The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Mathew Kukah has urged northerners to join hands together and fight the myriad of security challenges in the region.
He made the call during a high-level town hall meeting on the promotion of peace and security in the Northwest organized by Global Right and the Kukah Centre with the support of UKaid in Sokoto on Tuesday.
The theme for the town hall meeting was tagged, “Strengthening Civic Participation And Women’s Inclusion In Peace Building Processes”.
Kukah who harped on religious tolerance, said “If we can work together, we will achieve a lot. There are things we can do together. There is this initiative by the centre, we want women from different faiths to come and do things as practical as sweeping the street together because the street is dirty.
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“But we noticed that there is always this anxiety, every little thing, people will be thinking about whether you will be converted. But it is God that gives religion. Are you faithful and what are you doing to help your society.”
According to Kukah, bandits don’t spare people because of their religion. “Let us, therefore, fight them together,” he appealed.
Kukah further stressed the need for women’s involvement in peace-building in our country.
In his remarks, Governor Ahmed Aliyu who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry for Religious Affairs, Abubakar Torankawa described the town hall meeting as apt saying, “We gather here amidst challenging times, with the rise of insecurity threatening the peace and stability of our communities.
“It is our collective responsibility to take proactive steps towards finding sustainable solutions because building community resilience is not a task that can be achieved by the government alone. It requires a synchronized effort, involving every stakeholder within our society.”
He commended the organisers of the meeting and assured them that, the state government would continue to do everything possible to maintain peace in the state.
