Lagos, Nigeria - Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Saad Abubakar III and the Chairman of Eastern States Council of Traditional Rulers, Eze Cletus Ilomuanya have jointly canvassed religious tolerance as a means of cementing the unity of the country.
According to the eminent leaders, religious tolerance and respect for one another will go a long way in strengthening the peace in Nigeria and enhance her unity.
They both spoke at the recently concluded 15th Zumunta Annual International Convention held in Los Angeles, United States of America.
According to a statement issued in Owerri, Imo State from the palace of Eze Ilomuanya, Zumunta International is a Nigerian-Socio-Cultural organization based in the USA while the convention attached many dignitaries including the chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria, Archbishop John Onaikan.
The sultan harped on the need for communities to co-exist in peace and condemned the practice whereby innocent people are herded into fighting senseless wars.
He was of the view that Nigerian leaders owe it a duty to the citizenry to educate them on how to co-habit peacefully irrespective of their religious belief.
He described the various conflicts in the country, as economically motivated stressing that that was why he insisted that Zumunta invited governors of the Niger Delta as well as the Traditional INSTITUTIONS from Igbo land.
In his speech, Eze Ilomuanya extolled the leadership qualities of the sultan and Archbishop Onaikah,and called for the sustenance of religious tolerance in the country.
Eze Ilomuanya who is also the chairman of Imo State Council of Traditional Rulers briefed the Zumunta Convention on the roles traditional rulers have played to sustain peace in Nigeria .
He called in Nigerians in Diaspora to always see themselves first as Nigerians and to remain law-abiding citizens of the USA.
Earlier in his paper, Archbishop Onaikan described Nigeria as a country that is plagued by fraud and criminal plundering of the resources by some of her leaders
He condemned some politicians for manipulating religious matters for selfish interests, and urged Nigerians to be wary of such people.
The convention was similarly addressed by the governors of Delta and Rivers States, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan and Mr. Rotimi Amaechi respectively.