust-fueled agitations and crisis before the entity called Nigeria collapses,” the report said.
“We emphatically call for the cessation of incitement, misrepresentation and distortion of the image of the other and of the neighbor. Instead, we must draw upon our religious traditions, and our understanding of what is best for our people,” the leaders said adding that government must act sincerely as an unbiased arbiter to address insecurity headlong adding that the high prevalence of violent crisis, kidnapping, and fatal attacks in Nigeria are driven largely by social Injustice and a failed economy.
“The Church, the Mosque, and traditional worshippers must as a matter of morality, step up to the responsibility of contributing to the collective reengineering and moral rearmament urgently needed to salvage our nation, in fulfilling their roles as religious leaders and pulpit managers.
“The 1999 Constitution does not embody the principles of justice, fairness and equality, on which every democracy is founded. Thus, it does not fully protect the rights and interests of Nigeria’s diverse constituencies. We call on the Government to begin a process of constitutional review, amend and rework the constitution, drawing on our previous constitutions, amongst other things, to synchronize/harmonize the laudable principles they embody. This will ensure, not one-off solutions, but lasting change.
“Government at all levels must revisit and show sincere effort at understanding the core issues of dissidence and self-determination in Nigeria, rather than incarceration, bullets and counter-attacks as government response to agitations and unrest,” leaders said adding that, “even in our divergence, there exists an area of convergence; we therefore commit to keeping the conversation room open for further dialogue so as to address and resolve the common challenge that is deepening this divide.”
