OIC and peace building in Nigeria

By Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua

When a child is critically ill, the parents accept suggestions from any person that could provide healing. In sickness, everybody around you becomes “a medical doctor”.  Nigeria is plagued with a terminal disease of terrorism that appears to defy military diagnosis.  President Muhammadu Buhari has visited America and some West African countries to source for healing to the nation’s malady. On August 20, 2015, John Cardinal Onaiyekan invited me to a meeting with King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID). The main agenda of the meeting was to seek for this healing through a conference of inter-religious and intercultural relations in Nigeria. Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, is the Vatican delegate to KAICIID, a Non-governmental and worldwide organization that was founded in October 2011 by King Abdullah, the Republic of Austria and the Kingdom of Spain supports the Centre with the aim of keeping KAICIID free from all political interference and influence. KAICIID facilitates intercultural  as a humanely strategic forum for cooperation, communication, partnership and information exchange thereby building understanding and mutual benefit among peoples of the world. On October 13, 2011 an agreement for the establishment of KAICIID in Vienna was signed by the governments of Austria. To know more about this centre, you may visit: (<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KAICIID_Dialogue_Centre>).
KAICIID works in close collaboration with Religions for Peace, the largest international coalition of representatives from the world’s religions dedicated to promoting peace. His Eminence, John Cardinal Onaiyekan (the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja) and His Eminence, Alhaji Mahammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III (the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs) are Co-Chairmen in Africa. The  International Secretariat headquarters is in New York City, with Regional Conferences in Europe, Asia, Middle East, Africa and the Americas with more than 90 affiliates at the national level, and a number of local units. Religions for Peace enjoy consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council  is its Secretary General.  The report of the Religions for peace meeting which I attended in Vienna, Austria is published in my book, “Dialogue in Context: A Nigeria Experience” (Page 278).
This non-governmental organization (NGO) serves on all continents representing 90 countries; it networks with World Council of senior religious leaders while respecting religious differences, common humanity and the influence of peace within every religion. This organization has created inter-religious partnerships to confront most dire issues such as stopping war, ending poverty and protecting the earth. Religions for Peace was founded in 1970 and supported by various foundations, governments, intergovernmental organizations, religious communities, religiously affiliated development agencies and individuals.
That Nigeria participates in the activities of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is no longer news. Ambasador Yahaya Lawal, the Ambassador of Nigeria to Jeddah, who works in the General Secretariat of OIC, was present at the meeting with KAICIID in Abuja. He revealed the intention of the OIC to intervene in the security challenges of Nigeria. He believes that Nigeria can benefit a lot from OIC because it has nothing to do with missionary work of converting people to Islam. He reported that they had met with President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, the immediate past president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to discuss the restoration of peace that was being destroyed by the insurgents. He affirmed that the OIC does not support any form of terrorism given that terrorism contradicts Islam. The OIC intends to initiate projects that could bring about peace to Nigeria by partnering with the Institute of peace and conflict resolution and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). The organization hopes to collaborate with the Nigeria Inter-religious Executive Council (NIREC) and other Non-governmental Peace and Dialogue initiatives to restore peace to Nigeria.
On June 17, 2015 Mr. Iyad Ameen Madani, Secretary General of OIC affirmed that peace is not a play on words. He added that Inter-faith and inter-cultural bridges are critical to peace. Consequently, it was recommended at the meeting that if OIC really has what it takes to restore peace to Nigeria, the organization should begin with intra-Muslim dialogue by concentrating mainly on the counter narratives of the terrorists’ ideology. This suggestion was informed by the facts that many Nigerians including some Muslims have a single story of OIC as an organization whose only intention is to Islamize the world. For instance, on February 4, 2015 Niyi posted this: “Osinbajo Slams Jonathan for Attending OIC Meeting, Defends Buhari on Alleged Plans to Islamize Nigeria”. Here is the full story: “Vice Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Yemi Osinbajo, has berated President Goodluck Jonathan for being the first Nigerian leader to have attended the meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) since Nigeria was clandestinely enlisted by President Ibrahim Babangida in 1986.” Niyi reported that Osinbajo said, “those accusing the presidential candidate of the APC, Muhammadu Buhari, of being a Muslim fundamentalist, who might Islamize Nigeria are getting it all wrong. Throughout his period as military head of state, Buhari was under intense pressure to drag Nigeria into the OIC, but he never yielded, because he respects Nigeria as a secular state, in line with the constitution.” 
That the OIC debate could be used to score a political point in this way and manner shows that the organization tastes like a bitter pill in the mouth of many Nigerians. Moreover, Ishaq Oloyode, the secretary general of NIREC and the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) had said that “he was not yet aware that the country has signed the OIC charter.” It is also alleged that when the first meeting of the organization was held in Morocco in 1969, General Yakubu Gowon sent a delegation of observers, led by Abubakar Gumi, to represent only the Nigerian Muslim community. When a French news agency reported that Nigeria has been admitted into the organization as its 46th member in January 1986, many argued that as a secular nation, it had no business with the Islamic body. While the Muslim community saw it as a pleasant surprise, the Christian community strongly requested the president to deregister the country from the organization, since our constitution holds that Nigeria is a secular society.
To defrost this icy cloud of mystery and suspicion, the organisation should facilitate a sincere dialogue within the Muslim community to reveal the real identity and true values of the organization. The true status of Nigeria in the organization should be made public. Some people are eager to know what OIC has done about the crisis in Syria and the Middle East where Israeli and Palestinians are embedded in unending war. Some people may want to know if what OIC has on the table is beyond bread and butter. If OIC can stop terrorism in Nigeria, its taste could change from bitterness to sweetness in the month of Nigerians. Otherwise, the question lingers: “Can OIC restore peace to Nigeria and the world?”
Fr. Cornelius Omonokhua ([email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> / www.omonokhua.blogspot.com)