Berkley Center

Background: As part of the Religion, Conflict, and Peacebuilding Fellowship, Christopher O'Connor interviewed Pastor John Joseph Hayab, secretary-general for the Christian Association of Nigeria’s (CAN) Kaduna state office. He is also the CEO of the Christian Awareness Initiative of Nigeria (CHAIN). In this interview Hayab discusses his work with CAN to reduce tensions between Muslims and Christians, including the importance of developing relationships with all stakeholders. He also notes how extremists on both sides can threaten the growth of peace.

How did you get involved with the Christian Association of Nigeria and its peacebuilding work?

In 1996 I graduated from the Baptist Theological Seminary in Kaduna, and I served as a preacher throughout the state before being requested to become the pastor of a church in Kaduna city in 1999. During the fall of that year I started attending CAN meetings. When Zaria state declared sharia law I got more involved, joining my other colleagues in contesting the declaration of sharia law. Sadly, violence erupted in February 2000. I tried to continue articulating the actions, perceptions, and understandings of the Christian side, while also advocating for calm and peace. Because of my outspoken nature, calling for both dialogue and understanding, I was elected to the position of public relations officer for the Kaduna office of CAN when the position opened up in 2001. This pulpit helped to amplify and legitimatize what I was already voicing, that we needed to collectively work towards peace. As the public relations officer I spoke out to the media and government demanding action. A year later I was elected secretary-general for Kaduna state. 

While a chairman oversees the operations of each of CAN’s state offices, the daily activities are the purview of the secretary-general. In this capacity I am responsible for both Christian issues within Kaduna, as well as interreligious efforts. This morning alone, before you arrived, I had conversations with four Muslim leaders. I dialogue with Christians, Muslims, government officials, and security officials on a regular basis to reduce religious tensions and to prevent them from escalating to the point of violence.

Before I became secretary-general, I had been a member of the Peace Committee tasked with producing the Kaduna Peace Declaration, an idea that grew out of concerns over growing violence. My superior signed this article on August 22, 2002. This working document became CAN’s template for promoting peace in Kaduna. By November 21, 2002, violence erupted again in Kaduna, this time in the notorious Miss World crisis. In the entertainment section of one Nigerian paper a journalist wrote a religiously insensitive analogy about the Miss World candidate and the Prophet Muhammad. With the underlying tensions in the area, it only took a few words to spark violence. Muslims rioted, attacking Christians and leaving hundreds of casualties. A mere seven days later I assumed the office of the secretary-general. It was trial by fire from the beginning.

I did not see people from one faith killing people from another faith. I saw human beings killing other human beings. I immediately understood that we needed to act, that we needed to try something different to reduce, to prevent violence. One of my first steps was to meet with the Interfaith Mediation Centre. I went to them to ask how I could bring Christians on board to promote peace and end violence. From my earliest days I looked for ways to bring Christians and Muslims to work together to find solutions to our tensions, to find paths towards peace.

What are your current responsibilities as CAN’s secretary-general for Kaduna state? How do you go about trying to promote interreligious dialogue and cooperation with the aims of fostering peace and tolerance?

My primary responsibility is to educate Christians about issues that can trigger conflict. Sometimes Christians react to tensions, to crises, without being fully informed. Muslims and Christians are quick to rally to defend their religions, often seeing the best defense as a strong offense. I have been trying to push Christians beyond this knee-jerk reaction, to present a balanced perspective to all involved. Within the Christian community I have built a strong network rooted in confidence that enables me to deal with these difficult issues of interreligious interaction. I work to calm Christians down, and to disseminate fact from fiction.

I also liaise with the Muslim community, having formed strategic connections with Islamic clerics who work to allay fears and present facts to their own constituencies. Additionally, I work with the security services. It is absolutely imperative to engage the security forces, because stability and peace are their responsibilities. I am fully and constantly engaged with them, ensuring that they are willing to work with me. I don’t just call them when I have issues. I check in with them on a regular basis, asking how they and their families are doing. After all, their potential for conflict prevention is unparalleled. By simply deploying they can sometimes even prevent violence, and therefore reprisals, from occurring in the first place. I am also fully engaged with government officials. They have the authority to deploy security officials.

Peace is about relationships and respect. It is not simply a security and legal issue. We must build bridges. There are some 800 people in Kaduna state that I send a goodwill message on a daily basis: Let’s work. Let’s cooperate. Let’s collaborate.

During the Danish cartoon controversy I was sitting in my room watching the news. Immediately I realized that this could potentially spark violence. I called the commissioner of information, and I requested a media gathering, which I was granted. At this press conference I openly and publicly condemned the Danish cartoon. I was the first clergy member in Nigeria to condemn it. And to this day I realize the importance of proactive measures, their necessity if we are going to prevent violence from occurring in the first place. Time and time again there are instances of gross misunderstanding on one side or the other that lead us to violence. Through my interreligious network I have consistently been working to promote greater understanding and increased collaboration.

In one instance of misunderstanding, a Muslim man was suspected of starting a crisis. The police were unsure of what to do because they wanted to execute their mission of maintaining stability; however, they feared that if they went to arrest the man that they would cause more conflict. On my own initiative, I went and tracked him down through my contacts. We met to discuss the situation, and he presented his side of the story. After our discussion, we concluded that it would be best to voluntarily go to the police for protection and to present his story. These measures helped to defuse the situation and prevent an escalation of the crisis. As this example demonstrates, I have tried to build relations of trust amongst all the stakeholders in Kaduna. I have tried to use my position at CAN to promote increased understanding, and through this trust and understanding, to ultimately promote peace.

As secretary-general for Kaduna state I have engaged in a public relations campaign to achieve these end goals. I periodically hold joint lectures with Islamic clerics on how faith promotes peace, which are aired on radio and TV. During these discussions I invite the audience to call in with questions. Occasionally we have individuals who call in to stir up tensions, but for the most part these discussions are very constructive. We are now engaged beyond just talking. We are working to manage the crisis through information, education, and friendship.

You mentioned that you engage in peacebuilding work beyond your official capacity at CAN. How else do you work to promote peace in Kaduna?

I established a NGO called the Christian Awareness Initiative of Nigeria. I started this initiative to reach the youth so that they would hear the true story. I accomplished this by appealing to the youth. How did I reach them? All the youth in Nigeria love soccer, and so I gave the youth soccer. I went out and purchased equipment, and I started showing soccer matches for the youth. During halftime I educate them on how they can be agents of peace. Initially, some would even show up drunk, but they grew to trust me, and they started talking. They now come to me to report issues, growing crises that they see. I have engaged the youth, reducing the number of thugs by converting them into agents of peace. 

I understand why many are skeptical of peace efforts. They have lost family and friends in the violence, but I have conveyed to them that Christian understandings and Christian teachings preach peace. Jesus is the chief example of dialogue. Jesus tried to be friends with everyone. We must have dialogue to prevent violence. By simply preaching and embracing the real tenets of Christianity, we are promoting peace.

From your perspective, what is driving conflict in Kaduna and neighboring states?

Poverty is one of the greatest instigators of conflict. There is a severe lack of economic opportunity for many here. There is also a very low level of education throughout the north. Political and religious leaders exploit the undereducated, and they use them to foment conflict. Some people will kill a man for a mere 200 naira [under $2] because of their economic desperation and lack of education. To compound these other issues, Nigerians are very passionate about their faith. This passion is directly linked to poverty. In their desperation, people need someone to tell them that God/Allah will take care of them. Leaders will manipulate this devotion, telling people that they must defend their faith. People manipulate faith for their personal advantage.

If a Christian has a Qur'an in his possession, Muslims might attack him. We have extremists on both sides that manipulate scripture to justify and motivate violence. Unfortunately, there is a competition between the two faith groups in Nigeria, and people are willing to go very far to defend their religion. The danger of extremists means that we must not blindly follow on either side. Before I became the general-secretary in Kaduna state, many of the Christians would only criticized Muslims for their flaws, with Muslims reciprocating. I have tried to move us away from that stance.

There are those on both sides who say that moderates are traitors, who say that violence is the only way. I have used CAN to build peace and understanding instead of violence and misunderstanding.

The government has failed to establish the constitution as the ultimate authority in Nigeria. Many Christians and Muslims alike view their own faiths as the supreme authority, but we cannot allow people to violate laws under the guise of faith. Too often religion is used as a cover for crime, lies, and corruption. The government continues to fail to enforce the Constitution.

We need the government to properly govern. We need improved education. We need the economy to grow. We need to marginalize religious extremists. If we can accomplish these four things, we will have peace in Nigeria.

How do you deal with extremists within the Christian community?

Christian extremists present a very difficult challenge. Sometimes they try to blackmail you. They will even use your family to blackmail you. For example, some Christians tried to blackmail me because I named my daughter Fatima, and they claimed that the name was an Arab name. In other instances I have received death threats. Occasionally, people will call up threatening to kill me for dialoguing with Muslims. You cannot let these threats deter your work. Followers, Christians, know who is right. I am not scared of death if that is the price of peace. I want my children to grow up in a peaceful society. I must find peace in myself to promote peace in my community. 

The way I see it, I am not just doing this for others. I need peace myself. I need peace for my own personal happiness. Peace is a necessary ingredient for happiness. We cannot live in fear. Because I don’t shy away from promoting peace, I have been awarded as an ambassador of peace.

What lessons have you learned from your work in peacebuilding that might be useful for others working to promote interreligious peace and tolerance in Nigeria, and throughout the world in other conflict areas?

You cannot win people over through hatred. If we want to win them, we need to embrace and preach tolerance. To embrace tolerance, you must see the world through the other’s perspective. Tolerance, not fear, is an indication of maturity. Bad people don’t belong to one faith. They exist in all faiths. Bishops can even be bad people. Instead of criticizing others for being bad, we must look inward, and self-reflect, showing love externally. In the past Muslims used to think CAN harbored extremists. We have made progress. Most no longer believe this. One individual can make an association seem bad. There is no space for militants in CAN. Collectively we must embrace righteousness, unity, peace, and joy.