THE HUMANITY CENTRE

The roots of the fostering political and cross cultural conflicts in Nigeria today are traceable to the careless handling of the twin conscientious phenomena of religion and culture by the State. All discussion in political and social circles centres on whether one is a Christian, Muslim or an adherent to traditional religious practices. Other wise it is what part of country one comes from to determine his traditional mindset on a subject. To the state, these phenomena are mundane and deserve no immediate attention. It is usually not until fight breaks out are lost before the state begins to douse the tension. This principle of "saying the head that is already off" has it has therefore become necessary that people of all faith and cultural backgrounds should be adequately educated on the need to respect and tolerate each other's right. This has to do with knowing the limit of one's rights and the beginning o another's. It has to do with live and let live. Thus people of all religious as against forced cohabitation with mutual suspicion.

Recently in Nigeria, there have been several fatal physical and moral inter religious and inter cultural battles that lead to massive loss of lives and property in matters that a simple roundtable discussion would have averted. Religious houses have been deserted and destroyed. Respected leaders have been paraded in the media as common criminals on matters that border on simple intra and inter religious disagreements. Recently too religious practices have been turned into big business venture where unhealthy competition thrive. Envy had graduated to jeaslousy which in turn gave rise to men of God becoming gladiators in the public blare trying to outwit each other in the use of disparaging languages and exchange of diatribes.

Nigeria is famous to be the bedrock of African rich cultural heritage, values and practices that are capable of foreign exchange earning for the country. However conservative foreign influences and myopic religious practices have reduced anything, barbaric and evil. In some cases such unguarded pronouncements have led to bloody encounter between cultural adherents and others.

All these have been discovered to be due to lack of adequate information on the principles and practices of different people on ways and manners of tolerating each other's religious and cultural practices and harmony may continue to elude different African countries.

CECURR is a child of necessity borne of the need to bring a succor for victims of religious and cultural persecution in any part of Nigeria. Interestingly It is a non-religious organisation. Its board membership is that of men and women of different religious background including atheism. It is non-sectarian, non - gender bias gender - sensitive, non - profit making, non - governmental organisation. It activities cover all parts of the country work strategy centers on study, research, education, advocacy and enlightenment.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of CECURR is to provide a platform for defence, clarification and enlightenment of the populace controversial and misunderstood religious and cultural practices in Nigeria. This is with a view to putting all into all religious and socio cultural conflicts in Nigeria.

Other objectives are:-

To help religious and cultural groupings explain their point of view to the populace where they seen to have been misunderstood.
To advocate for right for freedom of thought, conscience, and religion as provided for by the Nigerian Constitution.
To work towards the protection, preservation and promotion of the Nigerian cultures which enhance human dignity.
To expose, confront and fight to a standstill, any religious and cultural practice found to be diabolical in any part of its form and function.
To promise issues that will enthrone religious and cultural tolerance and general social justice within the Nigerian polity.
To take necessary action to protect the rights of any person or group who could fall victim of preservation on the basis of his assertion of religious and cultural rights under the law.
To work for the enthronement of legal and social order that will ensure that all anti - social legislations that are obnoxious to freedom of religious and cultural practices are abrogated while new ones in such category are prevented from seeing the light of the day