The President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan says religious tolerance is critical to peaceful coexistence, urging Nigerians to unite against terror as it does not represent any religious ideology.
The President stated this on Friday in Abuja at the 4th Unity Conference, organised by the Community And Youth Development (CYD) in Collaboration With Youth For Peace And Good Leadership Initiative (YPGLI) with the theme; Religious Approach in Curbing Youth Restiveness, Immorality and Corruption in Nigeria.
Represented by Vice President Arc Mohammed Namadi Sambo, he called on all Muslims and Christians to continue to live together in peace and harmony as enshrined in the Holy Books, stressing that “Religious understanding and tolerance must continue to dominate our collective and corporate existence if we aspire to grow and prosper as a people.”
President Jonathan reiterated thecommitment of government to provide the enabling environment for every Nigerian to thrive, irrespective of religious and political affiliations, emphasising that “this shall remain sacrosanct,” adding that “In this enterprise, we will need the partnership and support of all Nigerians.”
He further said “We must unite against terror, which is our common enemy. These insurgents must be condemned by all as they represent no religious ideology. They are out to cause disaffection and disharmony among religious adherents. None of these two religions preach violence. We must therefore continue to work collectively to defeat all divisive tendencies that attempt to undermine our sovereignty and collective resolve as a nation.”
Speaking on the Nigerian youth, the President disclosed that to gainfully engage them, government was implementing policies and programmes targeted at their development as they constitute the greatest asset of the country, “This explains why Youth development is a key policy of our administration. We have through our various youth programmes achieved successes.”
To this end he, narrated such programmes to include the Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (YouWin), Public Works Women and Youth Empowerment Programme and; the Technical Vocational Education and Training Programme for Youth through the SURE-P fund. Others he mentioned were the Youth in Agriculture, Student Computer Ownership Scheme; the Girls and Women in Nigeria Initiative as well as the Junior Professional Officers Programme, among others.
Acknowledging the contributions of the Nigerian youth to the promotion of peace and unity in the country, he said, “I thank all our youth for their continuous support and resilience in the face of our numerous development challenges. Collectively, we shall achieve our goal of placing the Nigerian youth on a sound pedestal for favourable global competition,” he further said.
In their separate keynote address, the Sultan of Sokoto, represented by the Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar and the former Secretary-General of CAN, Engr. Elder Samuel Salifu, stressed the need for Nigerians to respect and understand each other’s religion, while also urging the youth to imbibe self discipline, even as they called on parents to guide their children alright, as they also urged government to make religion a core subject.
Speaking Alhaji Mahmoud Yayale Ahmad, the patron of CYDNN, who also spoke for Senator Paul Wampana, the Grand Patron ofYPGLI, said that the present administration under the leadership of President Jonathan had shown demonstrable commitment to religious harmony and peaceful co-existence in the country, stressing that Nigeria was indeed one indivisible country.
Earlier the Chairman of CYDNN, said the four day Unity Conference, was aimed at fashioning out ways to curb youth restiveness in the society. He said the Conference was also aimed at bringing participants of different faiths to rub mind on how to live harmoniously.
Highlight of the event was the presentation of award to President Goodluck Eblele Jonathan.
