From Sani Gazas Chinade, Damaturu
In an efforts to promoting religious tolerance, the Yobe State Ministry of Religious Affairs in conjunction with the Multi-sectoral Crisis Recovery Project (MCRP) has organised a three day workshop for youths of Muslim and Christian faiths on peace building, tolerance and reconciliation.
The chairman of the occasion who is also the special assistant to the Yobe State governor on Wealth Creation, Empowerment and Employment Generation, Hon Abdullahi Bego while speaking during the training in Damaturu described the workshop as timely especially that it involves youths.
Bego said youths being the most energetic part of the society were always being lured into religion among other crises ignorantly adding that those fueling it do it for their selfish reasons.
He further stated that both Islam and Christianity encourage peace hence anyone fighting his or her opponent does it to achieve a hidden selfish interest. There is nowhere in Islam or Christianity where people encourage, fight, attack or kill one another innocently, there is none.
“We need to learn to be our brothers keepers not even because of the suffering of Boko Haram but for the challenges the world including Nigeria is facing such as hunger and economic crisis,” the chairman said.
The permanent secretary overseeing the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Alhaji Abdullahi Abba said the training was organised as part of the ministry’s mandate of inculcating the virtues of peace and tolerance in the society for better development.
The project coordinator of the MCRP in Yobe State Alh. Musa Idi Jidawa emphasized on the activities of the programme towards implementing the priorities of the Yobe State government for the betterment of the people of the state.
In a keynote address, the guest speaker and resource person at the training Prof. Sani Umar from the University of Abuja dwelled on the ways of tackling extremism among the youths with advice on the need to create job opportunities by the governments among other moral values in the society.