Insecurity: INGO Establishes Peace, Security Clubs in Northern Schools

Insecurity: INGO Establishes Peace, Security Clubs in
Northern Schools

An International non Governmental Organization (INGO), Search
for Common Ground has announced plans to establish peace and
security clubs in Primary and Secondary Schools in Northern Nigeria
as part of efforts to tackle insecurity particularly religious
crises in the region.

The Senior Project Cordinator with Search for Common Ground
(SFCG), Ms. Fatima Madaki, who disclosed this in Abuja at a high
Level Technical Meeting on Advancing Religious Tolerance (ART38) in
Nigeria, said the aim is to advance peace education especially
among the younger generation.

Madaki who is the Cordinator of the ATR38 project noted that
issues around religious tolerance borders around coordination and
how to fine tune peace messages to specific target audiences.

She informed that already existing peace and security clubs in
schools will be strengthened and out of school clubs for children
who are not enrolled in school will be established to educate
students on religious tolerance

Madaki further explained that the meeting which consisted of
religious leaders, legal practitioners and representatives of Civil
Society Organizations (CSOs) is designed to deepen conversation on
religious tolerance.

According to her, the aim is to also help address hate speech
among religious leaders, to have an understanding on how best to
engage at the community level, and to strengthen messaging around
countering violent narratives.

Madaki pointed out that some conflicts are often given religious
colouration while they are political.

While reacting to president Muhamnadu Buhari’s recent trip to
Saudi Arabia and the alleged Islamisation agenda, she stressed that
tackling such narratives and the tension around it can be tackled
through peace education.

She said, ” issues that come out strongly are issues around
peace education, how to target young people, have them sensitized
on religious issues and tolerance. Some conflicts are not
necessarily religious, but the way they are presented to seem like
issues of religious conflict, but they are not, we need to increase
awareness.”

The project Cordinator further urged Federal Government to
deepen engagement with religious institutions and religious
leaders, and make them part decision making.

Also speaking, Ms. Elizabeth James, legal practitioner,
regretted that issues on religion are often discussed only at
higher levels.

According James, establishing peace and security clubs in
schools will bring the issues to the grassroot.

She said, “the issue of religion should not be discussed at the
higher level, we are going to start with primary schoolls and then
Secondary schools, we will liaise with the ministry of education to
work on their curriculum.”

She adeed, “One of the major things to start from the younger
generation,

If a child grows up with religious tolerance, knowing that
irrespective of religion we are one, definitely the future will be
better.

Speaking directly to the recent legislation to regulate
preaching in Kaduna State, James said the reason why there is
tension over the legislation is because government failed to
educate the people on the law before imposing it on them.

She said, “Before creating a law, government ought to educate
people in languages that they would understand on such laws.
Looking at the recent law in Kaduna, some stakeholders have said it
will have no effect, but the people won’t know unless they are
educated to understand the purpose of the law and thats why there
is tension.

“So, the government will have to involve the people let the
people know why you do what you do.”

Also speaking, Mr. Rabiu Mohammad, a religious leader in the
North streesesed that government has a strong role to play in
reducing religious tension or crises. He advised government to also
engage Emirs saying they are most respected and will be able to
pass messages bordering on prace to the grassroot.

According to Mohammed, “Government has a duty and responsibility
to monitor and regulate utterances and activities that religious
leaders to ensure they are in conformity with the
constitution.”

He also called for religious understanding and tolerance among
every Nigerian citizens, he said, “if everyone will be allowed to
practice their religion Independently, we will not have any
problem.”

To this end, a representative of Lux Terra Leadership
Foundation, a Civil Society Organization, Mr. Mike Utsaha, harped
on the need for Nigerians to see beyond religious or cultural
affiliation especially when choosing leaders.

Utsaha said appointing leaders must not be on the basis of
ethnicity or faith practiced but on the ability of the individual
to make good and responsible use of public offices to positively
affect the people.

He siad, “looking at the issue of leadership in the National
Assembly, so what if the Senate president and speaker are Muslims.
Before now we had a house of representatives that was a Christian
speaker and senate President but heavens did not fall, was it not
the Same Nigeria?

“The questions Nigerians should rather ask is of what value will
this person’s leadership be to me and not question his religion or
faith.”

By PRNigeria