Peace Ambassador and Spokesman for Superior Council of Imams of Cote d’Ivoire, Imam Cisse Djiguiba and a Professor of International Relations at Kaduna State University, Prof. Usman Mohammed, has urged the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) member states to dialogue and set up an interfaith regional peace organisation to help in addressing religious extremism and conflicts in the sub-region.
This is as Djiguiba blamed clerics for religious crisis and intolerance in the West African sub-region.
According to him, clerics are taking religion as business.
He spoke at the ongoing delocalised meeting of the joint Committee of Education, Science and Culture/ Committee on Health/Committee on Telecommunications and Information Technology, with the theme: “Religious tolerance and harmony: Essential factors for development, peace and stability in the ECOWAS region”.
Djiguiba said the proliferation of religious leaders has helped produce bad eggs, who are propagating wrong messages and thereby causing frictions among the citizens.
He said there was the need for ECOWAS to train religious leaders on their responsibility to promote peace and harmony in the sub-region.
The cleric said the sub-region needs “to create a regional peace organisation with the support of ECOWAS to train religious leaders; since there are many religious leaders but very few true religious leaders”.
Read Also: Clerics, monarchs: Muslim-Muslim ticket non-issue
“Some think that religion is a profession while being an Imam is justification. We know that there are schools to train priests and Imams, and so religion should not be business.
Also, Prof. Mohammed identified deliberate and sustainable dialogue as a solution to religious intolerance in the sub-region.
Mohammed also urged Nigeria government to do more in its efforts and avail itself of all means including but not limited to engaging the group or groups in meaningful dialogue.
In his paper presentation titled: “Religious Tolerance and Stability: Key factors to peace and development in the ECOWAS region”, posited that there can be harmonious inter religious co-existence through individual and communal efforts.
The university don who cited Ghana’s handling of religious issues despite the presence of numerous religions noted that the country did not achieve such a feat in a day but through a continuous effort in building a foundation of peace.
According to him, “Ghana remains a rare model and evident justification that religious tolerance and harmony is a possibility and is capable of ensuring peace and stimulating development through decent and formable interfaith dialogue because religious devotees in Ghana are more than those who claimed not to belong to any religion. Such initiative to ensure peace and societal harmony can either be communal or individualistic. Right from the past to the present , there have been deliberate and conscious individual and collaborative efforts , to ensure and enhance religious tolerance , harmony and calmness in Ghana.