We are glad that the efforts of the COFP to build, inspire and equip multi-faith leaders and actors to enhance sustainable peace and human development in their communities is continually yielding positive results. The COFP Fellowship program has continued to leave indelible marks of positive social change not only in the Fellows themselves but also in the communities where they live. Enjoy some of the impact-stories recorded from their community peace efforts.
According to Adejoh Justina “This one-year COFP Fellowship program was indeed worthwhile. The wide range of courses offered on interreligious dialogue and mediation were thoroughly researched and well delivered. It has helped me as I am more enlightened about Islam and its practices. Through the instrumentality of Cardinal Onaiyekan Foundation for Peace (COPF), I have been enlightened, empowered, better informed and can engage in meaningful peacebuilding activities”. My new acquired skills gave me the confidence to organize a one-day workshop on “Promoting Peaceful Coexistence among Students in Secondary Schools in Jalingo, Taraba State” which brought students from different faiths together to discuss issues of faith and peaceful coexistence in a relaxed and conducive environment. Justina says “Even as I round up this interesting and noble Fellowship program, I will continue to do the little I can in the best way I can, to sow seeds of peace that God has placed in my hands”.
(Adejoh Justina, COFP Fellow 2020/2021, Taraba State).
“Bello sees the Fellowship program as a reflection of what humans can do if they focus more on issues of common humanity and de-emphasize differences in religion, culture, and beliefs. In the COFP Fellowship class, I saw in practice, the narratives that lead to violence, such as the plagiarized thesis Christians and Muslims have about the others’ religion, and since there was no formal forum to bring the issues up for discussion it continued to spread like wildfire powered by the harmattan wind. The COFP provided the atmosphere to learn, unlearn and relearn. I am sure the effort will give birth to a more inclusive community where there are mutual understanding, empathy, and love. May our story end with…. “And they lived peacefully ever after”.
(Bello Lateef Adekunle, COFP Fellows Class of 2021).
Jidda Ibrahim Mohammed defined peace as calming, a state of tranquility that every human aspires to reach. It is the sanity of the inner mind. With this conviction, he conducted his community peacebuilding project with the title: Sensitization on Psycho trauma and Reintegration of Ex-Combatant: A Community Perception of Peace Building in Maidugri, Borno state. Through his project, Mohammed sensitized community stakeholders especially youths on trauma and reintegration of ex-combatants in Maidugri. 40 participants mostly youths were in attendance. Borno state is located in the Northeast of Nigeria and is notorious for Boko Haram terrorists’ activities. Notable landmarks of the project were the formation of youth peace club and community response network in two separate communities in Maidugri. (Jidda Ibrahim Mohammed, 2021/2022 COFP Fellow, Maidugri, Borno state).
Fr. Gerald Musa’s community peace project was on: Ethno-Religious Conflict and Peace Journalism in Volatile Societies: The Role of Media. The media training which took place at the Catholic Institute of West Africa (CIWA) Port Harcourt, provided the platform to converse the rising cases of ethno-religious violence in different parts of Nigeria and provided the forum for educating journalists on their crucial responsibilities in situations of conflict. According to Fr Gerald, the workshop was the first of its kind as it identified and engaged media practitioners of different religious persuasions and ethnic backgrounds on using media to promote peace in Rivers state. He also noted that a group of journalists in Port Harcourt has been demanding that he should organize another media peace workshop in preparation for the up-coming general elections in 2023. (Fr. Gerald Musa, 2020/2021 COFP Fellow, Rivers state).
Through Ishaq Amatullateef Damilola’s peace project which focused on Sensitization of Youths on Inter- Religious Harmony Towards Achieving Sustainable Peaceful Society and Prevention of Violence she provided free medical services to the community of Ajegunle in Lagos state. The beneficiaries to her project expressed their unreserved appreciation to the Foundation and call on the government to be more responsive to their plight. (Ishaq Amatullateef Damilola, 2020/2021 COFP Fellow Lagos state).
In the spirit of teamwork and collaboration which is an attribute of COFP Fellowship program, Sr. Onyeanisi Veronica together with Hajiya Isyaku, Aisha Tukur carried out a joint peace project titled: Building Interfaith Relationship in Conflict Prone Community of Igabi LGA, Kaduna state. During the said workshop, the fifty-two (52) women and interfaith leaders in attendance were educated on conflict prevention, management, early- warning and early-response. Some participants to the workshop who could not hide their feelings in excitement shared their thoughts as follows:
Hauwa Idris “I have come to understand that both Christianity and Islamic religions preach love and peaceful coexistence. We are tired of violence and we should make efforts to live in peace”.
In the words of Sarah Sunday, “We should start the peace talk from our homes. Our children need to be taught the truth. We all know the truth but we hide it for our selfish interest”. The landmark of this project was the establishment of an interfaith forum for Igabi LGA at the end of the workshop with two leaders – Muslim and Christian women elected to continue coordinating the activities of the new interfaith forum. (Sr. Onyeanisi Veronica & Hajiya Isyaku, Aisha, 2020/2021 COFP Fellows, Kaduna State).
