“We are going to be making a pledge, by signing the Abuja declaration make this pledge your own. Make this your mission in life to make sure that there is a positive future for this nation of Nigeria and the continent of Africa.”
-Dr. Hyun Jin Moon, chairman of the Global Peace Foundation, Global Peace Leadership Conference, Abuja, Nigeria, 2013.
Bishop Sunday Onuoha adds his signature to the Abuja Declaration at the close of GPLC 2013. International delegates from over 20 nations pledging to “Create a strategic platform to promote universal principles for peacebuilding and our shared values as One Family under God.”
On November 9 2013, the closing of the Global Peace Leadership Conference in Abuja, Nigeria, faith and civil society leaders, government and international officials, and traditional rulers signed the Abuja Declaration,
- “ACKNOWLEDGING the sovereignty of Almighty God, the source of inalienable rights of all members of the human family, and the basis for the equality, dignity and intrinsic value of all people as One Family under God;”
- And COMMITTED to “create a strategic platform to promote universal principles for peacebuilding and our shared values as One Family under God.”
Since then, local owners of the “One Family Under God” campaign have initiated ongoing interfaith retreats, joint service projects, and educational programs as part of the “One Family Under God” campaign which aims to build cooperation and social-cohesion around shared values and universal principles of major religions.
Most recently, a unique Christmas get-together hosted by the wife of Governor Yero of Kaduna and the Global Peace Foundation-Nigeria drew together significant Christian and Muslim leaders from the state. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) was represented by Rev. Sunday Ibrahim, CAN Secretary of the Kaduna State and Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) was represented by Imam Ibrahim Mahe of the Kaduna State. Both made a commitment to uphold peace during the upcoming presidential elections, as heightened concerns and not too distant recollections of election related violence loom in the public consciousness.
Women leaders from around Kaduna State, both Muslim and Christian, were present at the Christmas gathering. Participants were given a holiday gift, a bag of rice, sponsored by H.E. Hajiya Amina Namadi Sambo, wife of the vice president of Nigeria, and H.E. Hajiya Fatima Ramalan Yero, wife of the Governor of Kaduna State.
Women leaders have also become significant contributors, particularly in their role in the family. The get-together host Hajiya Fatima Ramalan Yero told the women present, “All mothers must ensure that they teach their children the virtues of love, tolerance and respect for the dignity of the other person.”
The women leadership represented included Her Excellency Naomi Nuhu Audu Bajoga, wife of the Deputy Governor of Kaduna State; Hajiya Za’uma Shehu Tahir, wife of the Speaker of Kaduna State House of Assembly; Hajiya Halima Hamza, wife of the Secretary to the Kaduna State Government; Barakatu Yahaya Aminu, wife of the Chief of Staff to the Governor; Hajiya Aishatu Ibrahim, wife of the State Chairman of the ruling Political Party; and Habiba Shehu Ahmad, wife of the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.
Her Excellency, Hajiya Amina Namadi Sambo, wife of Nigeria’s vice president, and the wife of the Governor donated gifts of rice for the participants.
As Dr. Moon said, as owners of the vision of One Family under God arise from all generations of Nigerians, and make that vision into reality, “Nigeria can become a light and a true leader in the new emerging Africa, an example and inspiration for other nations to follow.”
Read the full report of the Nigeria Christmas Get-together at www.globalpeace.org