Youth, social media influencers, and community leaders on Friday, 29th August, converged in Jos for “Beyond the Divide: Plateau Echoes for Unity”, a dialogue organized under the Youth Collective Action for Religious Engagement (Youth CARE) Project by Search for Common Ground. The event focused on bridging the faith divide both online and offline, fostering peace and interfaith harmony.
In his welcome address, Kaura Joshua, Project Officer of the Youth CARE Project, emphasized the need to broaden understanding of religion beyond Christianity and Islam, noting that there are over 4,200 religions globally. He stressed that such awareness fosters tolerance and unity, urging participants to see religion not only as a means of worship but also as a tool for peace.
Giving an overview of the theme, Blessing Dodo, Team Lead for Plateau Micro-influencers, warned that misinformation and bias shared online often fuel division. She highlighted the importance of fact-checking before sharing content, stressing that dialogue, respect, and tolerance remain key to countering hate and violence.
Delivering a keynote on “Unity as Everyday Practice” under Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), Kenneth Dakop, Team Lead on Strategic Communication at the Plateau State Peace Building Agency, cautioned against messages of religious superiority. He called for conflict-sensitivity training for religious leaders before licensing and urged government oversight of sermons to prevent incitement. Dakop also encouraged youths to embrace education, empowerment, and commerce as practical pathways to unity.
On his part, Godwin Okoko, Head of Programme Implementation at Search for Common Ground, noted that while religion is often weaponized in conflicts, the deeper causes usually lie in ethnicity, land, and history. He challenged young people to rise above these divides and use their voices for peace.
The dialogue also featured a panel session with Salis Mohammad Abdulsalam, Stephen Zuma Jang, Ada Ohaba, and Hamza Yakubu, who shared insights on promoting peaceful coexistence through social media and community engagement.
Participants pledged to take the lessons back to their communities. Assumpta Chidera urged spreading love rather than mere tolerance and avoiding fake news online, while Ibrahim Aliyu Ibni-Salihu stressed that peace is essential for unity and development. Nentok Israel Mallah, a youth leader from Federal Low Cost, said the program taught him the importance of truly understanding people of other faiths, and Maryam Ibrahim emphasized practicing religious integration and humanity in daily life.
