Nigeria’s Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has met with a Muslim group that works for a peaceful inter-faith relationship in the country.
Members of the Muslim Public Affairs Centre, MPAC, who visited the vice president on Monday, said their mission was to explain what the group has been doing in the area of peacebuilding.
Chairman of the organisation, Disu Kamaru, who spoke to State House correspondents after the meeting, said that MPAC has been “intervening in the major issues of religious crisis that we have had in Nigeria over the years.”
According to him, the group suggested: “the important steps that that can be taken on behalf of the government and the faith practitioners on both sides to contribute to meaningful, lasting and effective solution to some of these avoidable problems that we have had over the years in different places across the country.”
Kamaru said that Vice President Osinbajo welcomed “the ideas we put on the table; and he has shown willingness to continue to work with faith communities to build on the achievements that have been making in the past so that we can make new ones.”
Media Activism
The MPAC chairman said that the organization sits on a tripod media activism, political activism and inter-faith relationship.
“Basically, we use the power of the media to create awareness and sensitization about issues on Muslim public affairs affecting Muslims as well as other citizens of Nigeria.
“We also encourage people to engage actively and participate in politics as a means to achieve good governance for the country.
“We have to contribute to peacebuilding, and religions, both Christianity and Islam have rich traditions in them to inspire their adherents to live peacefully with each other.
“It is time we continued to emphasise our similarities that we have rather than focus on the differences that have been setting us apart and setting us on each other.
“So, these are some of the things that we have been doing as an organisation.”
Kamaru said that his group would want to expand its activities and expand the space for people who work for peace in the country.
Nnenna.O
