Friday 31 August 2018

Interfaith Prayer (Christian/Muslim)


INTERFAITH PRAYER: (MUSLIM/CHRISTIAN)
O God, you are the Creator and Source of life.
Praised be your name forever.
We the people of Plateau State strongly affirm the sanctity and sacredness of the life, which you have given us.
O   Lord, do   not  impose   blame   upon  us   if   we  have   erred   or  sinned, the consequence which led to destruction of lives and property.
The beautiful and fertile land of Plateau, the land of peace and tourism, and a miniature Nigeria has suffered violence.
Hatred and selfishness have injured our common humanity.
Lord our Creator, we beg for forgiveness for our sin against you.
We know it is You who turn our minds to thoughts of peace.
Hear our prayers and keep us safe.
Help us to speak and relate to one another with love and kindness, and to join hands in friendship.
Strengthen   our   collective  resolve   as   Plateau  citizens   to   forgive  one another, and   give witness   to  the truth   of   our common humanity and bond.
Give us O Merciful Lord;
Understanding that puts an end to strife;
Mercy that quenches the fire of hatred and,
Forgiveness that overcomes the hunger of vengeance:
Help our land. 
Heal our people and heal our souls.
Amen!
...............................
Jointly composed by Christians and Muslims and used for the first time at the Interfaith Prayer Summit @ the Dialogue, Reconciliation and Peace (DREP) Centre, Jos, 
©30th August 2018



DREP Hosts First Plateau Interfaith Prayer Summit












Christians and Muslims in Plateau State came together to pray for peace and unity in Plateau State and Nigeria as a whole as the first Interfaith Prayer Summit was organised in Jos by Dialogue, Reconciliation and Peace (DREP) Centre, on Thursday 30thAugust 2018.
The Prayer Summit had in attendance representatives of the Plateau State Government led by the Deputy Governor, Prof. Sonny Tyoden, the Catholic Archbishop of Jos and his Anglican counterpart, the Emir of Wase, the Deputy Chief Imam of Jos, State Chairmen of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and Jama’atu Nasir Islam (JNI), Security Chiefs on the Plateau, Paramount Rulers, Youth Leaders, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and members of the general public
Speaking at the opening of the Summit, Archbishop Ignatius A. Kaigama noted said: “We are here at the Dialogue, Reconciliation and Peace (DREP) Centre, Jos, for an interfaith prayer session involving Muslims and Christians; to lift up our hands in supplication to God Almighty and Creator for greater peace and harmonious coexistence among all the people of Plateau State and indeed Nigeria. This event as far as I can recall is the first in recent times, namely, that Christians and Muslims are coming together to jointly ask for God’s blessings as well as His forgiveness for the social, political, ethnic and religious conflicts witnessed in our state.”
“We are all agreed that the sanctity of human life has been violated by the killings witnessed at different times and in different places in our peaceful Plateau state. Lives have been lost, homes destroyed, means of livelihood ravished and internally displaced people found in camps or on the street. The greatest casualty is our, mutual trust. Due to lack of genuine trust between some ethnic communities as well as between Christians and Muslims in the state, settlement has been polarized; suspicion heightened and appears to dominate our interpersonal relationship.”
“We need healing of our self-inflicted wound, and we need God to help us out of this predicament since we have realized that guns, cutlasses, bows and arrows, spears, charms, etc. cannot bring peace. Government, no matter its good intentions cannot decree peace or harmonious coexistence. The security agents no matter how they flood the streets or bushes armed with sophisticated weapons cannot bring about peace until we all decide freely from the depths if our hearts that we truly want to live together in peace as brothers and sisters created by God.”
He called on Christians, Muslims and other faith/spiritual expressions to avoid offending one another and stop competing for supremacy so as to construct the much-needed peace which will naturally be followed by progress.
In his remark, the Deputy Governor of Plateau State Prof. Sonni Tyoden urged all to be peace vendors as peace on the Plateau depends on us all. He said, “not until we decide to live freely together, peace will continue to elude us.”
Goodwill messages were also received from the State CAN Chairman, Rev. Soja Bewarang, the Emir of Wase, Dr. Muhammed Sambo Haruna, the Special Task Force Commander, Maj. Gen. Agundu, the Police Commissioner and other traditional and religious leaders present.

The summit also featured individual prayers led by Christian and Muslim clerics as well as drama and dance presentations from selected youths and school children.
The agreed and collective prayer composed and said by all present at the summit and the opening speech of Archbishop Kaigama reads as follows:
INTERFAITH PRAYER: (MUSLIM/CHRISTIAN)
O God, you are the Creator and Source of life.
Praised be your name forever.
We the people of Plateau State strongly affirm the sanctity and sacredness of the life, which you have given us.
O   Lord, do   not  impose   blame   upon  us   if   we  have   erred   or   sinned, the consequence which led to destruction of lives and property.
The beautiful and fertile land of Plateau, the land of peace and tourism, and a miniature Nigeria has suffered violence.
Hatred and selfishness have injured our common humanity.
Lord our Creator, we beg for forgiveness for our sin against you.
We know it is You who turn our minds to thoughts of peace.
Hear our prayers and keep us safe.
Help us to speak and relate to one another with love and kindness, and to join hands in friendship.
Strengthen   our   collective  resolve   as   Plateau  citizens   to   forgive  one another, and   give witness   to  the truth   of   our common humanity and bond.
Give us O Merciful Lord;
Understanding that puts an end to strife;
Mercy that quenches the fire of hatred and,
Forgiveness that overcomes the hunger of vengeance:
Help our land. 
Heal our people and heal our souls.
Amen!
...............................
Jointly composed by Christians and Muslims and used for the first time at the Interfaith prayer meeting in the Dialogue, Reconciliation and Peace (DREP) Centre, Jos, 
©30th August 2018


INTERFAITH (MUSLIM/CHRISTIAN) PRAYER SESSION AT THE DIALOGUE, RECONCILIATION AND PEACE (DREP) CENTRE, JOS, 30THAUGUST 2018 
OPENING REMARKS BY ARCHBISHOP IGNATIUS KAIGAMA.
Instead of the usual long and formal protocol, please permit me to simply address you as brothers and sisters.
We are here at the Dialogue, Reconciliation and Peace (DREP) Centre, Jos, for an interfaith prayer session involving Muslims and Christians; to lift up our hands in supplication to God Almighty and Creator for greater peace and harmonious coexistence among all the people of Plateau State and indeed Nigeria. This event as far as I can recall is the first in recent times, namely, that Christians and Muslims are coming together to jointly ask for God’s blessings as well as His forgiveness for the social , political, ethnic and religious conflicts witnessed in our state.
We are all agreed that the sanctity of human life has been violated by the killing s witnessed at different times and in different places in our peaceful Plateau state. Lives have been lost, homes destroyed, means of livelihood ravished and internally displaced people found in camps or on the street. The greatest casualty is our, mutual trust. Due to lack of genuine trust between some ethnic communities as well as between Christians and Muslims in the state, settlement has been polarized, suspicion heightened and appears to dominate our interpersonal relationship. We need healing of our self-inflicted wound, and we need God to help us out of this predicament since we have realized that guns, cutlasses, bows and arrows, spears, charms, etc. cannot bring peace. Government, no matter its good intentions cannot decree peace or harmonious coexistence. The security agents no matter how they flood the streets or bushes armed with sophisticated weapons cannot bring about peace until we all decide freely from the depths if our hearts that we truly want to live together in peace as brothers and sisters created by God. 
Even if we have different cultural values and religious modes of worship, we are still united by common humanity with God as its source. This is the message we must pass on in our families, schools and places of worship from generation to generation. 
As communicated in the letter of invitation, the Dialogue, Reconciliation, and Peace Centre, has been engaging the community/religious leaders and the different stakeholders in the affected communities in Plateau State.  During the last dialogue session of 5thJune 2018, the stakeholders agreed on the need for us to jointly seek divine intervention and so, an interfaith prayer session was agreed upon. I am happy that the day has come and we have turned out in good numbers.
 This prayer gathering is to seek divine help in rebuilding the broken relationships and to promote reconciliation between communities affected by violence. 
Today is no time for long speeches. It is a sober moment to bow our heads in fervent prayer and to confess that we have sinned before God and offended ourselves and planted the seeds of impatience, intolerance, distrust, disrespect, murder, etc. in our children and youths which we must uproot and replace with virtues of love, trust, peace, mercy, justice, respect for the sanctity of life, etc. we cannot achieve this on our own, hence, our gathering here together to plead for God’s mercy and forgiveness.
It is important to know that a short prayer has been jointly composed and endorsed by some Christian and Muslim leaders to be prayed jointly by all of us in the same manner we recite the national pledge or sing the national anthem, which we always do as one people irrespective of our cultural or religious differences. 
I believe that it is by coming together more often, discussing, reflecting and praying together, visiting each other’s home and place of worship that religious misunderstanding and tension will substantially be reduced.
In the attempt to compose this prayer, it became for instance clearer that while we Christians call God father, Muslims are not allowed to call God father. In Islam we are servants of God and not children of God as Christians say and for Muslims we can sin against God only, but we offend one another. 
The point I am making here is that if we Christians and Muslims understand ourselves better by closer interaction and collaboration, we avoid offending one another or competing for supremacy, and so we will be able to construct the much needed peace, and progress in every sense will be natural consequence.
May God hear our prayer for Plateau State and indeed Nigeria today and always. May He help us too to expose criminals among us even if they belong to our ethnic or religious groups because the activities have contributed in no small measure to the tension and conflict that are sometimes tagged religious.
It is our hope that Christians and Muslims will always genuinely unite to fight social vices and use the values of our respective religion to promote integral development in our state and our nation. The recent heroic example of Imam Abdullahi Yalwa in the Barkin Ladi area who at the risk of his life saved many Christians and Muslims in his mosque from being killed by attackers is a very good example of enlightened and God fearing behavior and a model of genuine Muslim/Christian collaboration.
Help us God with your peace and may we witness no more the destruction to lives and property in our dear Plateau State. 
Amen. 

































Wednesday 1 August 2018

https://uri.org/uri-story/20180731-interfaith-dialogue-follows-nigeria-massacre

SPECIAL DIALOGUE OF ETHNIC, RELIGIOUS AND COMMUNITY LEADERS ON THE RECENT CRISIS SITUATION IN PARTS OF PLATEAU STATE AT THE DIALOGUE RECONCILIATION AND PEACE (DREP) CENTRE


It was a day of reflection, brainstorming and heart to heart sharing at the Dialogue, Reconciliation and Peace (DREP) Centre on the 26thof July 2018 Religious and Community leaders as well as other key stakeholders met to discuss and proffer solutions to the recent massacre of innocent Plateau citizens. 
The meeting had in attendance Catholic Bishops from Jos, Pankshin and Shendam, Bishops from the Anglican Communion, Presbyterian Church, and other denominations as well as their Muslim Counterparts including the Emirs of Wase and Kanam, Leadership of the Jama’atu Nasir Islam and other prominent leaders of various Islamic groups within Islam. Others are community leaders from different ethnic groups including the Fulani, Irigwe, Birom and other ethnic nationalities on the Plateau. 
Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Catholic Archbishop of Jos, Most Rev. Dr. Ignatius Kaigama stated that the main aim of convening this “inter-faith and interethnic meeting is to rub minds, to find a special moment to grieve in our hearts, and also to express our revulsion against the ugly recent events of killings and destruction in parts of Plateau State. We also wish to convey our heart-felt condolences to affected families and to offer prayers for a quick recovery for the wounded and displaced persons. We also want to demonstrate how remorseful we are before God for offences committed in our land by saying categorically reconfirming to the world that we in Plateau State are peace – lovers and are vehemently against whatever violates the sanctity of human life or destroys people’s means of livelihood and homes.”
He added that people of goodwill should not be merely saddened and depressed by such barbaric killings and destruction but should also emphatically denounce, resist, abhor and condemn the inhuman acts. Participants collectively agreed that no sane person should support the gruesome murders, reprisal attacks, blocking of roads and killing of people. Elsewhere, in Sokoto, Zamfara and Kebbi States, killing by armed bandits are all signs that security agents must devise a more serious and functional strategy to combat crime.


Arising from the meeting, Religious and Community leaders as well as other stakeholders made the following resolutions:
1.    We condemn in the strongest terms, the recent, wanton and unwarranted killing of innocent citizens of our dear state, and destruction of properties when we thought that lasting peace had finally returned to our dear state.
2.    We equally condemn in strong terms the criminal acts of killing that took place on our highways in the name of reprisals, where even fellow citizens of the state were not spared. No culture or religion on earth justifies killings no matter the degree of provocation.
3.    While we do not judge or condemn any individual or group, we however call on security agencies to fish out and prosecute these enemies of Plateau state both within and without, who are hell bent on destroying the peace and prosperity of Plateau state.
4.    We find it alarming that even innocent women and children, who in normal war situations are spared, were not spared by these merchants of death.
5.    We understand that some suspects have been arrested following the massacre of our innocent citizens. We call on Government and security agents to leave no stone unturned until their collaborators and sponsors are fished out and prosecuted.
6.    Our hearts go out in sympathy to all those who have lost loved ones and property. We pray that God will bring healing to their hearts and condole them over their loses.
7.    We regret that instead of using our energy to exploit the rich and fertile agricultural and mineral endowment which God has blessed our dear state with, we have willfully resorted to inflicting more poverty and pain on our citizens through hatred and violence.
8.    Since as experience has shown, violence like wildfire does not spare any religion or ethnicity, we must agree therefore to rise above all ethnic, political or religious differences, to collectively voice our condemnation of the recent acts of barbarism in some parts of Plateau state. We also call on all well meaning citizens of Plateau state to join hands with the incumbent governor of Plateau State and the security agencies, to find ways of healing wounds and promoting peaceful coexistence.
9.    We confess that we have all sinned against God, against one another and against our land, either by our silence, provocative and inciting statements, active involvement or tele-guided conspiracy. We therefore need to turn to God and one another and beg for forgiveness. We also need to ask God to touch the hearts of those responsible, that their hearts of stone be softened and changed to hearts of flesh.
10.  We call on all security agencies to wake up to their responsibilities of safeguarding lives and properties of citizens, by fishing out those responsible for the attacks on our land and their collaborators. We also encourage synergy between security agencies and community/religious leaders in their effort to secure our communities from invasion.
11.  We condemn in strong terms the wave of rumour mongering and hate speech circulating through the social media perpetrated by enemies of peace. We encourage citizens to always verify information before circulating it, and also stop the negative use of the social media.
12.  While we commend DREP Centre for their effort in dialogue, reconciliation and other peace building activities, we appeal to the Centre to convene a meeting of all elders in the state, politicians, security agents, the media, the youth, religious and community leaders, where issues affecting the peaceful coexistence, unity and progress of Plateau State are discussed sincerely and decisions taken. 
13.  Finally, we wish to renew our invitation to the inter-faith prayer for healing and peace in Plateau State, being organized by DREP Centre and here at the DREP Centre. This comes up on 30th August 2018 by 10am. Please endeavour to be part of that spiritual activity.





Friday 13 April 2018

Archbishop Kaigama Inaugurates RECOWA Peace Committee


It was a gathering of who is who in West Africa at the Catholic Secretariat in Abuja this week as the Association of Episcopal Conference of West Africa (RECOWA) through its President, the Catholic Archbishop of Jos Nigeria, His Grace, Most Rev Ignatius A. Kaigama inaugurated the RECOWA Peace Committee for West Africa. 
PURPOSE OF THE COMMITTEE: To play a key role in ensuring that the rights and dignity of men, women, youth, children and the most vulnerable in our communities are both respected and protected. It shall be proactive in addressing the political, religious and ethnic crises that have bedevilled the West African region bearing in mind that all countries in the region are facing the same or similar challenges. 
The committee will also seek to influence both national and regional polices with regards to Peace, Reconciliation and inter-Religious Dialogue based on the Social Teaching of the Church, especially on the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortations: Ecclesia in Africa and Afrcae Munus
The main objectives of the Committee which is the first of its kind in the region shall be to:
Support the Catholic Church in West Africa in her pastoral and advocacy work in addressing the political, socio-cultural and inter-religious crises within the region before they escalate to major conflicts.
To assist the Bishops on policies and procedures; and to suggest appropriate means of supporting the implementation of RECOWA /CERAO Strategic Plans on Peace, Justice and Social Cohesion; and the ECOWAS Peace and Security Framework.
To serve as a Forum for Collaboration between the leadership of the Church in West Africa, the Governments and the ECOWAS Commission, the Political Parties, Civil society Organisations, Religious Leaders, and Major Development and Peace Actors within the region of West Africa on issues related to conflicts, peace and security.
To provide services to the ECOWAS Commission for a peaceful, respectful, and harmonious coexistence in our region through the RECOWA/CERAO.
And finally to complement the Advocacy Work and the Political Engagement of RECOWA/CERAO on Non-Violence and Peace Building within the region.

The RECOWA Peace Committee was inaugurated in Abuja, Nigeria, at the Catholic Resource Centre on the 12th April, 2018 by the President of RECOWA Most Rev. Ignatius A. Kaigama. The occasion was witnessed by dignitaries including Ambassadors of various countries, a large number of members of the Catholic Women Organization of Nigeria and representatives of Bishops, priests, religious and lay people. The Peace Committee is an initiative of Bishops of the Catholic Church in West Africa,  for mediation, prevention, resolution and transformation of conflicts in the region. Members of the RECOWA Peace Committees inaugurated are:

1. Arlindo Cardinal Futardo, Bishop of Praia-Santiago (Cape Verde)
2. Philippe Cardinal Ouedraogo, Archbishop of Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso)
3. John Cardinal Onaiyekan, Archbishop of Abuja (Nigeria)
4. Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji, Bishop of Umuahia (Nigeria)
5. Nicodème Barrighah-Benissan, Bishop of Atakpamè (Togo)
6. Rev Fr. Innocent Jooji (Nigeria)
7. Mrs. Youm Marie Noëlle D. Sene, (Senegal)
8. Mr.  Elysé Ouedraogo (Burkina Faso)
9. Sir Emmanuel Habuka Bombande, (Ghana)

Three people accompanied Archbishop Ignatius A. Kaigama, representing the State, namely:
Prof. John Wade in charge of Research and Documentation, Government House,
Mr Joesph Lengmang, The Director General, Plateau Peace Building Agency, and 
Rev Fr Blaise Agwom, the Executive Director, Dialogue, Reconciliation and Peace (DREP) Centre, Jos.
Also among the dignitaries were the representatives of the ECOWAS President and the Embassies of Ghana, Senegal, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso among others.










Address of the President of RECOWA: Most Rev Ignatius Kaigama, at the
Resource Centre of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Durumi, Abuja, 12th April 2018

 Your Excellency, Jean Claude Brou, The President of the ECOWAS Commission, 
Your Excellency, Geoffrey Onyema, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,
Your Excellencies, the Ambassadors of the ECOWAS countries to the Federal Republic of Nigeria,
Your Eminence, Arlindo Cardinal Futardo Gomes, Bishop of Praia Santiago,  
Your Eminence, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, Archbishop of Abuja, 
Your Excellency Antonio Filipazzi, Apostolic Nuncio in Nigeria and Holy See Representative at ECOWAS,
Your Excellency, Lucius Ugorji, The RECOWA Chairman of Justice and Peace Commission,                                                                                                                                                                  Distinguished invited guests,                                                                                                                        Dear Brothers and Sisters,

GREETINGS AND COMMENDATION
I bring you warm greetings of peace and love on behalf of the leadership and the entire lay faithful of the Association of the Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of West Africa. We are very honored to have you here, at the Resource Centre of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria.
The Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops and indeed our entire communities across West Africa express our deep and heartfelt gratitude to you our dear invited dignitaries for gracing this inauguration ceremony of the RECOWA Peace Committee (REPCO) with your presence. Your presence here is, indeed, a sign of the collaboration between the political and the religious orders in our common pursuit for justice, peace, stability and the development of our people.
 BRIEF HISTORY OF RECOWA
Until 2007, the Catholic Bishops of West Africa had two separate bodies based on two linguistic groups: English and French. They were the Association of Episcopal Conferences of Anglophone West Africa (AECAWA 1977) and Conférence Episcopale Régionale de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (CERAO 1963). Convinced of the necessity of a greater regional integration and organic pastoral solidarity transcending the linguistic and historical differences, the Bishops of the Anglophone, Francophone and Lusophone West Africa met in Abuja, Nigeria in December 2007, where it was decided that, we would create an overarching body, that would enable us work together in supporting the development and progress of our nations. After all, the people are the same and the problems facing the region are also the same. Following sustained discussions, it was finally decided that these bodies relinquish their identities and merge into one. So, the Anglophone Episcopal Conference of West Africa, (AECAWA),  the Francophone and Lusophone Conférence Episcopale de l’Afrique de l’Ouest(CERAO) merged and formed the Association of Episcopal Conferences of West Africa, AECOWA. This was ratified at the final plenary of both bodies in Banjul, The Gambia in September 2009 and implemented at the feet of Our Lady Queen of Peace in the Basilica of that name in Yamoussoukro, (Côte d’Ivoire), January 23rd – 29th 2012. This body meets  once in three years and rotates the meetings around the region. It has eight Episcopal Commissions with different Committees which address different topics and themes of pastoral and social  relevance to the Catholic Church in the region.

During our sixth Standing Committee meeting in January 2018, held in Praia (Cape Verde) and following one of our resolutions in Yamoussoukro, the Bishops created the RECOWA Peace Committee (REPCO) which functions under the umbrella of the Episcopal Commission for Justice, Peace and Development.  It pursues among other goals the following objectives:

1.     The prevention, mediation, resolution and transformation of conflicts in the region.
2.     The promotion of justice, peace, democracy and stability through good governance.
SOME CHALLENGES OF OUR REGION
We are not unaware of some significant challenges within our region which  need to be addressed. In fact, the Presidential Council of RECOWA presented to the former President of Liberia, Mrs. Ellen Sirleaf JOHNSON, the then President of the Assembly of ECOWAS Heads of State some of these challenges during an audience with her in Liberia on April 2017. These include:

Political transition in West Africa often with a great degree of instability;
Danger of youth unemployment resulting in migration that has transformed the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean into cemeteries;
Religious intolerance that has turned into extremism and terrorism;
Nomadic herdsmen often associated with acts of rape, murder, destruction of farms, abductions and conflicts.
Land grabbing and its consequences of unemployment, migration and rise of poverty among our populations.
A cursory glance at the political context of our region reveals that there are cases of poor democratic transitions due to many factors such as non-respect for the rule of law, weak institutions, shrinking space for political participation/engagement with constant human rights violations and tortures; the arrest of persons and the abuse of their rights especially those in the opposition parties, Civil Society Organizations and Faith Leaders and also the violation of treaties and laws which all countries have registered acceptance and commitment.
The political tensions caused by the manipulation of constitutions and the electoral processes weaken the people’s participation in governance while politicians take advantage of ethnic and religious divisions to achieve their prsonal desires. Elections cost unnecessarily so  much due to bribery of voters and post-election legal tussles.
When, as shepherds of our people, we draw the attention of our leaders to these issues, we are not doing politics, but because as Pope Benedict XVI pointed out in his Encyclical Deus Caritas Est,  “the just ordering of society and the State is a central responsibility of politics[1], and as  Pope Paul VI once said that “development is the new name of peace”[2], it shows that social questions tie all men and women, irrespective of religion, together in every part of the world[3]. All that we want is peace, not war, the type of global peace that His Holiness, Pope Francis, continues to advocate today, namely, peace without borders. As religious leaders we cannot but act and react against everything that dehumanizes, impoverishes, alienates and maims man. We are concerned whenever and wherever a human being  suffers, struggles and dies; wherever injustice crystallizes into violence; wherever man is less man and aspires to be more man. We do not want to live behind a curtain of silence. For this reason we need to meet the political leaders from time to time for joint reflections and actions. This is the raison d’être of the RECOWA Peace Committee.
 PROACTIVE MEASURES
 At the RECOWA level we have therefore considered  the need for a regional structure for the prevention, mediation, resolution and transformation of conflict; a regional liaison office to collaborate with the ECOWAS Commission and relevant institutions and also a  body to participate in election observation.
 These structures will work under the umbrella of the Justice and Peace Commission; and we shall count on the various National/Inter-territorial Justice Development and Peace Commissions to start the work at each country level. We have a well organised network that runs through the region i.e  the National episcopal Conferences, the Dioceses, the parishes and outstations. We are putting all these at the disposal of all people of goodwill so that we can build a region where the unwelcome sounds of bombs and Kalashnikovs will be something of the past. Peace, not war!
 THE RECOWA PEACE COMMITTEE
 The RECOWA Peace Committee (REPCO) is composed of three Cardinals representing the three linguistic zones: Anglophone, Francophone and Lusophone as well as Bishops, Priests and Lay persons with the necessary expertise.  With this body, the Church in West Africa offers a helping hand and engages the political, social and economic leaders of our region to address the above-mentioned challenges and  to bring about justice and peace, stability and development.
 We are determined to work with all religious communities and other bodies to bring about lasting peace in our respective countries, for, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called children of God” ( Matthew 5:9). The presence of the President of ECOWAS Commission and the Ambassadors of the various countries within the West African Region who are here to grace this occasion bode well and assure all of us in RECOWA of their help and togetherness in carrying out this  mission of peace which is a sine qua non for any progress in the region.
 On this note I wish to thank you all for taking time out of your very busy  schedules to be present here for this official inauguration of the RECOWA Peace Committee. I reiterate my sentiments of gratitude to  Your Eminencies the Cardinals, the Archbishops, the priests and religious and the Lay Faithful of our Region here present. We appreciate the Staff of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria ably led by Very Reverend Ralph Madu, Secretary General of the CSN; the representative of CAFOD in Nigeria, Mr. Kelechi Emeh,
for their collaboration and support; Fr. Joseph Aka the Secretary General of RECOWA, and indeed all  those who collaborated to put this event together.

Finally, I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to you, Your Excellency, the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Your Excellency, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Your Excellencies - Ambassadors of the ECOWAS countries to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Your Eminences, Your Excellency the Apostolic Nuncio in Nigeria/Holy See Observer to ECOWAS, Your Excellency, the RECOWA Chairman of Justice and Peace. Permit me please to greet also the Director of Research and Documentation of the Plateau State Government, the Director of the Plateau State Peace Agency and the Director of the Dialogue, Reconciliation and Peace Centre in Jos, who came with me as a support to this peace initiative.

I humbly invoke God’s blessings on us all, our families and institutions and the countries we represent. Thank you for your very kind attention.


Most Rev. Ignatius A. KAIGAMA,
Archbishop of Jos Nigeria                                                                                                                             President of RECOWA/CERAO


Reported by
 Rev Fr Blaise Agwom,