By Omotunde Alawode
In view of the need for sustainable peace in the South-South and in Nigeria as a whole, a non-governmental organization (NGO), Interfaith Mediation Centre (IMC), has harped on the peaceful co-existence of people of diverse ethnicity and religion.
The centre believes that the use of dialogue is germane in promoting peace and rapid development across the six geo-political zones in Nigeria.
This was disclosed by the joint zonal coordinator of the foundation, South-South zone, Mr. Alexander Rustom, while addressing journalists in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.
He seized the opportunity to announce the commencement of the organization’s activities in Bayelsa as well as other states in South-South. He also disclosed that the regional action plan for adoption on community peace and dialogue promotion engagement with the hashtag #WeNeedEachOther would be unveiled and launched soon.
The coordinator added that the activities for the first phase would span through 2022 to 2024, where peace activities would be simultaneously carried out in the six states of the zone. He stated that there would be the participation of religious, traditional and community leaders on conflict resolution through dialogue to achieve peace within the zone.
He revealed that, based on field evaluation, Bayelsa has been chosen as the pilot state to kick-start the peace initiative exercise, having been convinced from the results of the evaluation that the state has been an exemplar of peace in recent years.
Rustom expressed satisfaction on the outcome of the courtesy visits embarked upon by the IMC team to religious leaders, and the office of the mayor of Yenagoa, and special assistant to the governor on religious affairs. He was delighted that they all displayed enthusiasm to work with the organisation for sustainable peace in the state.
He disclosed that some prominent citizens from the state, including former President Goodluck Jonathan, would be given awards as Ambassadors of Peace, as well as the international oil companies operating in the state, to be recognised as Brand Ambassador for World Peace. He explained that they would be charged with the responsibility of being peace enablers and exemplars in their various communities.
Bishop Monty Abraham, who is the chairman of Bayelsa State Peace Implementation Officers, also at the event, said he and his team were delighted to have the IMC/SS team in their state.
He assured Rustom of his readiness to work with the organisation to step up peace activities so as to ensure steady growth and progress in the state.
IMC is an international NGO established in 1995 with headquarters in Kaduna, which then served as a direct response to pockets of violence. The body now focuses on conflict resolution by engaging all stakeholders.
