A group under the auspices Search for Common Ground project funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands as part of the project’s aim in promoting and protecting freedom of religion and belief had launched a toll-free line to promote and protect freedom of religion and belief in Nigeria.
This was disclosed in Kano by the project’s Senior Program Officer Habiba Ghazali during a one Inter-Faith Dialogue organized by the project. According to her, the strategic objectives of the project is to establish an effective early warning, early response and referral mechanisms for addressing freedom of religion and belief violations as well as violence along religious lines in Nigeria.
She added that another strategic objective is to strengthen support mechanisms for individuals at risk of freedom of religion and belief violations and also to enhance public understanding of interfaith conflict and the importance of freedom.
She explained that the overall goal of the project is to empower actors to prevent and address conflicts along religious lines and advance freedom of religion and belief in Nigeria, hence the launch of the hotline for community members to call for timely intervention to avert unwanted scenarios.
“Our ecosystem is made up of phenomenal stakeholders that collaborate with Search for Common Ground to actualize our Theory of Change in the lives of our communities. The people are the best agent of their own change, so we work with community members being our major stakeholders,” she said.
Similarly, speaking on behalf of the stakeholders, Kano state commissioner for religious affairs Sheikh Tijjani Auwal, revealed the state government commitment to peaceful coexistence in the state. Represented by Director Information at the Ministry Malam Ali Bala Kofar Kudu, the commissioner said, Kano state has maintained a very codial relationship between all religions and it will continue to maintain the tempo
