The Federal Government on Tuesday called for collective approach by the all tiers of government, all faith based organisations and all communities to address the security challenges in the country.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, made the call at the annual meeting of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council in Abuja.
Mustapha described the theme of the conference: “Justice and good governance for peace” as very appropriate when considering the importance of justice, peace and good governance in the development of any nation.
Mustapha, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, office of the SGF, Olusegun Adekunle, said that government was committed towards preserving the norms, cultures and traditions, which will unify the country.
He expressed the commitment of the Federal Government to support and cooperate with stakeholders toward uplifting and sustaining religious institutions.
According to him, the situation of peace and security in the country today require collective approach by the government, all faith based organisations and the communities.
He said: “Government would continue to support your efforts to de-escalate religious and communal conflict that continue to inflict severe losses on lives and destruction of property.
“It is critical that we continue to cultivate peaceful coexistence across the country for us to achieve our objectives of building a nation irrespective of our religious affiliations and beliefs.”
The Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Abubakar, said that all humans must give account of their lives to God after death.
Abubakar, therefore, urged every Nigerian to strive and contribute towards the development of the country.
He also urged the judiciary to wake up and deliver on its mandate on any case, rather than delaying the process of justice, which was supposed to be the hope of the people.
He said: “Justice delayed is justice denied, our judiciary must wake up and handle cases with fairness, and it must be at alert rather than delaying cases and delivering wrongly.
“Our legislature and government must brace up and leave up to expectations and keep up the oath of office they all swore to abide by.
“Initiative must not be left in the hands of the governed, because if initiative is left in the hands of the governed, there will be serious echoes and crisis in the land.”
Abubakar, however, called for total attitudinal reorientation and behavioural change among Nigerians, saying that people must stop taking laws into their hands and wait for government to act.
The President, Christian Association of Nigeria, Dr Samson Ayokunle, urged the government to give way for total justice.
Ayokunle said that those in government must ensure that justice does not suffer any form of harassment, saying that they must allow justice to prevail at all times.
He added: “When one is denied of justice, it is very painful, and can lead to something else, the judiciary must ensure it upholds justice and fairness at all times.”
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