UN Charges Nigerians To Seek Peace

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Dr Zebulun Takwa, adviser to the UN Development Programme (UNDP) on Peace and development, has called on Nigerians to take personal responsibility to ensure a peaceful Nigeria. Takwa told newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja, that Nigeria was going through a challenging moment that require everyone to be part of the solution. “We are commemorating the International Day of Peace at a very challenging moment; it should be a “wake-up call ” and to ask if this is what Nigeria merits. “Nigeria does not deserve what is happening on the ground. We all can be part and parcel of seeking for solution. “We should move from “blame-game” and see how we, who are not part of the problem, can become part of the solution,” he said.

Takwa challenged Nigerians to start asking what he or she could do to put the country on the path of peace and development. “I can link it to the ongoing “Change begins with me” campaign by the present administration; the same message goes for the issue of peace and values that we all propagate. “What am I doing to make peace happen in Nigeria? What is the role of my household in ensuring peace in Nigeria? “I think that is the question that everybody should write and put on the walls of their homes; when we start reflecting like this, the answers will come.” He explained that peace is not a slogan or rhetoric, but a substance that everybody must invest in before it yields fruits. According to him, peace is a process that requires to be consistently worked on before it is achieved. “Peace is not like an equation that you have a ready-made formula for or like a medication that you just swallow and sit down, expecting it to work.

“It must be watered like a flower each day. It (peace) requires watering, pruning, putting the manure and everything before you will reap the flower in the future. If you don’t do that and you miss one day, then there is a loophole in achieving it,” he said. The theme for the 2016 Day is: “The Sustainable Development Goals: Building Blocks for Peace”. The Peace Day is commemorated every Sept. 21 in accordance with the UN General Assembly Resolution 55/282 of September 2002.

Source: Vanguard