The government should tackle hate speech to avert religious crises, International Centre for Law and Religious Studies Director Prof Cole Durham has said.
He urged Nigerians to respect others’ rights and dignity.
Durham spoke at the opening of the West African Regional Centre for Law and Religion Studies (WARCLARS) Conference.
It was hosted by the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos (UNILAG), and organised in partnership with the International Centre for Law and Religion and J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University, Utah.
The three-day event had the theme: Law, religion, culture and human dignity in west Africa.
Durham said: “Nigeria faces a lot of polarisation along religious lines and what is critical to solve those problems is to learn to respect the dignity of each other. People have to be passionate not only about protecting themselves but also others.
“To avert religious crises, the government must not allow people get away with hate speech. Sometimes people need to know that their rights will be protected.
“The government needs to train the police officers with practical trainings so that they can defuse situations instead of letting them blow up.”
The guest speaker, Prof Edward Quashigah, who is the president, African Consortium of Law and Religion Studies (ACLARS), noted the excesses of some religious institutions and practitioners.
He disclosed that WARCLARS research hub would be domiciled at the Nigerian Institute for Advance Legal Studies in UNILAG.
According to the former Dean, Faculty of Law and WARCLARS coordinator Prof Akin Ibidapo-Obe, the institutions are trying to establish a hub of research for teachers, researchers and religious leaders who have an interest in law and religion.
“WARCLARS is an intellectual research base. Very soon, we will be hosting universities in West Africa to come and do research here.
“We are looking at the interplay of law, religion, culture and to emphasise that they are central to human dignity.
“The purpose of religion is to enhance human dignity. If we achieve access to religious information for research and paper presentations and use them to address societal issues, conflict and other vices will stop,” he said.
Dean, Faculty of Law, UNILAG, Prof Ayodele Atsenuwa added that the conference would emphasise the need for more research and interactions.
This, she believes, will give Nigerians knowledge that helps them not to submit themselves to abuses, and to make informed decisions and hold on to belief that supports human dignity.
Leave a Reply