From Femi Mustapha, in Kaduna
The Primate Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Most Rev Henry Ndukuba has urged church leaders to avoid the weaponization of religion and dwell less on ethnicity, which he said can destroy the church and the country.
Rather, he urged then to preach unity and fight corruption in the country.
He said this during his remarks at the opening ceremony of the 2-day Human Rights Workshop for Niger Delta Church Leaders & Partners held in Abuja on Tuesday.
According to him the absence of unity in the church is affecting the nation’s progress, saying the church and the country suffered the same problem, and the church could salvage the country.
“The challenge affecting the country, which is also affecting the church, is ethnicity, the absence of unity, and corruption.
“You will agree with me that today we have a nation, but we are not united. If we are united, our country would have made much progress,” he said.
Speaking on the theme of the workshop “Understanding United Nations Human Rights System: Strengthening Local and International Advocacy For Niger Delta Church Leaders & Partners” facilitated by the World Council of Churches (WCC), the primate decried the situation where people of Niger Delta could no longer go their farms or access drinking water due to oil pollution.
Most Rev Henry Ndukuba appreciated the World Council of Churches for galvanizing the voices of our churches to speak against oppression. He recalled the great role the WCC played during the Civil War by providing food for malnourished children.
Speaking earlier, the Executive Director of Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ ), Rev. David Ugolor, who is co-facilitating the Workshop, thanked the WCC for the opportunity given to Church leaders and like minds from the Niger Delta region to think and pave a way forward.
The Environmental activist, however, said that the responsibility now rests on the Church Leaders in Ogoniland, while the WCC will only support and complement through the provision of the right infrastructure.
He thanked Dr. Wushishi for the logistics even in difficult circumstances. He stated that at the end of the workshop, an action plan would be developed.
