The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has described the desire for peace as universal, not unconditional.
Speaking at the just concluded interfaith conference in Abuja over the weekend, Archbishop Welby also said that peace required justice.
Welby said whenever Nigeria faced problems whether in terrorism, economic hardship, the death of farmers or herdsmen, he becomes “deeply distressed and mourn” as if they were members of his family.
Also speaking, the co-conveners of the conference the Sultan of Sokoto Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar and Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan called for religious harmony which they described as important peaceful coexistence in any country.
On the upcoming elections, the Sultan said it is only God that can give power, adding that progress and development would continue to elude Nigeria if acrimony, mistrust and back biting are being promoted.
“However, we succeeded in securing the commitment and trust of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Police and other critical stakeholders that would be involved in the electoral process. We had similar efforts in 2015 and it resulted in peaceful election that led to surprise defeat of the incumbent president in 2015. We hope that peace and tolerance will envelop the forthcoming elections,” he said.
Onaiyekan described the Nigeria’s political space as ‘selfish’ adding that it is the selfishness that is holding the nation down.
“Selfishness at all levels: personal, family, tribe, region and even religion. This is at the root of corruption, violence, disloyalty and the win at all costs and by all means syndrome at elections. If we continue this way, good governance, genuine democracy, national unity, peace and prosperity for all Nigerians will continue to elude us,” Onaiyekan said.
