Country: Nigeria
City: kaduna
Interfaith Harmony Week 2022: Nigerian Clerics Organize Reading And Writing Competition Among students & sensitizes over 10,000 about the week
As part of activities to mark the 2022 United Nation- interfaith harmony week, A team of Nigerian Religious leaders and volunteer peace Non -governmental organization NGOs and Concerned citizens in the country have commences sensitizing thousands of students ,street youths ,market union, women organization and persons with disability on promoting peace, tolerance , forgiveness and prayers throughout the week of the harmony.
Pastor Yohanna Buru, who led a team of volunteer Imams and pastors to college of health science kaduna ,explained that their visit was aimed at conducting reading competition which will encourage the students in re-dedicating more time to studying their holy Books , so as to enable them have the fear of God; as well as sensitizing them on the need for peaceful co-existence, tolerance and harmony amongst people regardless of their religious inclinations, culture and tradition.
According to him, The team of the religious Clerics took the campaign to some schools and communities and ghettos , in order to dialog ,interact and inter-faced with many students, women, and youth to educate them about the importance of interfaith week and harmony and how its going to help toward reducing the ethno-religious, political , banditry, extremism ,kidnapping activities affecting peace stability, education, economy, health, tourism in the northern part of the country.
He said, “We decided to extend our visitation to schools and meet with some youths leaders residing in communities , so as to spread the message of peace, tolerance and the importance of forgiveness among everyone at the community, as well as award winners of the competition. Empowering them with Religious studies will make them shun the bad attitude and other social vices .
“Apart from organizing this competition, we are also visiting other scholars of different faith to strengthen relationship between them, so as to teach the followers the essence of living in peace with one another,” he stressed.
He emphasized that, the interfaith week provide Golding opportunity for Christians and muslims with other religious and traditional leaders to meet – interact and deliberate on issues related to religious Tolerance, better understanding, peace building and new ways of empowering communities and groups different skills to resist activities related to violent extremism, gansterism ,Cultism and other unlawful act that affect peace stability on the country,
They equally organized reading and writing competition during the visit to some of the school students, so as to encourage students studies of religious books with the aims of strengthening Christian-Muslims relationship base on the teachings of the holy book on ways live with one another and to poster peace and unity with all humans irrespective of his tribe, religion, ethnicity, region or color.
Also, in a bid to encourage genuine reconciliation and devise a means of addressing all forms of ethno-religious-political crisis bordering peace and stability in the country, Pastor Buru said that, they are organizing endurance Trek and football match competition among different communities so as to bridge the existing gap between Muslim and Christian communities within the state.
The cleric said, they are going to use Radio, Television, newspapers and social media to mobilise more Christians-Muslims scholars to use the week by United Nation with the aims of enlightening different faith base organization on the need to sustained peace,love,unity and forgiveness.
“Our targets is to communicate with 50,000 muslims-50,000 christians through the media to used the week in spreading the message of peace,Love,forgiveness”
Responding, the school director mr Nurudden bello says, the important of peace in our society cannot be over emphasized ,hence the need to support the state and federal government toward providing enabling environment for the education of students
Adding peace education play an important part in changing lives of students
He then thanks the visitors and while calling on other Peace NGOs and CSO organization to equally joined the campaign toward sensitizing millions of youth and women on ways to end vengeance attack and insecurity
United- nation World international interfaith week and harmony which usually start from First week of February every year 1st-7th ,and the essence is to promote harmony between all people regardless of their faith ,tribe, culture ,ethnicity ,race, color ,height ,region or continent,
The world Interfaith Harmony Week is a UN resolution for a world-wide week of interfaith harmony proposed in 2010 by King Abdullah ll and prince Ghazi bin Muhammad of Jordan,