President Bola Tinubu has called for stronger national and international cooperation to tackle emerging security threats facing Nigeria and other parts of the world.
Tinubu said Nigeria was facing “multifaceted” security challenges that required coordinated, sustainable responses from governments, international organisations, faith leaders and other stakeholders.
The President spoke in Abuja on Tuesday at a two-day international security conference organised by Jama’atu Izalatil Bidiah wa Iqamatis Sunnah (JIBWIS Nigeria) in partnership with the Muslim World League of Saudi Arabia.
The conference, themed “Diversity and Social Peace: Partnership for a Promising Future,” was attended by religious leaders from Muslim and Christian communities, including scholars and representatives from Saudi Arabia and other African countries.
Represented by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin, Tinubu said his administration remained committed to working with other countries and international organisations to build a stable, secure Nigeria while contributing to global security. Politics
“Working within the Committee of Nations, [the government is] collaborating every day to ensure that security remains not only in our country but in the entire globe,” he said.
The President said the conference was particularly significant given the evolving security situation and the need for government authorities, faith leaders and other stakeholders to deliberate on emerging threats to national and digital security systems.
According to him, the conference was expected to examine emerging trends placing pressure on Nigeria’s national and digital security architecture and to develop recommendations that would complement ongoing government efforts to address the country’s security challenges.
Tinubu also called for the preservation of Nigeria’s unity, despite the differences among its citizens, urging Nigerians to work together to protect the country’s cohesion and stability. Politics
He commended the Muslim World League for choosing Nigeria as the venue for the conference, describing the decision as significant and assuring participants of the Federal Government’s support for initiatives that promote peace and security.
Tinubu said the conference would provide participants with an opportunity to exchange experiences and deliberate on viable, sustainable approaches to addressing contemporary security challenges.
He expressed confidence that the deliberations would produce critical, practical outcomes capable of supporting and strengthening the government’s security objectives.
Also speaking at the conference, National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nentawe Yilwatda, urged religious leaders to make churches and mosques centres of peace, saying religion should promote human dignity, tolerance and peaceful coexistence rather than hatred and division.
Yilwatda called on clerics to use their influence to foster peaceful relations among Nigerians of different faiths, stressing that religious convictions should never be used to incite violence or hatred.
“Let us preach faith without hatred, conviction without contempt, and truth without incitement,” he said.
“We can preach truth without inciting people. That’s the whole way of teaching as a religious leader.”
The APC chairman said religious differences should not undermine the shared humanity of Nigerians, arguing that genuine faith must compel believers to protect the lives, dignity and freedom of people of other religions.
“Can we truly change the people of faith if our faith does not compel us to protect the life, dignity, and freedom of those who worship differently from us?” he asked.
“If your religion does not protect the dignity of all human life, then we are not acting in religion.”
Yilwatda said his understanding of peaceful coexistence was shaped by his childhood in Yola, Adamawa State, where his father, a pastor, maintained a close friendship with a Muslim leader.
He recalled that the two families visited one another and celebrated religious occasions together, saying the experience taught him that religious differences should not prevent people from building strong relationships and living peacefully.
However, he said his later experience of communal violence in Bauchi, where his family lost its home and possessions, showed him the devastating consequences of violence perpetrated in the name of religion or ethnicity.
“Sometimes they commit it in the name of religion, but I don’t believe they spare anybody. Sometimes it’s committed in the name of tribal diversity. I believe it spares nobody. All of us are victims,” he said.
According to him, displacement and suffering also reinforced his belief that Nigerians have far more in common than their religious and ethnic differences suggest.
“We have different places of worship and different religions, but in that moment of suffering, none of these different places will protect anyone,” he said.
“We may worship differently, but we suffer together. We dream together. We can build together, and ultimately, we can rise and fall together.”
The APC chairman also cautioned political leaders against exploiting religion and ethnicity for political advantage, urging them to promote unity and peaceful coexistence.
He called on traditional rulers to use their moral authority to encourage dialogue, reduce suspicion and strengthen relationships among communities.
Yilwatda further urged Nigerians to exercise caution when sharing claims and information that could deepen religious and ethnic divisions, particularly when such claims could inflame tensions.
He said Nigeria should aspire to a society where citizens protect and support one another regardless of religious identity.
The APC chairman urged Nigerians to build a country where children inherit schools, homes and opportunities rather than displacement camps and memories of violence.
He called on citizens to choose peace over violence and to work collectively towards building a more united and peaceful Nigeria.
Credit: thenationonlineng.net
