Monarch cautions against using religion to cause trouble

Lokoja – WORRIED by the unfolding events ahead of the 2015 general elections, the Maigari of Lokoja, His Royal Highness, Kabir Muhammadu Maikarfi III, has admonished youth organisations in the country to forget their religious differences and channel their efforts toward peaceful co-existence.

The monarch spoke yesterday while receiving members of the Arewa Citizens Action for Change (ACAC), who paid him a courtesy visit during their sensitization on peaceful coexistence, noting that the major problem bedeviling northern Nigeria is religious bigotry and lack of justice.

According to him, in the olden days, many Muslims, including himself, attended Christian missionary schools and there was no religious discrimination between the Christians and Muslims.

Also, “in the past, when Nigeria was good, adherents of the two major religions in the country engaged in inter-faith marriages while they continued to live in harmony. But in recent times, all that have changed.

“As a Christian or Muslim, we worship the same God. It is only the mode of worship that differs and I believe that such a thing should not be a problem for us. The Holy Bible and Quran do not accept killing of human beings in any form.”

He urged youth organisations championing peace in the country to double their efforts in sensitising the people on the need to embrace peace so that the nation could be a comfortable place for all. He noted that the struggle to enshrine peace in the minds of citizens should not be left to government alone.

Earlier, the ACAC National President, Sadiq Abubakar, lamented that the north, which used to be a haven for investment, is today a shadow of its old self, now yearning for peaceful co-existence.

He appealed to traditional rulers for their fatherly role towards the betterment of the people, as without peace and security of lives and property, the nation cannot achieve any meaningful development.