A group, Abdullahi Omaki Community Peace Initiatives Network (AOCPIN), has called for rethinking creative initiatives and platforms to evolve new networks of actors committed to driving effective peacebuilding processes in Nigeria.
The founder and executive vice chairman of AOCPIN, Ambassador Abdullahi Omaki, stated this at the inauguration of the National Peace and Harmony Council.
According to him, Nigeria’s huge diversity easily creates trust issues, which creative management can convert into huge assets, but it has yet to produce tangible results across communities and nationally.
“Fostering national unity, building peace and harmonious co-existence between and amongst hundreds of ethnic groups across Nigeria, and even promoting faith in Nigeria have proven to be herculean tasks for the successive governments in our country since the attainment of independence in 1960.
“Over the years, the advantages that these multidimensional diversities should ordinarily have created for Nigeria’s development and progress have regrettably transformed into other challenges, with a suffocating impact on our dear country and citizens.
“Additionally, our national elites and especially our political class, have compounded matters as they continue to be at the center of huge manipulations of Nigeria’s diversity in ethnicity, religion, culture, and politics, obstructing opportunities for effective national cohesion for integration and collaboration for national development and progress,” he said.
He added that Nigeria faces numerous challenges that continue to test its resolve, compassion, and commitment to peaceful coexistence.
However, he noted that in the face of adversity, Nigeria has a choice to let the differences divide it or to come together, in the spirit of peace, harmony and unity.
“By gathering here today, we have made a deliberate choice for peace. That is why we at the AOCPIN are honored as we inaugurate this National Peace and Harmony Council.
“This Council represents a beacon of hope, a symbol of our collective desire to rebuild a society where every individual can thrive, regardless of their background, beliefs, or affiliations.
“Peace and harmony are not mere ideals but essential foundations upon which we build a just, equitable, and prosperous nation. Peace and harmony are necessary bridges connecting our diverse communities, the threads that weave our social fabric, and the pillars supporting our collective progress.
“Peace and harmony, therefore, require effort and dedication. They demand that we engage in difficult conversations, listen to each other’s perspectives, and work together to address the injustices and inequities that have long plagued our society.”
