Christian and Muslim Youths Unite for Peace Ahead of 2027 Elections

Christian and Muslim youth groups in Lagos have come together to sign a peace agreement. They are promising to reject political violence, religious intolerance, and the use of young people as political thugs before the 2027 general elections.

The signing took place on Saturday during the South-West Zonal Interreligious Peace Accord Summit. This event was organized by the Youth Wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria, known as YOWICAN, in partnership with the National Council of Muslim Youth Organisations, or NACOMYO.

The summit was held at the Senator Oluremi Tinubu CAN Secretariat located in Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos. The theme was “Building Bridges of Faith and Politics: Strengthening Peace, Unity, and National Development Through Christian-Muslim Collaboration.”

The groups stated that the upcoming elections will test Nigeria’s unity. They encouraged young people not to let politicians recruit or manipulate them into violence.

In a statement released after the summit, the groups expressed their strong commitment to rejecting political violence, religious manipulation, hate speech, and other actions that could threaten the peace and stability of Nigeria.

They also called on Christian and Muslim youths to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence in their communities, schools, and places of worship.

During the summit, the Lagos State Chairman of CAN, Stephen Adegbite, explained that the peace accord aims to promote religious tolerance, reject political violence, and support peaceful coexistence before the elections. He criticized politicians who make disrespectful comments about their opponents.

“What we must do is what youths have done today; both Christians and Muslims have done well to bring peace and restore confidence in our great nation,” he said.

Mr Adegbite urged young people to lead by example. He said the summit was meant to show that Christians and Muslims want peace before, during, and after the elections.

“We don’t want anybody to be killed for any elective position,” he added. Mr Adegbite also pointed to the Bible and the Quran as texts that encourage peaceful coexistence.

NACOMYO’s National Secretary, Shehu Ibrahim, mentioned that the accord is particularly important as Nigeria approaches the 2027 elections. He said the organization will spread the message of peace to communities nationwide through Imams, Friday prayers, Islamic schools, and other religious gatherings.

He also noted that the groups will work to mobilize young people in grassroots communities to discourage any violence during the elections.

Lagos State APC Youth Leader, Damilare Orimoloye, shared his thoughts, saying young people need to realize that disagreements do not have to lead to violence.

“Peace speaks against violence, how to tolerate each other, showing love amidst misunderstanding,” Mr Orimoloye said.

He added that disagreements are likely to happen during the election period, so tolerance and peaceful communication are very important.

Nnamdi Obasi, the South-West Chairman of YOWICAN, said the summit was important because Christian and Muslim youths need to bridge any gaps and avoid being used against each other.

He urged young Nigerians to stay united and resist attempts by politicians to exploit religious differences, especially with the 2027 elections coming up.

The communique was signed by YOWICAN’s National Chairman, Orowolo Daniel, and National Secretary, Nehemiah Michael, along with NACOMYO’s National Secretary II, Shehu Ibrahim, and its Southern Secretary representative, Mudashir Bello. The document outlined seven commitments.

These commitments include rejecting the recruitment and manipulation of young people as political thugs. They also pledged to promote religious tolerance and peaceful coexistence.

The groups called on religious, traditional, community, and political leaders to discourage intolerance, political manipulation, and incitement to violence.

They stressed that the peace message should spread beyond the summit to states, local government areas, communities, schools, and religious institutions.

The groups agreed that the peace accord should not just end with its signing. They want it to be a basis for ongoing dialogue, mutual accountability, and peacebuilding between Christian and Muslim youths.

They urged Nigerian youths, political leaders, religious institutions, and other stakeholders to work together for a peaceful and inclusive 2027 election.