By AbdulGhaffar Adeleye
The chief Missioner of the Nasrul lahi-l-fatih society, NASFAT worldwide, Imam AbdulAzeez Morufu Onike has urged stakeholders in the country to give room for peaceful co-existence in a bid to hasten individual and collective growth.
Imam Onike made this call at the just concluded 1st International Conference jointly organised by Fountain University Osogbo and NASFAT Missionary Institute with the theme ‘Navigating the Dynamics of Religion, Politics, Ethnicity and Youth for Peace and Development’.
The spiritual leader maintained that the Conference was organised to proffer Solutions to some national and societal issues, urging participants to concretize their recommendations by making them practicable enough for use in the country.
Speaking at the Conference, the keynote speaker, registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede called on leaders at all levels, to ensure that peace is central to their policies and programmes.
Other lead paper presenters included former minister for communications, Prof. Issa Alli Pantami , former Speaker of Osun state House of Assembly, Prof. Mojeed Alabi, Prof Hamidu Sanni and associate professor Haslina Ibrahim from Malaysia among others
The three day conference, held between 20th and 23rd November, 2024, witnessed over 62 academic paper presentations, out of which over 20 were from Imams of NASFAT from various branches of the society.
The missioners were led by the Chief Missioner, Imam Abdulazeez Onike who also presented three research papers. Their areas of focus varied from Politics, Youth, Governance and Inter-religion harmony.
In a Communique issued at the end of the conference, it was recommended that government and policy makers should promote inclusive policies , youth empowerment programmes and prioritise justice and good governance above other things.
Religious institutions and leaders were also charged to promote peaceful narratives and combat extremism while Media organisations were urged to encourage ethical Journalism journalism devoid of sensationalism and hate speech.
Declaring the Conference closed, vice chancellor of Fountain University, Prof. Olayinka Ramota Karim maintained that the collaboration with NASFAT MISSIONARY INSTITUTE (N.M.I) was a partnership that showcased the academic skills in Islamic scholars.
She noted that the academic exercise has come to stay as an annual event of the university, calling for more participation and sponsorship in subsequent editions.
