By Correspondent in Lokoja.
Religious adherents in Nigeria have been urged to always verify information at their disposal with absolute caution before responding to responding to issues capable of resulting in religious crisis,as part of their contribution towards reducing uneasy calm in the country to the barest minimum.
Mr Samson Auta, the Coordinator, Community Peace Action Network (CPAN), an NGO,gave advice while speaking at a workshop by Inter-faith Mediation Centre, in conjunction with Mercy Corps and USAID in Lokoja.
He traced most of the religious crises in Nigeria to misunderstanding and wrong response to handy information at the disposal of followers of different religious groups.
He said the need for Nigerians to treat religious issues with caution formed the main reason for organising the inter-faith workshop involving.
According to him, the exercise involved Conflict Mitigation and Management Regional Council (CMMRC) and Community Peace Observers (CPOs) within the northern and central parts of Nigeria, to enlighten them on how to handle information.
“We conduct this kind of awareness campaign in six states: Kano, Kaduna, Katsina,Plateau, Benue and Kogi states,”he told the gathering.
The coordinator advised CMMRC and CPOs to endeavour to always feed the NGO with quarterly reports on happenings within their communities, particularly on how best to co-exist in peace.
Auta said that the advice became necesary because lack of feedback was one of the challenges facing CPAN, adding that this became obvious especially when the responses within the communities that helped mitigate conflict were not handled properly.
Contributing, Hajia Ramatu Adamu, a facilitator, advised the citizens to always investigate any information received before responding.
Ramatu, who quoted from Quaran, said that any wrong action taken without proper verification shall surety be regretted.
She reminded the people that “the holy books admonish us to first see ourselves in humanity and not in difference, because whether you are Christian or Muslim, you are but human, created by God Almighty.”
Rev. Michael Ikpa, another facilitator, said: “As Nigerians, we must co-exist and understand one another so as to peacefully co-exist for the growth and development of Nigeria.
“Any information received must first be investigated before responding to avoid taking wrong decisions or actions that will inflame crisis or conflict among us,” he noted.
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
