As I write this piece, some religious leaders and Imams from different religious groups, Islam and Christianity, are attending a...
As I write this piece, some religious leaders and Imams from different religious groups, Islam and Christianity, are attending an awareness workshop on the dangers of spreading false information and rumours in society, organised under the Alkali Centre for Countering Disinformation.
The organisers’ aim is to sensitise influential members of society, particularly religious leaders whose words carry great weight with the public, on how to avoid using unverified statements or reports in their sermons and teachings.
Plateau State was the first state to host this training under the programme, with the support of the UK FCDO’s Integrated Security Fund, aimed at strengthening faith-based resilience against disinformation. The programme was implemented under the Initiative for Media Development and Information Literacy IMDIL. It was selected given its circumstances and religious and ethnic diversity, which strongly shapes the state’s social life, and this has sometimes weakened peace and mutual understanding. It is not unusual in the state for an unfounded story to spread early in the morning, whether by spreading the word of mouth or through social media and text messages, that has been used to pursue political, ethnic, or religious goals.
Among the false stories circulated, one may hear that members of a particular religion are planning to attack others, or that a group has gathered somewhere intending to harm people of another faith or ethnicity. Yet once investigated, such reports are often found to contain no trace of truth.
Religious leaders face considerable challenges in such situations, because these claims can influence their teachings or sermons, especially when they seek to draw attention to alleged wrongs supposedly being committed secretly against their followers. At times, followers also exploit their leaders’ influence by feeding them unverified false reports, prompting the leaders to use their voices to fan the flames of rumour.
This is why religious leaders and preachers should periodically attend refresher sessions of this kind, so they can learn how to avoid falling into the trap of those who do not want peace. I recall that some years ago, a Muslim cleric in one of the northern states delivered a sermon on the dangers of allowing married women to work in hospitals, particularly in a situation that required night shifts. In his speech, he alleged that most women working night shifts went to work only to engage in immoral relationships with male colleagues or other men, while their husbands stayed at home believing they had gone to work.
The serious allegation caused an uproar at the time, especially on social media, where people expressed sharply divided views. It even threatened the marriages of several female nurses. Eventually, the nurses’ association sought a meeting with the cleric to resolve the matter. He then explained that some of his students had told him what was happening; because he trusted them, he accepted the story and used his influential pulpit to spread it.
Religious leaders must therefore be careful about how they obtain news or other important information, and must verify and analyse it before releasing it to the public.
Some years ago in Plateau State, troublemakers circulated a letter claiming that a particular religious group had written that attacks would be carried out in places belonging to followers of another faith. Many people believed the report, even though investigations confirmed it was fake. It took the leaders of Muslim and Christian communities to appear in the media to plead with the public to disregard the rumour.
There are many such stories, and they continue to create discord and division among people. The Alƙalanci's efforts to organise workshops and educate religious leaders and pastors on identifying credible reports and reliable information for use in their teachings are therefore valuable. This will greatly help provide the public with accurate information and protect the integrity and standing of religious leaders in the eyes of their followers.
It also deserves praise for its efforts to raise public awareness and educate key stakeholders, thereby fostering a healthier environment, peaceful coexistence, and good leadership within society.
As for religious leaders, we hope they will apply what they have learned and sensitise the public on the harm caused by spreading rumours and baseless false statements, words that should never be heard from their mouths.
Yakubu is a multimedia journalist and public commentator who is based in Jos.
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