The message at the dialogue dinner: There’s no alternative to one Nigeria


Date posted: July 31, 2017

Tunde Oguntola, Abuja

Eminent Catholic cleric, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, has said that it was too expensive for the country to break up, insisting that Nigerians have no choice but to live together.

The Archbishop of Abuja made the statement during a Friendship and Dialogue Dinner, organised by UFUK Dialogue in Abuja recently.

He said, “God has put us all in this one boat called Nigeria. And we really have no other option than to try to live together in peace with all our differences.

“We all must recognise and respect these differences. If we do not take that route, I do not see another alternative.”

He said the alternative to living in peace “is to destroy ourselves”, adding that it is “far more expensive to scatter ourselves than it is to live together”.

He added, “So we want to thank UFUK Dialogue Foundation for reminding us of this fact, and by God’s grace, we shall succeed. I thank them for inviting me to this Iftar.”

Special adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, also praised UFUK for the interfaith event, saying the principle could resolve the recent challenge posed by Biafra agitation and the quit notice served on Igbo in the North.

“One thing that struck me at this UFUK Dialogue programme is this saying, ‘Reserve a seat In Your Heart For Everyone’,” he said.

“That is the solution to the complexity that constitutes the problem in a country like Nigeria, in terms of interrelationship.

“If you reserve a seat in your heart for everyone, you won’t promote insurrection. You won’t demand for your own republic. If you reserve a place in your hear for everyone, you wouldn’t give a Quit Notice to anybody on the basis of tribe,” he added.

He said he believed that what UFUK Dialogue is promoting, “year after year, month after month, week after week, day after day; is something that is very salutary”, adding, “I will want to encourage everyone to please embrace it.”

President of UFUK Dialogue Foundation, Mr Kamil Kermabci, who read a goodwill message from US-based Islamic cleric, Fethullah Gulen, said he belive Nigeria would overcome its challenges.

Reading an excerpt from the goodwill message, he said, “Although there have been some recent provocation conflicts that appear to be religious oriented, I hold the belief and hope that Nigeria is strongly proceeding towards a peaceful and happy future thanks to the broad-minded people like you and the educated generations, who view the future with hope.

“Dialogue, mutual respect, meeting at universal human values and instilling security for people have become not a luxury but a necessity for Nigeria where Islam and Christianity are practiced with their great dynamism.”

Source: Leadership , June 19, 2017


Related News

Rhode Island’s latest refugees flee Turkey’s repressive regime

A new community of Turkish immigrants has taken root in Rhode Island. And its leading members, some of them refugees seeking political asylum in the United States, are spreading a message of tolerance and diversity through their work at Dialogue Foundation, a new organization with a headquarters near Wayland Square.

Parents of Nigerian-Turkish International College students decry call to close schools

Mr. Abudulahi, a professor, added that the schools were playing very significant role in the development of education in Nigeria and should not be closed. He said that the school was one of the most secured in the country, adding that even in the hit of Boko Haram activities in the North ast, it remained open in Yobe. He further added that so long as the NTIC had operated within the laws of Nigeria, it should be allowed to remain in operation.

Five new mosque-cemevi projects on the way

There are plans to launch joint mosque-cemevi (Alevi house of worship) projects in five other Turkish provinces in addition to the recently launched project in the Turkish capital city of Ankara, the Radikal daily reported on Tuesday. According to the daily, the locations of the new mosque-cemevi projects will be the Kartal district in İstanbul, […]

Building bridges while breaking bread: Norfolk temple holds interfaith Ramadan meal

Exiled. Away from his friends and family and watching from afar as thousands of Turkish doctors, teachers, professors and more have been jailed. Unbelievable, Bilici called it. Out of work and afraid of what was coming, he left the country. Eventually, he purchased a one-way ticket to America and is now, like thousands before him, a Muslim immigrant.

Grand Mufti of Egypt: “At least 10 Turkish schools must be opened in Egypt”

Dr. Ali Gomaa, the Grand Mufti of Egypt wanted Turkish entrepreneurs to open at least 10 schools in Egypt. Dr. Gomaa attended the opening ceremony of the second Turkish School of Egypt, located in the city of Beni Suwaif, in southern Cairo. He remarked the students in these Turkish schools learn English perfectly. He mentioned […]

Hizmet contribution to global peace discussed in Addis Ababa

Participants at a forum organized by the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, have discussed the contribution of the Hizmet movement, inspired by well-respected Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, to global peace.The event, titled “Africa Dialogue Forum,” was attended by many high-ranking representatives from more than 40 countries. Gülen sent a message to the event […]

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

Turkish opposition deputy: Women jailed with children are treated like enemies

Nigeria Gives 7-Day Ultimatum to Turkish Government to Release Over 50 Nigerian Students Held in Detention

Washington Post: Biden needs to give Turkey’s Erdogan some tough advice

Scholars: Hizmet efforts to build schools will not stop

General Staff ordered broadcasting of anti-Gülen recordings

Turkey arrests Fethullah Gulen’s barber from 26 years ago

Indonesian Sultan at Meliksah University in Kayseri

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News