The United Nations (UN) has called on all Nigerians to guard against anything that would put the current peace in the country at risk, noting that war should never be considered as an option to resolving crisis.
Speaking during the commemoration of the International Day of Peace ceremony organised by the UN Information Centre (UNIC) on Wednesday in Abuja, the Peace and Development Advisor of the UN in Nigeria, Kimaris Toogood made the call.
International Day of Peace is often observed globally on September 21, of every year, this year has the theme: “Actions for Peace.”
Toogood said there are three major actions needed to drive forward peace in the country and such required collective efforts.
She said: “Firstly, we need to build the social contract, we need to make sure that institutions are accountable to people and people are accountable to one another.
“This is one way that we strengthen the social cohesion which drives very strongly here in Nigeria. The second point is, we really need to celebrate our peacebuilders.
“People are building peace everyday in this country and it often goes unnoticed, we see you as the UN and so, peace begins with people.”
She added that: “We recognise every person here in Nigeria as a member of the UN and as such, you have the responsibility to act peacefully, be a peacebuilder in your community, be a peacebuilder for all.
“Lastly, we really want to remind people to exercise tolerance and acceptance of others, we can build a more peaceful society here in Nigeria, if we remember the core principles of being kind.”
The advisor expressed appreciation to Nigerians for working closely with the UN to build a stronger and more peaceful country through tolerance and mutual understanding.
Also speaking at the event, the Director Co-Curricular of the FCT Secondary Education Board, Mrs Fatima Babba, commended the UN for putting the programme together in the country.
She reiterated the need for peace, saying that without peace nothing could be meaningfully achieved and that there is the need for all to embrace peace as a way of life.
According to her, where there is no peace, there would be chaos and therefore calls for adequate investment in education, because without education the society cannot be developed.
She said: “As a Board, we are building today’s and future leaders who are the youth, and we know what it means to educate their minds towards peace.
“When children grow, they will imbibe peace to their work place, family, community and everywhere in the world.
“Peace is very important and must be celebrated. Many people cannot go to farm and can’t produce food the nation will feed on, so without peace there will not be meaningful development.
“Peace is needed everywhere we go, in our places of work, places of worship, communities and even at home. if a family is not staying in peace, it will affect the family.
“Achieving peace must be a collective effort, we must have passion to move the nation forward, what is dividing us mostly is differences in religion, ethnicity and political ideologies.”
Michael Olugbode in Abuja
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