By Godwin Utuedoye,
SOKOTO- PRESIDENT and members of the Catholic Bishop Conference of Nigeria CBCN, on Friday, September 7, paid a courtesy visit to the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar advocating the need for total collaboration between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria.
The Catholic bishops are in Sokoto for her plenary meeting was led by the President, Most Rev. Augustine Obiora Akubeze, Archbishop of Benin-City Archdiocese and joined by other bishops from different Archdioceses and Dioceses in the Nigeria.
In his address at the Palace of the Sultan of Sokoto, the president of the Catholic Bishop Conference of Nigeria, Archbishop Augustine Akubeze, expressed gratitude to the Sultan over his leadership qualities in ensuring that peace and unity reign in Nigeria.
“We are happy to be in your palace to thank you for the leadership you have been providing for the Muslims in the entire Nigeria. You have provided rare leadership in moments of conflicts.”
Your condemnation of acts of terrorism even when it is perpetuated by some Muslim fundamentalists is worthy of praise and it shows you are a true father not to only Muslims but to everyone who is in need of your care and protection, he stated.
Speaking further in his address, the Catholic Archbishop noted that, the attitude of the Muslim leader has taught many Christians that the Holy Koran does not permit killing of innocent people in the name of religion, adding that his support for the poor is a great source of inspiration to many Nigerians.
On the need to move from competition to collaboration between Christians and Muslims, Most Rev. Akubeze revealed that recently, the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue spoke on the need for Christians and Muslims to see themselves as collaborators but not competitors.
Quoting from the message to Muslims all over the World, in which the Council in charge of Muslim and Catholic Dialogue states;
“A spirit of competition has too often marked the past relations between Christians and Muslims, the negatively consequences of which are evident: Jealousy, recriminations and tensions. Continuing, the quotes state, “
In some cases, these have led to violent confrontations, especially where religion has been instrumentalized, above all, due to self-interest and political motives. According to him, the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue stated that such Interreligious competition wounds the image of religions and their followers, and it fosters the view that religions are not sources of peace, but of tension and violence.
The CBCN boss in proffering solution to the problem, said the way forward from this competitive nature to collaboration is to acknowledge the common belief and recognised individual differences. Referring to the message of the CBCN to Muslims at the end of Ramadan in March 2018, Archbishop Akubeze disclosed that the document urged all to have a change of in attitude.
Archbishop Akubeze also use the courtesy visit to invite the Sultan to the opening ceremony of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria plenary taking place in Sokoto on September 9 by 10:00am.
” Your presence will be very symbolic and send out a clear message that Christians and Muslims can pray and work together”.
He thanked the Sultan for the warm welcome accorded the bishops and sense of hospitality shown to them.