Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo says
it will take acts of humility and personal sacrifice, especially by leaders
across board, to change the disposition to hate and prejudice.
Osinbajo’s spokesman, Laolu
Akande, in a statement in Abuja, said the vice president delivered a keynote
address in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday.
Osinbajo spoke at the opening
session of the Sixth Assembly of the Forum for Promoting Peace organised by the
government of the UAE.
According to Osinbajo, no amount
of words or platitudes can change the human predisposition to prejudice and
parochialism; only acts of deep humility and personal sacrifice can.
“There is no question at all that
this is the responsibility leadership places on those of us who are religious
and political leaders in our countries.
“The responsibility of leadership
is not just words, it is not text, it is not just laws; the responsibility of
leadership is self-sacrifice, it is putting our reputation on the line, it is
putting our words into action.
“It is my respectful submission
that the burden rests squarely on leaders, especially religious and political
leaders, and others we may describe as the elite in our nations and
communities.
“It is our role not only to
articulate, as we are doing in this assembly today, the theoretical and
doctrinal foundations for a more tolerant world but more importantly, to make
the personal sacrifices that would compel our societies to commit themselves to
lifestyles of tolerance.”
He said that the world had never
been more connected than at present due to technology.
“In recent years, we have
witnessed a rise of religious extremism, right-wing populism and
ultra-nationalism.
“We have seen extremists hijack
the symbols and letters of the faiths and use them to prosecute violent
campaigns that violate the sanctity of human life on a global scale: ISIS,
ISWAP, Boko Haram among others.
“Therefore, if we are to prevent
an endless cycle of strife and conflict, tolerance is a necessity.”
The vice-president added that it
was the responsibility of leaders, especially religious and political leaders,
and the elite in nations and communities, to bear the torch of tolerance and
illuminate new pathways to a shared future.
Citing the examples of some
community and religious leaders in Nigeria who offered their lives to save
people of different faiths from theirs, Osinbajo urged leaders of groups and
communities to imbibe the principles of tolerance and empathy.
According to him, the great
conflict of the time is not between Islam and Christianity, or between Islam
and other religions, but between extremism and human solidarity, between the
forces of hate and intolerance and those of empathy and peace – that is the
great conflict today.
“We must emphasise the central
place of the principle of empathy.
“This is a thread that runs
through our moral traditions and is summed up in the Golden Rule in the words
of Jesus Christ where he said–do unto others as you would have them do unto
you.
“Jesus Christ goes further to say
that – we must love our enemies; we must even pray for our enemies.
“This is the notion of
self-sacrifice. In other words, all of this is summed up in the general
principle that we must treat others as we ourselves would like to be treated,
and this is embedded in the Abrahamic traditions and other major religions,”
Osinbajo said.
Earlier, the UAE Minister of
Tolerance, Sheikh Nahayan Al Nahayan, spoke on the need for the world’s major
religions to embrace tolerance as a virtue and vehicle to promote peaceful
co-existence.
Speakers and participants at the
conference were drawn from across the world, including the U.S.
There were representatives of
Christianity, Judaism and Islam.
Among representatives from
Nigeria were the Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, John Cardinal
Onaiyekan, and the celebrated Imam from Plateau State, Abubakar Abdullahi.
Osinbajo was also received after
the opening session by both the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheik Mohammed Bin
Zayed Al Nayan, and the Ruler of the Emirate of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin
Rashid Al Maktoum who is also the Vice-President, Prime Minister and Defence
Minister of the UAE.
The reception was at the Al-Ain
Palace of the Crown Prince, who is also the Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE
Armed Forces.
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