Religious and traditional rulers have been advised to instill the spirit of unity and togetherness among their followers and subjects.
The General Officer Commanding One Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Adeniyi Oyebade, gave the advice while speaking at a conference organised by the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Kaduna State Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
According to Major General Oyebade, such promotion of unity would stop the continuous ethno-religious conflicts that have ravaged many parts of Nigeria.
Describing the sectarian crises that have rocked Kaduna State recently as the cause of the slow pace of development in the state, he stressed the need for people to see religion and tribe as instruments of unity and peaceful co-existence, rather than being sources of discord and conflict.
The Army officer called on Nigerians irrespective of religious differences to move the country forward in terms of infrastructural development and cordial relationship, as being practiced in other parts of the world.
He also appealed to media practitioners to sensitise the public on religious and ethnic matters in order to achieve a sustainable ethno-religious harmony in Nigeria.
On his part, Mr Chris Umar, a representative of Governor Nasir El-Rufai, said that his administration was committed to promoting peace and security in Kaduna State.
The guest speakers at the event, the Secretary General of Jamaátu Nasril Islam (JNI), Dr. Khalid Abubakar and a former General Secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Kaduna State, Reverend Joseph Hayab, identified insincerity on the part of religious leaders as a contributory factor to ethno-religious crisis in Nigeria.
According to the clerics, there cannot be economic prosperity and development in Nigeria in an atmosphere of widespread violence and breakdown of law and order.
They also tasked religious leaders on the importance of telling their followers the truth whenever they go wrong.
In his speech, a former spokesman to former Kaduna State Governor, Ahmed Maiyaki, tasked journalists to use their profession to promote peace and unity and focus on issues that could enhance peace and development.
