Former Kaduna Central senator, Shehu Sani, on Friday warned that Nigeria risks sliding further into carnage and mass atrocities unless Muslims and Christians unite to confront the nation’s spiralling insecurity.

Sani, who spoke at a one-day summit organised for Muslim and Christian leaders in Abuja, said the country’s diversity was meant to be a blessing, not a weapon of division, urging clerics across faiths to “speak truth to power” and pressure leaders into decisive action.

The summit themed: “Conversation on the Search for Peace in Nigeria”, was organised in collaboration with the African Freedom Foundation and Yari Roundtable for Peace.

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He said Nigeria’s security crisis marked by mass killings, school kidnappings, banditry and terrorism had persisted because leaders often prioritise political loyalty over truth, while religious leaders are only consulted by politicians during elections, not on governance.

The former lawmaker said Christians and Muslims must stop allowing extremists and politicians to manipulate religion for violence, insisting that Nigeria’s problems can only be solved through unity.

“If our Creator wanted all of us to be Muslims, He would have made all of us Muslims. If He wanted all of us to be Christians, He would have made all of us Christians. Our diversity is a blessing,” he said.

Sani recalled visiting Ethiopia with clerics years ago and seeing mosques and churches over a thousand years old standing side by side in peace.

“We came late to both Islam and Christianity, yet we behave as though we know more than nations that have practiced these religions for centuries,” he added.

Sani lamented that despite remarkable natural and human resources, Nigeria remains trapped in insecurity fueled by corruption, mismanagement and a failure of leadership.

He expressed concerns that billions budgeted annually for defence have not translated into safety, as soldiers continue to complain about lack of weapons while bandits on motorcycles invade communities freely.

“In the last ten years, trillions have gone into defence and security. Yet our armed forces say they lack equipment. Every month you see retired soldiers protesting for unpaid benefits,” he said.

He criticised the proliferation of “Nigeria Army Hotels, Nigeria Army Event Centres, Nigeria Army Universities,” saying such ventures raise questions on the actual priorities of security institutions.

Calling on clerics to reject division, Sani said Nigeria’s greatest threat is not religious difference but the violent groups aiming to “exterminate our people and destroy our country.”

He urged clerics to use their voices fearlessly: “If leaders in government don’t listen to our Imams and pastors, they will be forced to listen to international voices.”

Also speaking, one of the invited clerics from Plateau State, Bishop James Malgit of International Gospel Centre, commended Sani for expressing what many religious leaders “do not have the power to say publicly,” adding that the senator’s remarks reflect the harsh realities faced by communities across the country.

He lamented that several communities in his Plateau State constituency had been completely displaced by violent attacks, with residents unable to return to their ancestral homes.

“Our women have been turned into widows, our children into orphans. Christians and Muslims have cried enough. If this crisis is bigger than the government, then we call on the international community to come to our aid,” he said.

Bishop James warned that families no longer feel safe sending their children to school, especially boarding schools, due to incessant abductions.

He called for a “speedy intervention” to halt the suffering, saying unity between Christians and Muslims remained the only path to survival. “Please and please, united we stand, divided we fall. May unity continue to bind us together,” he prayed.

On his part, Malam Sadiq, Chief Imam of Kaduna Polytechnic, said the summit was timely, stressing that killings, kidnappings and destruction have reached intolerable levels.

He described Islam and Christianity as religions founded on peace and argued that the violence plaguing the country has nothing to do with faith but with “ethno-political or ethno-religious manipulation” by leaders and political actors.

He also warned political leaders to fear God, citing Islamic teachings on the consequences of injustice and shedding of innocent blood.

The imam dismissed foreign narratives alleging that northern Muslims are persecuting northern Christians, describing such claims as “capital mendacity.”

He noted that bandits do not discriminate by religion.

“We must stand firm; Christians and Muslims together, and say enough is enough,” he declared.

The event brought together Imams, pastors and community leaders who also made separate presentations on insecurity and the need for unity.