FNCYA Calls For Restraint , Responsibility, National Cohesion Amid Concern Over Divisive Religious
Yakubu Busari
The attention of the Forum for Northern Christian Youths and Abuja (FNCYA) has been drawn to recent public statements that have generated widespread controversy and are widely perceived as capable of aggravating existing ethnic and religious sensitivities within the country.
In a statement issued by Dr. Ringsum Joshua J.,the National Chairman, FNCYA, Abuja, Nigeria and Amb. Stephen Josiah, National Secretary, FNCYA, Abuja, Nigeria made available to this medium in Jos.
The statement read ,while the FNCYA does not seek to prejudge any individual or exacerbate tensions, we are compelled to address the issue in the interest of responsible citizenship and the preservation of national cohesion. We recognize that recurring rhetoric of this nature carries grave implications for social harmony, intercommunal trust, and peaceful coexistence.
OUR POSITION AND DEMANDS
The FNCYA hereby states as follows:
1. Call for Restraint and Responsible Leadership
We urge Sheikh Yahaya Jingir and all religious leaders, irrespective of faith tradition, to exercise the highest degree of circumspection and responsibility in public discourse. Those who command significant influence bear a commensurate responsibility to deploy their platforms in the service of peace, tolerance, mutual respect, and interfaith understanding.
2. Refocus on Governance and Citizens’ Welfare
We urge that national discourse be redirected toward issues that directly affect the welfare of Nigerians: security, economic opportunity, education, healthcare, employment, infrastructure, poverty alleviation, and good governance. The politicization of religion neither advances development nor fosters unity.
3. Affirmation of Nigeria’s Religious Pluralism
Nigeria belongs to all its citizens: Christians, Muslims, adherents of traditional religions, and persons of other convictions or none. No Nigerian should be marginalized or relegated to second-class status in the political, social, or economic life of the nation on the basis of faith or ethnicity.
4. Government’s Duty of Neutrality and Equal Protection
We call upon relevant government institutions to consistently dissociate themselves from rhetoric that promotes religious or ethnic division. The state must reaffirm its unwavering commitment to fairness, impartiality, justice, and the equal protection of all citizens under the Constitution and the rule of law.
The FNCYA notes that Christian clergy and faith leaders across Northern Nigeria and the FCT are closely observing the actions and inactions of the National Government amidst growing tension. We expect decisive steps that uphold neutrality and the rule of law. Should the Government remain adamant and turn a deaf ear to these concerns, the FNCYA, in consultation with Christian clergy and other stakeholders, reserves the right to announce further actions in defense of justice, equity, and peaceful coexistence.
5. Accountability in Public Discourse
While the right to freedom of expression is constitutionally guaranteed, it is inseparable from the obligation to refrain from incitement and from utterances that undermine public order. Statements capable of provoking hostility or division must be subjected to appropriate scrutiny within the ambit of the Constitution and existing laws.
OUR COMMITMENT TO PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE
This intervention is neither an indictment of Islam nor an engagement in partisan politics. It is a moral and civic appeal for responsible leadership and national unity.
As Christian youths from Northern Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory, we acknowledge and commend the vast majority of Muslims who reject extremism, intolerance, and divisive rhetoric. We also recognize the enduring relationships, partnerships, and shared history between Christian and Muslim communities across Northern Nigeria and the FCT.
We therefore reject any attempt by any individual, regardless of status, to undermine these relationships or to portray Christians and Muslims as perpetual adversaries. Our diversity must be harnessed as a source of national strength, not exploited as an instrument of political mobilization.
CONCLUSION
The FNCYA affirms that Nigeria’s future depends on our collective capacity to transcend religious and ethnic divisions and to uphold the principles of equal citizenship, justice, mutual respect, and peaceful coexistence.
No religious leader, political actor, traditional ruler, or citizen should deploy their influence in a manner that erodes public trust and threatens social cohesion.
We therefore call on all Nigerians: leaders, faith communities, political actors, traditional institutions, civil society, and the general public, to choose language that builds bridges rather than walls.
Nigeria belongs to all of us. Our differences must never be used to destroy our common home.
