By Samuel Oyejola
Considering the spate of killings and insecurity in the country, the federal government have been advised to create a mechanism that will provide avenue for monitoring of the inflow and outflow of religious ideologies and thoughts in Nigeria.
This would help to nip religious extremism in the bud. This was the view of Kassim Abdulbasit of Rice University, USA while delivering a public lecture organised by The Kukah Center in Abuja recently.
He said religious extremism which is the foundation of terrorism will continue if the government allow the importation of various and contradictory thoughts into the country.
Abdulbasit advised the government to create opportunities in the Nigerian system for those who do not pass through the western education system.
While stressing that Boko haram continues to get recruitment in spite the government effort at combating it, he said their recruits are given a sense of belonging which the Nigerian system deprived them.
“It is important for the Nigerian state to create a space for those coming from the Arabic system,” he said.
He then commended former President Goodluck Jonathan for establishing the Almajiri Schooling system to reduce the numbers of out of school children and to create a space for those with little or no western education in the Nigerian system.
While noting that boko haram spreads a conflicting ideology about Islam he advised the government to empower local clerics to counter the boko haram ideologies and narratives in the north. He stated further that government should be committed to providing security for such clerics.
Abdulbasit frowns at the culture of waiting for foreigners to provide solution to the country’s internal problems. He said that government should sponsor research projects that intend to create solution to insecurity in Nigeria.
“We are the people to find solution to our problems but we wait for foreigners to sponsour”. He said that research carried out on boko haram and other challenges in Nigeria are motivated and sponsored by foreigner and foreign donors.
He commended the media on its contribution to the fight against insurgency. While saying the media played a major role in the fight he said that the media opened the window of understanding for Nigerians and the whole to see through.
He advised Nigerians to selflessly create a sense of national unity and desist from segregation while stressing that government is a reflection of the people.
The Director of The Kukah Center, Reverend Father Athanasius Barkindo added that religious leaders, political leaders and prison authorities must make a contribution to rehabilitate captured members of the Boko haram group.
He added that they must endeavour to understand the ideology and operations of the group in order to adequately rehabilitate members in prisons in Nigeria.