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Kano State - situated in the northern region of Nigeria - is the second largest metropolitan city in Nigeria after Lagos. It is also the industrial and commercial livewire of the northern part of the country. As such Kano is home to one of the most diverse populations in Nigeria as it has attracted people from diverse ethnic and religious groups. For so many years this huge diversity has been the cause of wanton violent clashes that have often led to huge loss in lives and properties. The national and international condemnation of these barbaric clashes led to deliberate efforts from political and socio-cultural leaders of the State to establish relative calm and a return to normalcy is being vigorously pursued. Prominent ethnic and religious leaders of Kano – such as the Emir of Kano – have embarked on practical campaigns to sustain the current calm and tranquility. These interventions have made Kano an island of calm amidst the rampant violence that has characterized most of the States in northern Nigeria. A recent religious crusade in Kano by a prominent Christian denomination was used as an occasion by the leadership of various spectrum of Kano State to showcase the prevalence of peace in the predominantly Muslim State. It was also an occasion for the socio-political leadership to emphasis the need to increase concrete interventions and initiatives that can sustain the current peace and prevent a return to the destructive conflicts of the recent past. There is a clarion call from various quarters of the State – including the Governor – that “there is no room for religious, ethnic and political intolerance in Kano State”.

In order to contribute to the pursuit of sustainable peaceful coexistence of the populations of Kano State, the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung is organizing a one-day High Level Roundtable Dialogue on the topic “Strategies for Traditional/Ethnic and Religious Leaders to Effectively Contribute to a Peaceful Co-existence and Sustainable Development in Multi-ethnic and Multi-religious Communities”. The aim of the event is to provide a synergy-building platform for Traditional/Ethnic and Religious Leaders to consolidate their individual initiatives in achieving a peaceful co-existence in Kano State. The roundtable meeting is expected to facilitate the creation of a “Moral Leaders Forum for the Sustenance of Peaceful Co-existence amongst the Multi-ethnic and Multi-religious Populations of Kano State”. Participants will include fifteen critical and influential Traditional/Ethnic and Religious Leaders as well as socio-political leaders of Kano State.