The convener of the three day peace summit in Southern Kaduna, Rev.Yakubu Pam has said that peace is a gift of mankind to each other and is not given by magic. He made the assertion in Kafanchan recently during the opening ceremony of the three day peace summit to foster peace amongst the citizenry of southern Kaduna. In the words of Rev Pam, ” peace is not given by magic, it is a gift of mankind to each other. It is those who give peace that have peace”. He added,” peace is a two -way street, to receive peace, you have to give peace”. Rev Pam who is the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Christian Pilgrim Commission also emphasized that forgiveness is key for enduring peace any where in the world, and Southern Kaduna is not an exception. He urged the aggrieved persons to forgive those that had caused them pain. He explained further that love is an act of endless forgiveness. According to the NCPC boss, “it is not easy to forgive, but remind your self that harbouring the resentment will only aggravate your pains”. The NCPC helmsman further affirmed that conflict is an inevitable fact of human existence, but if properly understood and managed effectively, “,we can improve both the satisfaction and productivity of our social relationships”. He opined that government efforts need to go beyond the initial phase of containing trouble spots, therefore he advised that adequate attention and investment must be directed towards conflict prevention and management which underscores the importance of the peace summit. He averred that the reason for the gathering of who is who to discuss the way forward for Southern Kaduna was to facilitate a peace process through dialogue and negotiations as well as enhanced participation and cooperation amongst all participating stakeholders. He said with deep sense of concern that his heart bleeds whenever he hears about killings and banditry taking place anywhere in the world,, especially its effects on the most vulnerable groups. The theme of the three day peace summit is “The De Escalation of conflict in Southern Kaduna and the way forward”.
High profile personalities presented papers on conflict resolutions, including Prof .Suleiman Elias Bogoro, the Executive Secretary Tertiary Education Trust Fund TETFUND among others. The peace summit is expected to be rounded off on 10th September with a communique for implementation.
