Nigerians have been challenged to take personal responsibility for the peace and development of the country as the United Nations marks peace anniversary.
Zebulun Takwa, adviser to the UN Development Programme (UNDP) on Peace and Development, who made the call in Abuja, said there was no doubt that Nigeria was currently going through tough times.
According to him the challenges, more than any other time, require that all Nigerians should take personal interest and responsibility towards tackling the problems.
The UNDP official said, “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.”
Takwa, who lauded the Federal Government’s ‘ChangeBeginsWithMe’, said “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.
“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 United Nations Peace Day is commemorated every September 21 in accordance with the General Assembly Resolution 55/282 of September 2002.
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