By Uthman Abayomi
Stakeholders at an Interfaith Leadership Conference have called on the Federal Government to establish a Ministry of Interfaith or Religious Affairs as a sustainable solution to Nigeria’s persistent religious tensions.
The call was made at the conference organised by the Mohawal Charity Foundation, with support from the Nigeria Youth Futures Fund (NYFF), and held on Thursday at the International Conference Centre of Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete.
Delivering the keynote address, Prof. Isiaka Zubair Aliagan, Dean of the Faculty of Information and Communication Technology, KWASU, said Nigeria could no longer rely on ad-hoc responses to religious crises, warning that unregulated preaching and the politicisation of faith were fuelling extremism and social instability.
“Religion, aside from poor governance, has become one of the major challenges confronting Nigeria,” Prof. Aliagan said. “We need a Ministry of Interfaith or Religious Affairs, staffed by trained professionals, to regulate religious activities, license preachers, and promote peaceful coexistence across faith lines.”
He cited countries such as Malaysia and Saudi Arabia, where structured oversight of religious affairs has helped curb extremist preaching and ensure responsible religious propagation. The proposal was unanimously adopted as part of the conference communiqué, emerging as a key policy recommendation of the event.
The conference, themed “Beyond Belief Boundaries: Advancing Interfaith Understanding and Religious Tolerance in Nigerian Campuses,” brought together students from various tertiary institutions, academics, facilitators and civil society actors to deliberate on practical strategies for promoting peace within Nigerian universities.
In his welcome address, the Founder of Mohawal Charity Foundation, Lawal Muhammed Oluwasina, described the conference as a response to rising religious misinformation and intolerance among young people.“Campuses are mirrors of the larger society,” Oluwasina said. “If we can nurture tolerance, dialogue and respect here, then we are laying a strong foundation for a more peaceful Nigeria.”
Presenting the project overview, the Project Director of the foundation, Habeeb Opeyemi Daranijo, highlighted the role of the Nigeria Youth Futures Fund in expanding the organisation’s peacebuilding initiatives.“
The support from NYFF has moved our work from vision to measurable impact,” Daranijo said. “Through this support, we have onboarded seven tertiary institutions across Kwara State and extended our interventions to the University of Abuja and Nasarawa State University.”
He explained that the project focuses on countering misinformation, empowering students as peace ambassadors and promoting intergenerational peace, with the aim of equipping young people to manage religious diversity constructively.
One of the facilitators, Dr. Mary Taiye Daniel of the Department of Religion, University of Ilorin, stressed that religious harmony remained central to Nigeria’s social and economic development.
“No nation can prosper where religion is used as a tool of division,” she said. “Mutual respect and harmonious living across faiths are essential for Nigeria’s peace and long-term prosperity.”
Participants agreed that Nigerian universities, as microcosms of the wider society, must play a strategic role in shaping tolerant mindsets and countering extremist narratives among youths. They also emphasised the need for strong institutional frameworks to sustain interfaith engagement beyond periodic dialogues.
The conference ended with a collective commitment to intensify advocacy for policy reforms, strengthen campus-based interfaith structures and expand youth-led peacebuilding initiatives nationwide. Organisers expressed optimism that with continued support from partners like NYFF and the adoption of recommendations such as the creation of an interfaith ministry, religion can be repositioned as a force for unity, stability and national cohesion in Nigeria.
