Kaduna State Governor Mukhtar Ramalan Yero has called for the elimination of religious radicalism, fundamentalism and extremism as a panacea to global peaceful coexistence among adherents of different faiths.

He made the call while receiving the Egyptian Ambassador to Nigeria, Ashraf Salama, who led the management team of Darul Iftar, an institute from Egypt, to Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, Kaduna, North-West Nigeria, on Tuesday.

Governor Yero reiterated the importance of people to understand the true teachings of their religion to enable them promote unity and peaceful co-existence.

According to him, “most of the reasons for radicalism in the society is just to achieve personal or group interest, thereby dividing the people, encouraging violence and at the same time slowing down development.”

The governor stressed that religious radicalism does not pay but rather divides the people. He expressed hope that people will learn to use the religious knowledge they acquire to promote peaceful coexistence.

Alhaji Yero expressed satisfaction over the intervention and presence of the delegation to Nigeria and Kaduna State in particular, to discourage religious extremism and radicalism.

Reaffirming his administration’s firm position in ensuring a peaceful society, he encouraged the institute to use Kaduna as a model in peace-building efforts due to the cosmopolitan nature of the state.

Governor Yero assured the delegation of government’s support while waiting for the outcome of the deliberations from their conference.

In his remarks, leader of the delegation, Ambassador Ashraf Salama, said the Darul Iftar Institute in Egypt has the mandate of discouraging and stopping religious extremism, radicalism, and fundamentalism.

He said they came to Nigeria to teach and educate people on the need to stop religious radicalism, extremism and fundamentalism in order to have a better and developed society.

The ambassador further stressed the need to encourage tolerance, and believe in the principles of human dignity, adding that everybody needs somebody, whether Muslim, Christian or any other religion.

He called for search for more knowledge in the various religions as none of the faiths teaches extremism, radicalism and fundamentalism.

•Photo shows Governor Yero.

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