The Primate of Anglican Church of Nigeria, Most Reverend Henry Ndukuba has said that the church believes that everyone should be able to live in peace and pursue their desires in line with the law of the land.
Most Reverend Ndukuba gave this assurance when he led a delegation of officials of the Anglican Communion to pay a courtesy call on Governor Nasir El Rufai on Thursday.
He stated that the Anglican Church is known all over the country to be a strong promoter of good governance, peaceful co-existence and development, including tackling insecurity.
The primate, who recalled that as a resident of Kaduna State, he was a victim of the 1987 religious violence when his house was burnt in Wusasa, assured the governor of the church’s prayer for peace in the state.
According to Revd. Ndukuba, “the Church of Nigeria stands for peaceful co-existence and the ability of people to pursue their enterprise wherever they may be -whether north, south, east, west—any part of this country.”
The primate called on all Nigerians to abide by the tenet of their faiths by showing consideration for others.
“I believe that if the Christians will stand for what they believe and the Muslims will stand for what they believe, and each one does what he should do, in consideration of his brother and sister and neighbour, I believe that we have all that it takes to be a great nation,’’ he argued.
The Primate praised Governor El Rufai’s strides in infrastructural development and in the education sector as well as tackling insecurity.
‘’Driving round Kaduna has really made me to appreciate the new road networks, the developments that we have seen and in fact your strides in education. And more importantly, in wrestling with the monster of insecurity which, up until now, is still raising its ugly head,’’ he said.
Most Reverend Ndukuba assured the governor ‘’of our prayers for the state and also trusting God to intervene in this hydra-headed issue; so that, by the Grace of God, solution will be found and the culprits will be brought to book and the people will live in peace. ‘’
Responding, Governor El Rufai thanked the Primate and his delegation for the visit, adding that Kaduna state is going through challenging times. He said that the Primate’s visit ‘’is an indication of the positive role that religion can play to unite our people. This has been the overriding objective of this state government.’’
The governor said that ‘’the Primate is aware of the history of violence and religious intolerance in this state. Our study of the situation over four decades has shown that the main drivers of this violence are a few clerics that use their platforms, not to preach peaceful co-existence or promote our common humanity.
‘’Rather, they use their platforms and revered positions to divide and incite violence. I was sad to hear from the Primate, that he was a victim in 1987, when his house was burnt down in Wusasa,’’ he said.
El Rufai said that ‘’in those days, the Primate will recall, that this sort of violence starts from one part of the state and the spreads all over the state. One credit that this government gets from everyone, including our adversaries, has been our ability to contain these outbreaks to their points of origin.”
He explained that the government is doing its best to overcome the legacy of violent conflict in the state.
The governor thanked Most Revd. Ndukuba forhis visit and the prayers for peace in Kaduna State. He invited the Primate to continue to consider both Sir Kashim Ibrahim House and Kaduna state his home.
