By Ochiaka Ugwu
Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Sen. George Akume has urged religious leaders to ensure that faith was never used to justify falsehood, discrimination, violence or bloodshed as the 2027 elections approach.
Akume who made the call Wednesday while declaring open the first 2026 Meeting of Nigerian Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) themed: “Religious Literacy for National Cohesion” held in Abuja reminded religious leaders of their historic responsibility of shaping conscience, resolving conflict, minimizing hatred and communicating the truth.
He also tasked the leaders as role model and the conscience of the communities, to always do everything within their moral, traditional and religious authorities to ensure proper teachings of the faith.
Secretary Akume noted that when false teachings occur, both religion and the nation are diminished.
He informed that Nigeria by composition was socio-culturally diverse, structurally complex and religiously vibrant, which highlights the need for promoting religious literacy as civic necessity.
He noted that religious literacy helps to develop capacity to understand religion, appreciate the histories and practices that shape communities, and to engage the differences with respect, wisdom and restraint.
He said it was an understanding that matters as faith continues to influence how humans think about duty, justice, compassion, family and service.
He noted that the task was not to politicise religion, or encourage intolerance, but to strengthen understanding, citizenship and responsibility.
Also speaking, Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, while warning against false religious teachings debunked the claims of planned extermination of Christians and Islamization of Nigeria, describing them as false, impossible and divisive.
Sultan who is also the Co-Chairman of NIREC stated that Muslims have no agenda to exterminate the Christian population, noting that the council remains a vital platform for dialogue, which he believes was the only instrument to set the nation free.
“We believe talking is better than fighting. Let us understand our differences rather than trying to forget them; I am a Muslim, you are a Christian, and we must live together with respect,” he said.
Addressing the theme of religious literacy, the Islamic leader warned against the rise of “self-styled” clerics who lack deep theological knowledge.
He tasked religious leaders to be literate enough to guide their followers correctly and prevent the weaponization of faith for selfish or political gains.
The Sultan also frowned at religious profiling of criminals, insisting that bandits and terrorists should be called by their names rather than being linked to a particular faith.
President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Archbishop Daniel C. Okoh stated that if Nigeria’s great diversity-ethnic, cultural and religious diversity are well understood, harnessed, it will be a source of strength and richness.
Executive Secretary of NIREC, Prof. Cornelius Omonokhua in his remarks said the true literacy creates the opportunity to free our minds from hatred and unnecessary battles for ancestral vendetta.
However, in a statement released in Abuja Wednesday signed by Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Yomi Odunuga, it noted that Secretary of the Government of the Federation, Sen. George Akume has called on the religious and traditional leaders across the country to deepen tolerance, strengthen grassroots mobilization and promote peaceful coexistence as Nigeria prepares for 2027 general elections.
