Tobias Sylvester
A Muslim woman, Hajiya Ramatu Tijjani, on Sunday donated wrappers and other food items to Christian widows for Christmass celebration in Kaduna as part of efforts to boost peaceful coexistence.
Tijjani made the donations at the Church of Christ Evangelical and Life Intervention Ministry, Sabon Tasha, Kaduna State.
According to her, more wrappers and foodstuff will also be shared with other churches in Kaduna and other neighboring states as a gesture to strengthen peaceful co-existence among different faith organizations in the country. She said:
”This is to boost religious tolerance, forgiveness, love and better understanding among Muslims and Christians.
”So as to shun all forms of ethno-religious, political crisis bedeviling peace and stability in the northern part of Nigeria.”
She said the reason for the support to was to reduce the hardship many widows faced in the communities during a season like this and to make them happy by enabling them to celebrate the seasons with joy.
Tijjani said she was targeting over 200 poor Christian widows across Kaduna and some northern states including the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in various camps. She said
”I enjoy helping widows and elderly persons and their families at all times and it is my hope to see other people emulating me in helping the poor and other needy person as season like this approaches.”
She added that peaceful co-existence between Muslims and Christians was the foundation for sustainable development and that would move the country ahead.
She stressed the importance of tolerance among different faith and called on the Federal Government to create an Institute of Comparatives Studies in the country to promote inter-religious dialogue.
Tijjani noted that the creation of comparative studies center would surely put an end to the entire ethno-religious crisis that set entire northern Nigeria backward.
She urged traditional and religious bodies to work together and conduct regular and periodic review of early warning information to strengthen their capacity for peaceful co-existence.
Responding to her kind benevolent act, the General Overseer of the church, Pastor Yohanna Buru, expressed satisfaction with Tijjani’s gesture and called on wealthy individuals, corporate bodies, government, NGOs and CSO to emulate her.
Buru said last two years, the philanthropist also distributed foodstuff to the widows for the Christmas and the Lenten season.
He called on Muslims and Christians to always live together in peace and harmony while appealing to marketers to offer Christmas bonanza like it was done in developed countries.
