WIC Calls for Peaceful Co-existence among Nigerians …Says, with prayers, all is possible

WIC Calls for Peaceful Co-existence among Nigerians

…Says, with prayers, all is possible

Zainab Tanimu –Kaduna ,NIGERIA

The efficacy of prayers have once again been demonstrated by the Women Interfaith Council (WIC) Kaduna  who in their solidarity prayer for Nigeria seek God’s guidance and intervention on the state of affairs of the nation.

The annual prayer session which brought together Muslim and Christian women from different organizations raised concern over the incessant killings across the country as well as finding solutions to the numerous challenges bedeviling the country.

With prayers it said everything was possible and Nigerians must turn onto their creator in sincerity for succor; in order that peace can reign again.

The coordinator  Hajiya Amina Kazaure  while fielding questions from newsmen shortly after the prayers session said Nigeria needs God’s intervention. There is need for change .Prayer she said is the key to whatever problem being faced and that there is the need to pray to beg God to accept it and touch the hearts of the people that are relevant in the making of the change.

“The change must start from ourselves, if we do start from ourselves then we can extend it to others and collectively if everybody is to have the heart that is changed, then we would have a change that is desired. We need God’s intervention to touch our hearts and that of the evil doers so that they can be able to change.

By our virtue, Women Interfaith Council, annually organize a solidarity prayer session so that we come together and pray for our nation, for our leaders, for our youths and for all the general issues that are around the world so that we can have a peaceful society”.

Speaking on the Fulani herdsmen/farmers clashes with regards to the council’s efforts, she said.

“Actually we have been doing our own little efforts. We have been to Kafachan. We had a solidarity prayer there last week just as we are having here to commensurate with them and to tell them that we are together and as women we need to talk to ourselves because whatever happens we are at the receiving end.

“It is our husbands that are killed; Apart from of course the women and the younger children that are being killed on the field, it is our children that are killed. They are the ones that go to the field to perpetrate these killings. As we go closer to the communities, we discuss together and pray together. We console them and tell them the ills and implications of the continuous killings so that as they go home, they can talk to their husbands, talk to their children especially the youths so that they will know that it does not pay when communities, states and the nation go into crises because ultimately, one day you would also be killed or die either by natural death or you would be killed by somebody. We women have a very big role to play”. She added.

Commending the women in their strive towards ensuring peace in the nation, the Protestant Chaplain of 1 Mechanized Division, Nigerian Army, Colonel Venerable Mairiga Gwom said women by nature are vanguards of enshrining peaceful coexistence in any society. As mothers they are always at the fore front towards enhancing peaceful cohesion. He urged them not to shun their responsibilities as their role is of paramount importance in nation building.

Colonel Venerable Mairiga said the conduct of the prayer is not only apt but a boost to many of them especially the military personnel who are in dear need of prayers to make their jobs lighter. This he said was the reason he and the Deputy Director Islamic Affairs, 1 Mechanized Division, Nigerian Army, Colonel Mohammed Awwal, were sent by the General Officer Commanding 1 Mechanized Division, Nigerian Army to be part of the prayer.

“The prayer is apt. and has come at the right time. In as much as l am a military personnel, chaplain in the army, it means that with prayers it would make the job lighter for the security agents and that is why the General Officer Commanding 1 Mechanized Division, Nigerian Army deemed it necessary that l should be here together with the Deputy Director, Islamic Affairs because there is nothing we can do without prayers.

“I commend the women who put themselves together to call themselves Women Interfaith Council. The theme is apt. We are in Kaduna state together praying for peace, working for peace and living for peace. If there is peace, there would be development in the country particularly in the state but without peace people would run away.

“The insecurity in the country can be curtailed if all of us put our heads together, learning from our mothers, talk to our children, and work in peace even in our homes. Then everybody would be free to move from one place to another. The security agents would not have work rather than maintain the peace that already has been instituted. I pray that Kaduna state would witness the peace we are praying for today.

Explaining the importance of the role of mothers in peace building, he said. .

.“A mother should actually be the one to think. In as much as mothers have put themselves together, they are thinking ahead because they want to prevent something and what is that thing that they want to prevent? Things that would make their children regret coming to this world”. He ended.

The Deputy Director, Islamic Affairs 1 Mechanized Division, Nigerian Army, Colonel Mohammed Awwal commending the Women Interfaith relentless efforts in their quest for peace said the present state of affairs today in Nigeria particularly the security challenges call for attitudinal change. Saying, unity and peace among both the Muslims and Christians are what is needed to move the nation forward.. Ugly development affects all and sundry irrespective of ones faith as such, it is the responsibility of all to reverse the ugly trend through prayers. He explained.

“We all know what is going on in Nigeria. l am happy that the program is timely as 2019 election is approaching. So this prayer is very important to every one of us, individually and collectively”. He stressed.

 Earlier in her remark, The Executive Director of the Council, Reverend Sister Anne Falola said the forum which constituted over 30 Muslim and Christian organizations was concerned with fighting common concerns of women.

She said the Council advocates for women participation in activities aimed at peaceful coexistence, organize training workshops for women on awareness on women issues, and reach out to farmers and other groups to ensure peaceful coexistence at the community levels.

In their separate remarks, the Muslim and Christian Coordinators, of Women Interfaith Council, Hajiya Daharatu Aliyu Muhammed and Mrs Elizabeth Abok. both had described the turn – out of women as encouraging.

Hajiya Daharatu said the main focus of the solidarity prayer is to come together as one body irrespective of ones religion to pray over things that are affecting the society .Peace she said is an important tool to achieving any national development as such the need to bring together all the religion under one umbrella for a common course.

“The decision to do the solidarity prayer is to pray over a lot of things that are happening in our society. As an Interfaith Association, our main function is to bring all religion together to see the need for coming together as one body to pray over a lot of things that are affecting us irrespective of your religion because peace is very key in any national development”. We have come to understand that we are serving the same God whether you are a Muslim , a Christian or whatever religion because If any crisis comes, it does not differentiate a Muslim from a Christian. In most cases women and children are most hit. That is why we have come together as women of faith to intervene by educating and enlightening the general public to see the need of being our brothers keeper.We should drop hypocrisy and work for a common goal. Peace is peace. There is no two way about it. She ended.

The Chairperson Peace Committee Women Interfaith Council, Hajiya Rabi Bincham says, committing all affairs onto the Almighty God through prayers seems the only solution to our problems.

“Honestly as humans beings we believe everything relies on prayers and our strength is all on prayers. In fact as women, that is the only weapon we have. To go back to God Almighty in prayers and to make our ideas known and  .wishes  known all thoughtful towards taking it to God in prayers as a solution to what is going on. We also have looked at this forum as one that would touch the hearts of people. Whoever has a negative thought we have no way of knowing but at least as hadith of the Holy Prophet SAW says, with regards to one’s actions, it says, one shall be judged according to intention.-So we try as much as possible to see if we can remind one another so that we can purify our intentions and continue to pray for what we cannot change.

On the fulani herdsmen/farmers clashes which she described as worrisome, she said,

“We are all witnesses to what the social media is doing. One moment we are shown the pictures of arrest that don’t involve the fulanis, another moment we hear the hausa fulanis again being emphasized. For me, l think the perpetrators of all these evils know who they are and whatever their motives are, all we can do is hand them all to Almighty Allah in prayers. For those of them that are redeemable, may Allah redeem their souls and for those of them who are not redeemable, Ya Robbil Allamina should take full command of the situation. It’s really something that is  very disturbing. You see anybody around you and you become so suspicious of him. I mean, some of these things are just, l don’t know…, May Allah take control of every situation that we find ourselves”.

In her own reaction, The Christian Coordinator, Women Interfaith Council, Mrs. Elizabeth Abok had expressed dismay over the killings of innocent souls in the said Fulani herdsmen /farmers clashes. She had in a passionate appeal called on all to eschew bitterness and live in peace with one another while she called on government to fish out the perpetrators. She said, the fulanis they have lived with for years are not known with such act of killings. She advised the youths not to allow themselves to be used as instrument to perpetrate crime.

.” We are pleading to all Nigerians to eschew violence and live in peace. It has repeatedly been said that these Killings are the handiwork of Fulani herdsmen. We are calling on the government to fish out these fulanis that are perpetrating these acts because we have for many years lived with fulanis in peace and harmony and we had never witnessed such killings.The fulanis we know and lived with for years are very peaceful. We want these perpetrators to be brought to book.

The prayer ended on a good note with recitation from the Holy Quran and Bible filling the air and with high spirited participants wearing faces of accomplishments

END.