Foreign Affairs Minister, Onyeama, blames religious manipulation for conflicts in Nigeria

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, has attributed the spate of insecurity and killings of innocent people in Nigeria to religious manipulations and communal beliefs, which have become “tools of conflicts in the society.”

Onyeama made this assertion on Tuesday in Abuja, while speaking as a special guest during the opening of the ‘National Policy Roundtable on the Network of Policy Makers to support reconciliation, peace and security in Nigeria.’

Onyeama said the communal lifestyle of Africans is “largely expressed in their religious beliefs, which facilitates solidarity, togetherness, and neighbourliness, hence the easy manipulation of a few which then leads to religious intolerance.”

“Regrettably, religion and communal living are painted as fundamentals that are inimical to peace, security and development,” he said.

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“In the political history of post-independence, Nigeria has been awash with tragic instances of violent conflict and acrimony that had erupted as a result of the manipulation of religion and other identity markers such as the ethnic market,” the Minister added.

Also towing the same line with Onyeama, Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen, who was also a guest speaker at the event, emphasised the need to “give more roles to women in leadership for a lasting solution to the current problems of violent conflicts in the country.”

“The hoodlums we have, all Boko Haram, all the kidnappers, they have mothers in every community,” she reiterated.

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