Undoubtedly religion has caused incalculable damage to Nigeria as a nation. It has been manipulated, maneuvered and misused as a tool in the hands of politicians to actualize selfish ambitions, thus creating distrust among the adherents of the two most dominant religions in the country – Islam and Christianity.
The Boko Haram insurgency which has ravaged Nigeria for almost a decade now, killing more than 10,000 people especially in the north-east part of Nigeria, has contributed significantly in fuelling this religious distrust, no thanks to the Islamic affiliation of the insurgents. Even though many Muslim leaders and clerics have consistently distanced Islam from activities of the insurgents, the suspicion ignited by the activities of the Boko Haram insurgency has not thawed.
Observers believe Nigerians have never been divided on the basis of religion. This has bred strong advocacy for a genuine and committed action towards building religious harmony in the country, and eliminating the widespread distrust among adherents of the two religions. This requires the invigoration of all channels for inter-religious discourse and meetings, which provide platforms for the understanding of the underpinning principles and philosophy of the two religions.
The recent walk organized by the foremost Islamic organization, Nashirullahi Fathi Society of Nigeria (NASFAT) provided an avenue for this kind of inter-religious discussion, and served as a convergence point to engender religious harmony and address all forms of distrust birthed by religious manipulation. As part of activities marking the 21st anniversary of NASFAT which was concluded recently, the walk for peace and religious harmony ,brought together members of NASFAT and their Christian brothers to jointly sensitize the populace on the import of living together as one and being their brothers’ keeper. The message was clear and unambiguous as the religious leaders embarked on the four-kilometer walk. It was the message of peace, harmony, peaceful coexistence, brotherliness and the imperative of understanding each other’s religion that was spread.
The leaders were unanimous in reprimanding those who hide under religion to commit atrocities, while they all agreed that no religion encourages killing and maiming of people on the basis of the faith they profess. Both Islam and Christianity, according to the leaders, preach love, brotherliness, honesty, sincerity, obedience to constituted authority, respect for the dignity of man and above all protection against all forms of harassment of individuals, on the basis of the faith they profess.
This is in tandem with the philosophy behind the establishment of NASFAT which is to promote religious harmony in the country, and this was reflective in the theme of the 21st year anniversary, which was “21 years of Da’Awah: Building Religious Harmony.” The anniversary put together by a committee headed by Alhaji Remi Bello started from March 25 to April 3, 2016, with the unveiling of the logo followed by world press conference, free medical test, and commissioning of its Central Mosque in Abuja, among others.
However, the bringing together of Christians and Muslims was one that excited observers and stakeholders in the forefront of engendering religious harmony.
The 4-kilometre long walk started from Sheraton Hotel and Towers at Maryland, and ended at the National headquarters of NASFAT at Lagos Secretariat, Alausa Ikeja.
Many Christian leaders including Pastor Michael Lawson of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Godwin Elabor of Foursquare Gospel Church, Ketu, among others joined the walk.
Commissioner for Home Affairs in Lagos, Dr. Abdulhakeem Abdullateef led the walk from Sheraton, while the team was received at NASFAT secretariat by Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Mrs. Idiat Oluranti Adebule.
According to the Commissioner for Home Affairs, “The walk for religious harmony is something that is consistent with the policy thrust of the Lagos State Government.”
He said “We must understand that when we talk about insecurity, one of our greatest challenges at this time is for religious leaders to come together. The religious leaders must understand that they are development partners all over the world, that is why we say “No” to the bombing at Brussels, the Boko Haram menace and everything. Religious leaders must begin to enlighten their members that humanity is the first thing. We are all from Adam and Eve and if section 38 of our constitution has recognized the freedom of people to practice their religion, we must ensure that we walk the talk, and the way to do it is that the Lagos State Government has put in place the celebration of the World Tolerance Day, and apart from that there would be a football competition that would bring together a set of Muslims and Christians playing with another set of Muslims and Christians….”
On his part, Pastor Lawson of RCCG said, “NASFAT is celebrating their 21st anniversary and they decided to invite the Redeemed Christian Church of God and our general overseer, Pastor E.A. Adeboye directed that we should be there. If you look at what is going on around the world, I think it is only normal for Christians and Muslims to have this kind of interaction. And recently we had a mega town hall meeting at the redemption camp which was filled with Christians and Muslims. Let’s join together in unity.”
President of NASFAT, Engr. Kamil Yomi Bolarinwa and the National Missioner, Alhaji Abdullahi Akinbode emphasized the significance of the walk, saying it was in tandem with the philosophy behind the establishment of NASFAT ,which is to promote religious understanding. Bolarinwa said “The Quran says, let there be no compulsion in religion and the holy prophet also says be tolerant of others so that you can be tolerated.”
Reflecting on the 21st anniversary of the organization which was started in the sitting room of one Alhaji Abdullateef Olasupo who is now the chairman, Board of Trustees, the society has now grown in leaps and bounds having over 250 branches spread all over the country and abroad ,with the consistent philosophy of propagating Islamic gospel and engendering religious harmony and peaceful coexistence among religious adherents.
Vice-Chairman, NASFAT National Council of Elders, Alhaji Solihu Yunus said “NASFAT has been very impactful in the last 21 years ,and one of the monumental achievements of our organization is the setting up of Fountain University. The university is growing in leaps and bounds and in the next five years, we would be proud of the achievements of the university in terms of academic achievement and first class structures.”
Some of the success factors of the organization, he listed, were the large membership base, as well as the qualities of its leadership.
However, to the President of the society, the task ahead is daunting for the organization to be able to manage its success and record more feats. According to him, the society has concluded arrangement to establish a multi-million naira Islamic education centre where Muslims and non-Muslims would be able to learn about the religion and correct some of the misconceptions about it ,thereby creating a platform for the deep learning and understanding of Islam, thereby entrenching the religious harmony it has made its focal point in the last 21 years.
As the society rounds up its anniversary, he said, “Brothers and sisters of NASFAT, let us give our today for the tomorrow of our Society. I urge us to appreciate that even at 21, NASFAT is still work in progress with so much more work to be done, and so much sacrifice expected of us. We must therefore come together to develop infrastructure that will generate income to fulfil our dreams.”
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