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Amid lingering religious tensions and years of deadly faith-based violence in parts of Northern Nigeria, the Northern Reconciliation Group, NRG, has taken its peace campaign to the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, and the Jama’atu Nasril Islam, JNI, in Kaduna.
The group, led by its Protem Chairman, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, said the visits were lo aimed at confronting what it described as a dangerous and widening divide between Muslims and Christians in the region.
Speaking at the CAN headquarters, Baba-Ahmed said the group was deliberately formed by Northern Muslims and Christians to challenge narratives that portray adherents of both faiths as enemies.
“God did not create us to fight each other. There is nowhere in Islam or Christianity where God commands us to treat people of another faith as enemies,” he said.
According to him, ordinary Northerners have paid a heavy price for religious conflicts driven by ignorance, manipulation and opportunism, warning that continued violence would further damage already fragile communities.
“We have come to say publicly that we are not enemies, we will not fight, and we will not continue to fight. Peace, forgiveness and justice are foundations of our faiths,” Baba-Ahmed said.
He added that the timing of the visit, coming during the Christmas season, was intended to demonstrate solidarity with the Christian community and send a broader message of coexistence.
“We want Nigerians to understand that peacebuilding does not have to wait for government or authority. Citizens can and must take the lead,” he said.
Receiving the delegation, the Chairman of CAN in the 19 Northern States and the FCT, Rev. John Hayab, described the visit as timely, noting that Muslims and Christians in the North had lived peacefully for decades before vested interests deepened divisions.
“The common Muslim and the common Christian have no business fighting each other. We cannot fight for God. What our faiths demand from us is love, forgiveness and peaceful coexistence,” Hayab said.
He assured the group that the Christian community would reciprocate the gesture, stressing that reconciliation must begin with individuals and spread to families, communities and leaders.
“This is about restoring trust and rebuilding the North we used to know, where Muslims and Christians lived, worked and celebrated together,” he added.
At the headquarters of the Jama’atu Nasril Islam, Baba-Ahmed warned that the growing gap between followers of both religions had become dangerous and must be urgently addressed by Nigerians themselves.
“This is our problem, and only Nigerians can solve it. Foreign interests will not bring us peace. We must forgive past wrongs and rebuild broken bridges,” he said.
Responding, the Secretary-General of JNI, Prof. Khalid Aliyu, described the visit as a return to the North’s long tradition of religious coexistence and cooperation.
He recalled that earlier generations of Muslim and Christian leaders worked together as brothers and urged a return to justice, sincerity and mutual respect.
“Religion should unite us, not destroy us,” Aliyu said, expressing JNI’s readiness to partner with the Northern Reconciliation Group to address insecurity and rebuild trust across communities.
The visits drew Muslim and Christian clerics, scholars, elders and peace advocates from across Northern Nigeria.
NAN
