By Doyin Ojosipe
Stakeholders have advised religious leaders to key into the opportunity offered by the social media by engaging it as a tool to correct wrongdoings and perceptions.
They made the call on Monday, March 16, 2020, at a town hall meeting and presentation of a Media and Information Literacy (MIL) training manual on Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue by the African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL), in Jos, Plateau State.
The training manual is part of a project supported by the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) to encourage peaceful coexistence among diverse ethnic groups and religions in the country.
In a keynote message, Sheik Ghaza Adam, Deputy Chief Imam of Jos, said that youth who perpetuate violence in the name of religion are not well rooted in religion but could be corrected by their leaders at every given opportunity.
He noted that youths make up the largest percentage of social media users in Nigeria, and would be easily reached by their respective leaders.
Using a dog and its owner as illustration, the Imam said it is usually easier for religious leaders of a particular faith to correct their followers than religious leaders from other faith as followers most often respect their leaders over others
Also speaking at the event, Reverend Zaka Peter, Acting Head of Public Theology at the Theological College of Northern Nigeria (TCNN), who represented the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Plateau State Chapter, commended AFRICMIL for the initiative and for involving religious leaders who are often held in high regards.
He said it was high time religious leaders accepted the social media and began to engage their followers for the purpose of ensuring peace in the country.
Mr Bulus Dabit, who represented the DG, National Orientation Agency (NOA), Dr Garba Abari, noted that most times, crises of religious colouration were perpetrated by criminals who often took advantage of the situation to cause mayhem. He cited the Jos crisis as an example.
He said until communities and families from which the criminals emanate took conscious efforts to report them, there would be no peace in the country.
Dr Chido Onumah, Coordinator of AFRICMIL, represented by the Senior Programme Officer, Godwin Onyeacholem, said the knowledge of MIL in tackling ethno-religious conflicts and fostering inter-religious and intercultural dialogue cannot be overemphasized as it helps in addressing the issues of hate speech and fake news which are key contributors to conflicts.
He said, “Although the federal government has tried to regulate the social media, what we need is not more regulation but more education. There is the urgent need to use MIL in this era of information and communication technology and internet revolution as a tool to change the opinion of religious leaders in the society.”
