By Atlantic Reports

Religious leaders have urged Nigerian youths to reject electoral violence and use their votes, voices and community networks to shape the country’s future peacefully.

The appeal came on Tuesday in Abuja at the National Youth Assembly for Democratic Resilience, organised by the Global Peace Foundation Nigeria under the theme, “Empowering Youth Voices Against Electoral Violence.”

The gathering brought together Christian and Muslim youth leaders from across the country to discuss peaceful political participation ahead of the 2027 general elections.

“Nigerian Youths Are Not Expendable”

Delivering the keynote address, Rev. Fr. Canice Enyiaka, Director of Africa Peace Initiative and Engagement at the foundation’s headquarters in the United States, said young Nigerians must not allow themselves to become instruments of election-related violence.

He described every young person as possessing inherent worth and dignity, drawing on Christian, Islamic and African traditions, including Ubuntu, to emphasise the value of human life.

Enyiaka cited research estimating that about 2,444 Nigerians died in electoral violence between 1999 and 2023. However, the research source and methodology were not identified in the account of his address.

He said young people were particularly affected and urged them to turn their concerns into peaceful democratic action.

His message centred on practical choices: building communities, speaking truthfully, voting for leaders and using social media to promote unity and solutions instead of hate.

Campaigns Should Focus on Ideas

Islamic scholar Sheikh Nuru Lemu urged youths to understand their civic rights and responsibilities, saying their participation was essential to development, peace and security.

He called for election campaigns centred on ideas, good governance and public welfare, while cautioning against appeals that deepen religious, ethnic or sectional divisions.

Lemu encouraged young voters to assess candidates carefully and practise what he described as functional citizenship, combining an understanding of their rights with responsibility for their conduct in the electoral process.

Taking the Message into Communities

The Country Director of Global Peace Foundation Nigeria, Rev. Joseph Hayab, said the assembly aimed to mobilise youths for peace before, during and after the polls.

He urged young people to support their preferred candidates peacefully, describing elections as civic exercises through which citizens choose their leaders.

Hayab also linked peaceful elections to accountability and effective public service delivery.

In goodwill messages, Alhaji Muhammad Abubakar of the National Association of Muslim Youth Organisations and Ven. Ademola Arowolo, President of the Youth Wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria, pledged to extend the peace campaign to communities, campuses and places of worship.

Their commitments provide a route for taking the discussion beyond the Abuja gathering. The account did not specify a timetable or how the proposed outreach would be assessed.

The leaders expressed hope for peaceful and credible elections in 2027, calling on youths to make their political choices without putting their lives or those of others at risk.

Atlantic Reports: Voices. People. Facts.