Lagos govt tasks Muslims, Christians on religious harmony, tolerance

Adherents of Islam and Christianity have been advised to imbibe religious tolerance and live harmoniously among

themselves in the society.

This advice was given by the Deputy Governor of Lagos state, Dr. Idiat Oluranti Adebule, at a walk organised by Nasrul-lahi-l-Fatih Society (NASFAT) to celebrate its 21 years anniversary at the weekend in Lagos.

The fitness walk tagged “Walk for religious harmony”, which had in attendance representatives of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Apostolic Church and the Foursquare Church, was flagged off by Lagos state Honourable Commissioner for Home Affairs, Hon. AbdulLateef AbdulHakeem, commenced from Oba Akran Road in Ikeja and was terminated at the Lagos State Secretariat Mosque Extension in Alausa, where participants were received by the Lagos deputy Governor, Dr. Idiat Oluranti Adebule.

In her address, Adebule stated that unhindered religious understanding and tolerance was essential to meaningful development as she said peaceful living was a priority for Lagos State Government.

She stated further that “I want to commend NASFAT, the Redeemed Church and other Christian bodies that participated in the walk for religious harmony because no meaningful development can be attained in an environment that is hostile to religious tolerance. In line with the theme of the walk, “Walk for religious harmony”, we have indeed walked for harmony. Religious understanding and tolerance is very paramount for our continued existence as a nation and people under one God.

“For us in Lagos, peace is a priority, therefore I want to advise all Lagosians and residents in Lagos to live in peace because that is the only way we can enjoy the dividends of democracy and fulfil our dreams. And to Muslim and Christian religious leaders, I want to enjoin you all to preach adequately on a need for religious tolerance and good neighbourliness among your adherents because no society can thrive in a state of war and violence.”

AbdulLateef disclosed that the walk for harmonious relationship among adherents of various faiths in the state was in line with the policy thrust of the government.

He said, “The walk for religious harmony is consistent with the policy thrust of the Lagos State government. We want to commend NASFAT and other religious groups that participated in the fitness walk, especially the Redeemed Christian Church, Apostolic Church and the Foursquare Church. As we all know that insecurity and religious extremism are our greatest challenges in the country and how we check this is for religious leaders and their followers to come together and lend their voices to condemn the ugly trend. Also, religious leaders must realise that they are development partners with the government that is why in unison, we say, ‘yes’ to religious harmony but ‘no’ to violence, bombing and religious intolerance. I want to call on our religious leaders to begin to enlighten their followers on religious tolerance and importantly, on the sacred nature of human lives. If section 38 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria recognises the freedom of religion, why should there be killing and maiming in the name of religion? We must ensure we walk the talk and this is why the Lagos State Government has put in place the celebration of the world tolerance day and football competition between Muslim and Christian organisations. With this, adherents will understand that misinterpreting the religion of Abraham and extremist tendencies must be done away with”.

Also speaking at the event, Chief missioner of NASFAT, Alhaji Abdullah Akinbode, informed that apart from marking the 21st anniversary of the society, the walk was aimed at identifying with Christians in the country as they celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

He said, “Both Islam and Christianity are religions of record, therefore these two religions are the religions you can make reference to. As Christians all over the world celebrate Easter holiday to mark the resurrection of Jesus Christ, part of the message we want to send across to the world is that there is harmony and peaceful co-existence among people of different faiths in Lagos State. We want to tell the world that both Christians and Muslims in Lagos are their brother’s keeper and that there is no compulsion in religion. We want to identify and rejoice with our Christian brothers and sisters and to show the world that both religions preach no violence”.

The representative of the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Micheal Lawson, said that the walk was an expression of unity among believers of different faiths regardless of the diverse religious doctrines.

He said that “The walk is to promote religious harmony as NASFAT celebrates 21 years in existence. This is a perfect example of religious tolerance; a situation where people of different faiths engaged in a walk of over four kilometres chanting praises of the most high God in various religious terms. What other examples of religious tolerance do we seek? I, therefore, want to appeal Nigerians to join together in unity regardless of diversity in our religious beliefs. We were created by one God; therefore there should be no reason for us to be killing one another on the basis of differences in our religious belief or for other reasons.”

The President, NASFAT, Alh. Yomi Bolarinwa, advised participants to take special care of their spiritual, physical and emotional needs.

He stressed that “Islam enjoins us to take care of our spiritual, physical and emotional parts, as our body, which is the most complex of machine, is given to us by Allah and, therefore, it should not be abused or neglected. It must be maintained in good order. Islam places emphasis on good dieting and simple exercising of the body and that is why the Prophet (S.A.W.) has advised that we walk to be energetic and start our days early enough as all these are conditions for a healthy body. Dear Muslim and Christian brothers and sisters, we have walked together, shoulder-to-shoulder from over four kilometre. This is no joke and if we truly believe in the worship of one and same God, then all of our actions must be aimed at promoting religious peace in our neighbourhood, homes, in our society, our nation and the world at large.”