The President, Committee for the Defense of Human Rights (CDHR), Prince Kehinde Taiga has sued for love and peaceful coexistence among faithfuls of different religious groups in Nigeria.
He made the call while felicitating with Muslims in the country on the occasion of this year’s Eid-El-Kabir. He congratulated the Muslim faithful and urged them to use the occasion to seek the face of God for harmony, peace and progress in Nigeria.
He enjoined Nigerians to imbibe the virtues of brotherhood and oneness in order to bring about the needed development in the country. “First and foremost, what guides religion is love, so let love lead. If we want to get it right, Nigerians must have love for one another, wether Muslim or Christian,” he stated.
Taiga condemned the bitterness and rancour which characterize the practice of religion in Nigeria, noting that such is a threat to national peace. He described as “religious rascality”, the extremism which some bigots envelope themselves in while preaching and or defending their religion.
He said, “The way Nigerians are taking religion is different from the way they ought to have taken it. Those who kill others are not of God, because God is the one who gives and protects life. So, we should stop this religious rascality going on in this country.”
While condemning the recent killing of a butcher by a Muslim mob in Sokoto State over alleged blasphemy, the CDHR president called on religious leaders to stem the ugly trend by sanctioning adherents who engage in hateful and violent practices in the name of religiousity.
He said, “We are all serving the same God, and we cannot be praying to God when we don’t love ourselves, God will not answer our prayers. So, Christians and Muslims should always show love to one another.”
“And our religious leaders have to do their part. They should excommunicate anyone who kills or engages in any form of violence, because killing violates the love of God and the Constitution of the country.
Taiga also called on political leaders to always make sacrifices to better the lives of their followers. “Nigerian leaders should understand that leadership is a call to service. They are called to serve the people, not to be served by the people. So, they must listen to the people, and not dictate for them,” he said.
He also condemned the use of religion as a tool of divisiveness by some political elites, especially during political campaigns, noting that those who do such, do not have the interest of the nation at heart, but are driven by their own selfish interests.
He commended President Bola Tinubu for ensuring equity in the appointments he has made so far, especially those of the country’s service chiefs, and enjoined him to continue in that trajectory.
While calling on the president not to be distracted, Taiga described as baseless and unfounded the allegation that there are plans to islamize Nigeria, saying that such is the handiwork of mischief makers who want to cause dissatisfaction and stir Nigerians against the current administration.
