Sunday Ani
On Saturday, March 2, the Rotary Club of Amuwo, District 9110 rolled out thedrums to celebrate the World Understanding and Peace Day. The event, which was held in Festac Town, Lagos, was indeed an evening of celebration as Rotarians from Amuwo and beyond turned out in their numbers to grace the event, which also marked the 114th anniversary of the Rotary International.
The evening was also spectacular as the host IK Ugwu’s birthday coincided with that of the Rotary International. Indeed, members of the club from within and outside Amuwo, donning various colourful dresses, made the evening a memorable one.
In her opening remarks, the president of Rotary Club of Amuwo, District 9110, Nigeria, Uzoamaka Akaneme, stated that the celebration has become an annual event. She said the celebration would have held on February 23, since it is a month of conflict resolution in the Rotary calendar, but for the presidential and National Assembly elections. She also stated that this year’s celebration of the World Understanding and Peace Day is special because it is being celebrated alongside Rotary’s 114th birthday.
On the main essence of the celebration, she said: “In Nigeria, we have a lot of conflicts and we are trying to proffer solutions and to let people know that peace is possible in the world. This year’s celebration has the theme: ‘Be the inspiration.’ We are trying to tell people to live in peace; we are telling people that it is possible to live in peace no matter your origin, religion or political leaning. That is what Rotary is preaching.
“Rotary has some areas of focus, and conflict resolution is one of them. So, each year, Rotary dedicates a day for the celebration of World Understanding Day. Rotary has a presence in about 32 countries of the world, so we encourage peace and proffer solutions to conflicts across the world. We even send scholars to universities all over the world to study about conflict resolutions because we want to maintain peace in the world. Rotary is championing that peace should reign in the world.”
Speaking on the topic, “Unmasking ethno-religious crisis: A pathway to peaceful co-existence,” the guest speaker, Jimmy Kolawole Oduwole noted that the observance of World Understanding and Peace Day provides a valuable opportunity to assess the progress in the continued quest for goodwill, peace and understanding among people of the world and to resolve to do more.
“It reminds us that in our current day and age of immense scientific progress and global development, peace is still a fragile dove. It reminds us that our precious dove still needs much more care and protection. And it reminds us that conflicts can only be solved in a sustainable manner, if we address the root causes, such as ethnic and religious intolerance, unfairness, injustice, poverty, inequality, disempowerment, disrespect, and a ‘me and mine’ attitude rather than a ‘we and our’ mindset,” he pointed out.
Oduwole, a political scientist, stated that ethno-religious crisis, as a historical phenomenon that has the most devastating and horrific impact on humans and the environment.
He enumerated the root causes of ethno-religious conflicts to include colonialism, lack of sustainable development goal, mass unemployment, poverty, fear of domination, division between indigene and settler, weak and handicapped security institutions and education among others.
He suggested possible ways out of ethno-religious crises in Nigeria to include dialogue, respect for the sanctity of human life, improved security, job creation for the teeming unemployed youths, educational reforms, regulation of hate speeches and sustainable development goals, among others.
He lamented that despite efforts by government at all levels as well as Nigerians in their individual capacities, the road to abiding peace is still long. “But with such a wealth of wisdom and commitment to peace represented in this room today, we are well placed to raise the bar in our peace endeavours.”
Even in the face of the daunting challenges, he still believes that a better Nigeria with peaceful co-existence of all tribes and creeds can only be realised if Nigerians infuse their beliefs, domestic, regional and global interactions with the gospel of peace, fairness and human dignity.
“Let us all resolve to be better students in the school of peace, so that our homes and neighbourhoods, our countries, and our 21st century can radiate peace,” he advised.