Insurgency: Jonathan, Gowon seek improved inter-religious harmony

According to the Punch News,...

President Goodluck Jonathan and a former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, on Tuesday, said inter-religious harmony remained an important ingredient for national development.

They therefore urged leaders of various faith-based institutions in the country to embrace peace and preach love as a way of tackling insurgency.

Jonathan and Gown spoke in Abuja at the official presentation of the Kukah Centre, founded by the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Rev. Fr. Hassan Kukah.

Jonathan specifically advised the leadership of both the Islamic and Christianity religion as well as traditional rulers to live in harmony in order to collectively find solutions to the country’s problems.

He said, “Democracy is not just about political parties or politicians; it is not just about winning elections, it is about freedom, about development, and above all, it is about civilisation.

“It is in this regard that we must identify and support the structures of democracy in order to meet the yearnings and aspirations of our people.”

He challenged the Kukah Centre to, in line with its objectives, conceptualise and articulate proactive strategies that could reshape policy consistency for the attainment of an enduring democracy.

He also asked the centre to develop policies, using the experience of its founder, with clarity of vision and to articulate measures to achieve good leadership.

He said, “Political class should take advantage of the human democratic leadership being offered by the Kukah Centre to seek exposure. I believe it is through the process that innovative ideas, patriotism and selflessness would be imbibed.

“We should also take advantage of the centre to identify things that could shape our democracy.”

Gowon asked Nigerians to remain vigilant and support all genuine efforts being made by the government to find solutions to the political, economic and social problems facing the country.

He said, “All is not well in the country at the moment. We should not pretend and we should not take things for granted. Boko Haram and their sponsors are unrelenting. We must do everything urgently to stop their activities.”

The former military leader urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and to be their neighbour’s keepers while the political class should renew their commitment to democracy and stop the act of playing politics with the insurgency.

He also advocated a robust and prayerful collaboration between traditional rulers and religious leaders across the country to achieve a peaceful nation.

Kukah told the gathering that the centre, established about a year ago, had become active since it started and that it had been working to strengthen national debate, improve governance and encourage Nigerians to take active role in the country’s leadership.