As part of efforts to engender peace in the country, women of both Christian and Muslim faiths yesterday converged in Kaduna to call on God to intervene in the insurgency that has bedevilled the nation.
The programme, which was organized by the Nigerian Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Kaduna State Chapter, and tagged, ‘Prayer Session for Peace, Unity and Stability in Kaduna and the Nation,’ had women from various organizations in attendance.
?In her opening address, the chairperson of the NAWOJ, Kaduna State Chapter, Hajiya Farida Abubakar, emphasized said the need to pray for our country now more than ever before in view of the security challenges facing the country.
Abubakar said, “We are losing our husbands, children, friends and relatives each passing day, and since we don’t have powers of our own to stop the situation, that is why we are gathered to pray to God to assist us and bring to an end the menace ravaging our society.
“I implore you women, even in your closets, to continually pray for our nation, so that the insecurity that we are facing with now will come to an end,” she said.
Also speaking, the vice chairperson of the Kaduna State Council of the NUJ, Hajia Jamila Garba,? who expressed worry over the death of journalists in the line of duty, called on journalists to embrace the insurance scheme instituted by the Union, saying, “I strongly advice my colleagues to key into the policy for the benefit of the beneficiaries of our departed colleagues.”
Speaking on the need for peace in the country, Muslim coordinator,? Women Interfaith Council (WIC), Hajiya Amina Kazaure,? remarked that women were at the centre of everything and must rise to the challenge of salvaging the situation through prayers.
She however lamented that Nigerians had allowed foreigners to sow a seed of hatred among them just as she called on journalists to be objective in their reportage.
“No religion, Christian or Islam, preaches violence, if we must practice the teachings of our religion; therefore, there is no alternative to peaceful co-existence”.
?In the same vein, the Christian coordinator, WIC, Mrs. Comfort Idowu Fearon, urged Nigerians to imbibe the habit of trusting one another with all forms of sincerity.
“Let us focus on what unite us rather than paying attention to what divides us” she said, noting that current insecurity would pass because God will intervene and restore peace of the nation.