Group advocates peaceful coexistence in Kaduna communities

The African Initiative for Peace Building, Advocacy and Advancement (Afripeace) has called on Muslim and Christian communities in Kaduna State to jettison religious and ethnic segregation and live peacefully for their collective progress.

Programme Officer, Afripeace, Comfort Zawaya, said the group observed that over the years, Muslims and Christians, who once lived together, have parted living in exclusive communities, and highlighted  the urgent need to seek for reversal of the development.

“We noticed that staying together helps us understand each other better and there is always strength in diversity…We might be different but the differences in our diversity can make us bond together,” she said.

Zawaya explained that though conflict was inevitable in society, the manner it was resolved determined whether it ended in a peaceful resolution or in violence. She stated that 32 participants were drawn from Rigachikun, Rigasa, Tudun Wada and Barnawa communities aimed at finding community-based solutions.

A participant, Abdulazeez Mukhtar, who is the Sarkin Matasa Barnawa and Mai Anguwar Yamma, noted that the training would help to heal wounds in conflict-ridden societies and emphasized on the need for forgiveness as a way forward to bring lasting solutions to conflicts.

He disclosed that after the 2000 Kaduna crises, Barnawa was honoured  by the UN because it was the only community that was not engulfed in the violence adding, “Barnawa was praised for its peaceful nature. Those that live in low-cost areas comprise  of  several ethnic groups and we live like families due to the care and respect we have for one another.