KSPC, Women Mediators, Others Embark On Peace Walk To Mark Int’l Day Of Peace

By Frederick Peters, KADUNA.

NEWSDAILYNIGERIA: The Kaduna State peace commission, Kaduna Women Peace Mediators, Cleen Foundation, several CSOs, NGOs, embarked on a peace March/walk as part of activities to commemorate the 2024 International Day of Peace in Kaduna.

Held at the Kaduna state University, (KASU) on Saturday, the event also featured symposium, talks, panel discussions among others.

 Speaking the Chairperson of Kaduna Women Peace Mediators,  Prof Hauwawu Evelyn Yusuf,  said ” today is the International Day of Peace, all over the world peace is being celebrated, and as mediators who work around peace building and peace making, we felt that we should also commemorate the day by doing a peace walk, as you can see our slogans are around, cultivating the culture of peace 

” and that is what we are doing today and sensitizing the whole state and the nation at large that peace is sacrosanct with living and the only way we can thrive is for us to live together in peace and harmony and that’s the main reason why we are doing this walk,

” and it is not only the women mediators that are doing this walk, we have the P-one, Kaduna state peace commission, Kaduna state ministry of Human Services and social development, we have  global peace foundation, we have all the” he for she’s,” when you hear that they are men advocating for the comfort of women” she stated.

 According to her, after the walk there’s going to be symposium, there’s going to some talks, panel discussions and the unveiling of the women peace structure in Kaduna state among other things.

Similarly, the Executive Vice Chairman Kaduna state peace commission, Mr Sale Momale, said the event here is organized by a consortium of 37 government and non governmental organizations in Kaduna state and “it is one of the most happiest events I have witnessed in this state, where civil society organizations are partnering  national and international organizations, with agencies of Kaduna state government”

He said the development ” it’s a call to peace and it’s a call for every body in Kaduna to inculcate the culture and value of Peace, adding that after event, ” we’ll continue engaging with the people of Kaduna state with our rural and urban communities, youth groups, women groups, our numerous religious bodies, with the media to continue to discuss and advice the government of Kaduna state on what to do to entrench the culture and value of Peace

” We are going to unveil three major policy documents here today in the state; the pathway to sustainable peace and social harmony, the Kaduna State action plan for youth, peace and security, the Kaduna state action plan on women, peace and security, this a reflection of the commitment of Gov Uba Sani’s administration, to ensuring that Kaduna state is peaceful, stable and progressive” he reiterated.

On her part, the Permanent secretary Ministry of Human services and social development, Dorcas Inti Benjamin, while commending the organisers, also appreciated the Gov of Kaduna state, Senator Uba Sani for the Initiatives he has already taken and put in place, to ensure peace in Kaduna, “:if one look at his Sustain manifesto, the first agenda there is peace and security, which gives an insight that the Governor is serious about ensuing that peace thrives in the state adding that, the”  many empowerment programs for women, youths and vulnerable groups in the state, are living testimonies of what has happened so far

” And today the peace walk, is for us to reemphasize the need for us to come together, work together and live in harmony for the good of our dear state,” while further commending partners that have been supporting the ministry/ state on issues of Peace and harmony in the state.

In same vein, the CAN Chairman, Kaduna State represented, by the Asst Secretary, Bro Emmanuel Zwahu, described the peace walk as ‘significant’, pointing further that there are tenets by which people of given religions are expected to live and these tenets help, ” the moment people adhere to these tenets then there’s order in society and once there’s order in society then there’s peace in society, adding that  conflict usually arises as a result of disorder and discontent in the society.

While lamenting the roles played by some clerics in the past urged them to preach rightly ” once any anybody preaches justice and peace, you can never go wrong, so religious leaders should preach justice and peace for all citizens regardless of whether the people adhere to their religious beliefs or not”

 Similarly, the Coordinator, Interfaith Mediation Center, (IMC), Christian matters, Mr Samson Auta, Said, ” we are here today to celebrate the world peace day , seeing the significance and importance of the day, because if there’s no peace, things won’t go the way it should, where the society is in conflict, you’ll see a lot of issues and people won’t be able to go to their normal businesses; the younger ones won’t be able to go to school 

“and even as people of faith you won’t be able to go to places of worship and so many other things, we know the relevance of Peace and that is why as an organization and other like minded organisations we are striving to see how we create awareness among people of faith to continue to promote peace in our society” he added.