Towards Achieving Peace for All

Monday, September 21, 2015 was International Day of Peace, otherwise known as World Peace Day. On that day, the expected awareness for peaceful co-existence was hardily seen in this part of the world.
The theme for this year’s celebration was “Partnership for Peace, Dignity for All”. The United Nations (UN) said it needed to use the celebration to create partnership for peace and development.
Across the globe, and in keeping with the symbolism of the yearly commemoration, people organised inter-faith peace ceremonies, peace walks, picnics for peace, tree planting for peace, lighting of candles and art exhibitions intended to promote peace, among others.
In Nigeria, the day hardly witnessed any of these, save for a public lecture reportedly organised by the Institute for Peace and Conflict and Resolution (IPCR) in Abuja at which event the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon’s, address was read, urging all warring parties across the world to lay down their weapons and create space for lasting peace.
Speaking through the UN Resident Co-ordinator and Representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Nigeria, Ms Jean Gough, the UN scribe particularly noted the role of the youth in achieving global peace. He stressed the need to mobilise all partners to “make greater investment in realising the potentially massive contributions of the world’s young peace builders”.
Incidentally, humanity appears to have been overwhelmed by violent crises that have recorded millions of deaths, refugees and serious socio-economic consequences.
The Tide notes that, like trouble, peace does not just happen, it is made possible and nurtured by progressive-minded persons. Similarly, in the absence of peace, there is no honour as everyone must necessarily go down to the sub-human level.
It was also noted that peace is not the absence of conflict, but that the response or what people make of the conflict is what determines peace or its absence.
Sadly in Nigeria and the world over, there is conflict on nearly every subject, but the capacity or instrument to deal with it responsibly is a challenge. Indeed, the world is in dire need of persons whose minds have been circumcised and large enough to accommodate the excesses of others.
In Nigeria, peace has been eroded by the activities of some politicians who seek to command the resources of the land forever. Similarly, the activities of the oil and gas companies tend only to deepen crises. Also to blame is the widespread poverty, ethnic and religious rivalry as well as massive corruption.
Other issues that agitate the people include environmental factors, poor education, easy access to small arms and widespread hunger. Indeed, the disregard for the rule of law and the absence of the political will to ensure justice can also breed crisis.
While we call on the UN and particularly the United States and Russia, to facilitate the restoration of world peace, we expect governments across the globe to embark on things that will serve the best interest of the people at all levels, while upholding the law.