NACOMYO warns against instigation of religious, ethnic conflicts

POLITICAL agitators who whip up religious and ethnic sentiments to cause disharmony and engender mutual distrust among ethno-religious groups have been warned to desist from such acts.

The National Council of Muslim Youth Organisations (NACOMYO) National Headquarters gave the warning against the backdrop of a statement released by the National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF) and a meeting held in Lagos between former President Olusegun Obasanjo and leaders of the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, over the weekend.

The Muslim organisation described “persistent hate speeches” as a major cause of civil strife.

In a statement in Ibadan, Oyo State, signed by its National Secretary General, Alhaj Mas’ud Akintola, NACOMYO advocated the inclusion of Muslims at subsequent meetings convened for the purpose of taking decisions on the political future of the Yoruba.

The apex Muslim youth organisation described what it perceived as attempt by Chief Obasanjo to reconcile with past traducers as a welcome development “if it is done in good faith.”

It, however, cautioned Afenifere against entering into “a one-chance vehicle as it did in 2003.”

The organisation appealed to NCEF to stop heating up the polity with its “periodic inflammatory statements as doing so is against the spirit of peace, love and tolerance which the scripture preaches.”