The Interfaith Dialogue Forum for Peace (IDFP) has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to prioritise Nigeria’s worsening economic challenges, stressing that tackling poverty and unemployment is essential to reducing insecurity across the country.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, leaders of the IDFP — a coalition of over 120 Christian and Muslim clerics — warned that growing inequality and economic hardship are fuelling violence, extremism, and youth unrest.
Rev. Abainitus Akila Hamman, the Christian Co-Chair of the forum, linked the country’s fragile security situation to deep-rooted economic hardship.
“Behind insecurity lies a deeper socio-economic crisis: rising unemployment, inflation, and unequal opportunities that continue to push millions into despair. Unless addressed holistically, these hardships will remain fertile ground for radicalization, violent extremism, and violent conflicts,” Rev. Hamman stated.
While commending the government’s success in apprehending some leaders of the Islamic State in West African Province (ISWAP), the IDFP insisted that insecurity cannot be viewed only through the lens of insurgency.
“It is about the weaponization of Nigeria’s most vulnerable population, which has become a silent enabler of violence, fueling crime, communal clashes, and extremist recruitment.
“Nigeria cannot afford deeper fractures at this critical juncture. What is required now is courageous leadership, rooted in collaboration, compassion, and the protection of every citizen’s dignity,” Rev. Hamman added.
Dr. Yussuf Yakub Arrigasiyyu, the forum’s Muslim Co-Chair, also urged political leaders to move beyond partisan and divisive rhetoric, warning that it was weakening national cohesion.
“Nigeria’s political discourse is increasingly being reduced to soundbites of division rather than strategies for development. This undermines social cohesion and risks inflaming religious, ethnic, and regional tensions,” he said.
The forum further urged traditional rulers, civil society, and religious leaders to strengthen unity and promote dialogue.
“Nigeria’s diversity; religious, cultural, and ethnic, should be a source of strength, not division. Religion must not be politicized or manipulated for narrow gains; instead, it should serve as a unifying force,” Dr. Arrigasiyyu emphasized.
As part of its recommendations, the IDFP encouraged political leaders to adopt inclusive governance, security agencies to scale up peacekeeping efforts, and community leaders to resist the exploitation of religion and ethnicity for political advantage.
