KADUNA, Nigeria — Christian leaders from northern Nigeria attending a two-day peace conference in the city of Kaduna blamed the politics of religious exclusiveness for the incessant violence that has claimed more than 53,000 lives in the past four years.
“When governments resort to blatant favoritism and divisive strategies … religion becomes a ready tool for murder and killings,” said Peter Jatau, Roman Catholic archbishop of Kaduna.
The November conference drew together Muslim and Christian political leaders from 19 states to explore ways of curtailing religious conflict in northern Nigeria.
“History will not forgive us if we walk out of this hall without finding lasting solution to these problems,” Nigeria’s Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar told the delegates.
Nevertheless, the conference ended with no major policy statement or political thrust aimed at ending Muslim Christian religious clashes.
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