The Universal Peace Federation has called for collaboration between governments at all levels, clerics and other stakeholders to foster peaceful coexistence and religious tolerance for national development.

Sub-Regional President of UPF West Africa, George  Ogurie, made the call during a peace road walk to mark the 2024 United Nations day of the victims of acts of violence based on religion or belief.

The peace walk was done in over 120 countries around the world to mark the 12th anniversary of the founder of UPF and peace advocate, Sun Myung Moon.

Mr Ogurie, who is also the African Regional Coordinator for the Interreligious Association for Peace and Development, spoke on the theme, “Creating a national environment for peace, unity, and development.”

According to him, the UPF gathered religious leaders to spur discussions on ways to address disunity and religious conflict.

He said that religious intolerance led to many deaths, thus the need to address it collectively by the government and clerics.

He stated, “So many times those victims are innocent people who are just taken advantage of. So, the commemoration by the United Nations to think about those who are victims of conflicts arising from religious intolerance is to call the attention of religious leaders and even politicians. Many times, political people actually use religion to advance their own causes. This is to call their attention to the fact that taking advantage of something sacred for their own personal gains is an ill wind that does not blow any good.’’

Mr Ogurie called for the adoption of the International Peace Highway, as proposed by Mr Moon, for regional and global peace integration.

Also speaking, Executive Secretary of the International Summit Council for Peace (ISCP)-Africa, Simeon Uwa, said that the walk was a symbol of oneness and peaceful integration.

Mr Uwa said that the founder of the UPF believed that if the world were connected by roads and bridges, it would be harmonious for people to live peacefully with one another.

“That was a way of eliminating violence from among people. This resonates with the world we have today, which is rife with conflicts. So if we aspire to live harmoniously with one another, eliminating issues of tension, we can actually achieve mileage in terms of development,” Mr Uwa said.

FCT Coordinator for UPF Nigeria, Joy Fan, said that UPF was collaborating with religious leaders to drive the message of hope so that it could cascade down to members.

“UPF decided to collaborate with religious organisations to teach the tenants of peace. We believe that we are one human being under God and one global universe under God, so religion should not bring us conflict,” he said.

Secretary-General of UPF Nigeria, George Ipot, called on the government and religious leaders to synergise and proffer solutions to religious intolerance.

The event, with the theme “Religion and the creation of world peace,” gathered government officials, religious leaders, and security agencies, among others, to spur commitment to peacebuilding. 

(NAN)