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ADDRESS: GIWAC’S OFFICE, SUITES 2&3,
WOMEN MULTI PURPOSE CENTER, NO 2 BANK ROAD, KADUNA. Email: c4psinnigeria@gmail.com, Phone: 08023619217, 08034737077,
08033119990.
PRESS STATEMENT ON INTERNATIONAL PEACE DAY 2013
The International day of peace is being marked this
year with a theme, “Peace and Education”. This is apt in a world where so many
wars and conflicts are being waged; Syria, Afganistan, Egypt, Palestine and
Nigeria, which have disrupted education. Fifty eight million children,
according to the United Nations are out of school, mostly as a result of one
conflict or the other. Still millions of community members are without basic
education on conflict prevention, resolution and peace building. If they had
some of it, many of these conflicts would not have happened or at least they
would have been contained, with many lives saved.
There is no better place to talk about peace and
education than in Nigeria, where 10 million children are out of school, at
least two million of them in Borno and Yobe, where schools have been attacked,
with children and teachers killed by insurgents.
As we mark this year’s international day of peace,
Nigerians, all and sundry must come to terms with the fact that conflicts are
inevitably and we all have a role to play in resolving such conflicts and
promoting peace. We must start to seek education on conflict resolution and
peace building to apply it in our daily interactions with other fellow
Nigerians, of whatever tribe, religion or political persuasion.
Our governments must do more in the area of conflict
prevention and peace building. Funds must be provided out of the billions of
naira voted for security to go towards capacity building and trainings on
conflict resolution and peace building for government officials, civil society
organisations and key community members. We must build a critical mass of
conflict resolution and peace building workers. And in line with this we
reiterate our earlier call for the setting up of a security and peace tax fund
(to draw funds from: 10% security votes of federal and state governments + 1%
tax on income earners and corporate bodies). This fund will not only provide
support to the much needed capacity building but also provide for the education
of orphans and the livelihood of widows created by the violence in our midst.
As our country Nigeria struggles to meet up with its
security challenges, all of us, the citizens must close ranks to ensure
sustainable peace!
So help us God!
Jamil Mustapha
Ango
Musa Abdullahi
Interim
Chairman
Interim
Secretary General
