Governor, Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has said that rather than unite Nigerians, religion has been weaponised to cause hate and division among the people.
Speaking at the inauguration of the Kaduna State Interfaith Preaching Regulatory Council, he said the state would collaborate with the Council to determine qualifications for preachers in the state.
He said: “I want to assure members of this Council that the Kaduna State Government will do everything it can to support you to do your job and help our state, to determine those that are qualified by education and training to preach without causing any problems for our people and our communities.
“Most of the residents of Kaduna State are very religious, like other Nigerians. But Kaduna State is, unfortunately, one of the states in the country with a sad history of religious clashes.
“The personal exercise of faith and the better conduct and character that spirituality promotes helps society to progress but religion has unfortunately been weaponised so much that something that should bring God’s creatures closer together in a common awareness of mortal frailties has become a device to question the right of some of God’s creatures to even exist at all, let alone practise their faith or live wherever they wish,” the governor lamented.
