Niger state Governor ,Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello has said that the growing insecurity in the country may persist unless Eminent Nigerians lead the way out of the present challenges.
He gave this indication at the 2nd General Abdulsalami Abubakar Foundation Annual Peace Lecture co-hosted by the University of Ibadan and Abdulsalam Abubakar Institute for Peace and Sustainable Development Studies held at the Legbo Kutigi International Conference Center, Minna.
The Governor stressed that, for enduring peace and security in the state and country as a whole, privileged Nigerians such as political leaders, captains of industries, religious, traditional and opinion leaders must take up the responsibility and work together for peace in the collective interest of the nation.
Governor Sani Bello, whose keynote address dwelt on “Good Politics at the service of peace: The role of Eminent Persons in the Prevention and Management of Conflict in Nigeria, said building peace or security management is everyone’s business.
“We are all stakeholders in providing security, I expect us to devote greater attention to the roles that each of us should be playing in making the country and our respective states a more peaceful environment”.Gov Sani-Bello said.
He advocated for dialogue in the face of conflicts as a necessary condition for attaining sustainable peaceful coexistence stressed that dialogue provided enabling environment for a win-win situation.
The Governor noted that, the annual lecture, which also coincided with the UN’s International Peace Day, would contribute to the process of institutionalizing nonviolence in the country.
He commended General Abdulsalami Abubakar, founder of the institute, for his immense contributions towards ensuring peaceful coexistence in the state, Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
The Chairperson of the occasion, Professor Gambo Laraba Abdullahi said sustainable peace was a prerequisite for the socioeconomic and political development of any nation.
In his remarks, the initiator and founder of the Institute for Peace and Sustainable Development Studies, General Abdulsalami Abubakar charged the youths to embrace the virtue of tolerance, fairness, respect for human dignity and shun vices that were antithetical to peace and development of the society.
Earlier, the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Ahmed Ibrahim Matane stated that this year’s lecture was apt in view of the persistent socioeconomic challenges bedevilling the country.
He said peace building and conflict resolution was a collective responsibility of all and called on community groups, civil societies as well as traditional and religious leaders to contribute their quota towards ensuring peace in their various communities.
