The Co-chair Interfaith Dialogue Forum for Peace, Bishop Dr. Sunday Ndukwo Onuoha, has called for a multifaceted approach which include: giving the youth jobs, a supportive environment for Micro, Small and medium enterprises (SME’s), maintaining that these are key in solving the perennial problem of peace and rising insecurity in Africa, particularly Nigeria.
The Methodist Bishop who delivered a keynote speech on Wednesday at the one day sensitization programme organised by the National Orientation Agency, NOA, Abia State in collaboration with the Ministry of Information on National Security Campaign on the theme “Towards Enhancing National Security held at Michael Okpara Auditorium, regretted that Nigeria has become one of the hotbeds of conflict in Africa.
The Global Peace Award Winner, 2013, stated that the prevalence of conflicts, manifests in religious intolerance, Political Thuggery, Kidnapping, Drug Addiction, Radicalization and Violent Extremism, noting that these vices are the greatest threats to peace, unity, security and development of our dear nation.
He decried that there is hardly any day that cases of kidnapping between Okigwe and Enugu, and the Okigwe-Ihube-Uturu-Isuikwuato axis is not recorded to the extent that students in universities and their lecturers have become constant victims to miscreants.
Bishop Dr. Onuoha said the concept of peace and security mainly rests on the principle of sanctity or sacredness of life as well as the absolute necessity to protect and safeguard lives and property.
He stated that socialization to values of peace and provision of services will assist Nigeria in closing up the worsening horizontal inequalities as it is capable of dousing all tensions, adding that humans amid all problems adopt methods of getting themselves out of socio-political marginalization, abysmal state of infrastructural facilities, environmental degradation, and high level of religious
intolerance among others.
Bishop Dr. Onuoha who is also the President, Vision Africa International, opined that insecurity will be reduced if an effective security management system with adequate precautionary measure against spontaneous attacks of terrorists is put in place in the country, stressing that there should be mechanisms for immediate actions against conflicts and riots before they escalate to violence.
He emphasized that to fight insecurity and foster peace, sensitization campaigns is key while commending the National Orientation Agency (NOA) and the Ministry of Information, for building synergy among them together with relevant stakeholders and actors in the heated polity, adding that the sensitization programme is apt in view of the current challenges confronting the country.
Correspondent reports that the programme attracted security experts across the country, captains of industries, the clergy, traditional rulers, the media among others.
