President Bola Tinubu has renewed his government's pledge to preserve Nigeria's unity, insisting that no internal disagreement is worth breaking the country apart, according to a report by Punch Newspapers (punchng.com).
Speaking through Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin at an international security and unity conference in Abuja, organized by JIBWIS in partnership with the Muslim World League, Tinubu said his administration remains committed to dialogue as the path forward, no matter how sharp the country's divisions might be. He also pointed to ongoing government efforts to confront insecurity at home while cooperating with other nations to build lasting peace regionally and globally.
APC National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda used his remarks to warn political leaders against exploiting religion or ethnicity for short-term gain, cautioning that such tactics leave lasting damage long after any political advantage fades. Drawing on his own experience being displaced during unrest in Bauchi, he noted that violence spares no one — Christian or Muslim — and urged Nigerians to treat their diversity as a source of strength rather than a dividing line. He called on religious leaders to turn mosques and churches into centers of peace and reconciliation, and urged traditional rulers to prioritize dialogue over retaliation.
The Nigeria Inter-Religious Council added its voice, warning against attempts to weaponize religion, ethnicity, and poverty to sow division. NIREC's Executive Secretary, Cornelius Omonokhua, stressed that shared humanity — not religious identity — is what should bind Nigerians together, adding that neither Christianity nor Islam condones violence.
The Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar III, who co-chairs NIREC, said Nigeria's real challenge isn't a lack of solutions but a failure to implement the agreements already reached at past conferences. He also appealed directly to both faiths to stop insulting one another, saying that mutual respect is key to peaceful coexistence.
The conference was attended by Sheikh Mohammad Al-Issa, Secretary-General of the Muslim World League and a globally recognized figure in interfaith outreach — notably the most senior Islamic leader to have visited Auschwitz, and a key figure behind an early agreement between an Islamic organization and the Vatican. He was present to witness the signing of the Abuja Declaration, a new pact designed to build a joint Muslim-Christian peace mechanism aimed at stopping religious tensions from escalating into violence across Nigeria and West Africa.
Government ministers, state governors, traditional rulers, and other dignitaries also attended the event.
Source: Punch Newspapers (punchng.com)
