Religion, not responsible for persistent violence said Kukah

The Bishop of Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, the Most Rev. Mathew Kukah, says the rot in social system and poverty are responsible for persistent violence in the country.
“Some of the crises are easily blamed on religion but I believe the social system is faulty and that is the cause of our woes,’’ Kukah said in Jos on Thursday.
Kukah was reviewing a book “Peace, not war: A decade of interventions in the Plateau State crises (2001-2011),’’ written by the Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, the Catholic Archbishop of Jos.
He said that religion only provided smooth platform for crises to worsen but certainly not the cause.
“Every crisis is a product of layers upon layers of problems that were not attended to.
Security, rule of law and punishment for offenders are all duties of government and not religions organisations. Beyond moral exaltation, the Church has neither police nor prisons.
“The chronic poverty in the country is a raw material for violence and unless it is adequately addressed, we will continue to have problems. ’’
He said that the book had identified some causes of crises which included unemployment, indigenes/settlers’ dichotomy, among others.
“The book captured it, eloquently, that the persistent injustice is the cause of persistent violence not only in Plateau but in the entire country.
Kukah further said that Kaigama had clearly demonstrated the need for friendship as antidote to the crises, noting that confrontation was not the solution.
Kaigama, in his remark, said that the multidimensional factors that generated crises had most time been neglected while religion was often cited as a short cut.
“The remedy for crises does not lie in the use of bows and arrows, bombs and guns; it lies on mature dialogue which was imperative for eliminating or mitigating violence which occurs under whatever name.
He said that help could come from genuine religious leaders who would work toward solving problems of illiteracy, corruption, immorality, disease and unemployment.
“We must also take religion seriously rather than reducing it to a mere external ritual.
“But rather than use it to contribute to national unity and development, religion is used as a divisive factor between Muslims and Christians to compete for religious superiority and national relevance. ’’
He said the Archdiocese in an attempt to foster interreligious harmony had established an Interfaith Vocational Centre in Bokkos Local Government, where both Muslims and Christians learn vocational skills.
“In our further commitment to conflict prevention and peace building, we have initiated and commenced the building of a `Dialogue, Reconciliation and Peace Centre’ in Gold and Base, Jos.’’
He said that the facility would be accessible to youths, women community/religious leaders as well as well meaning citizens who cherish and desired to promote peace.