By Ene Osang
Abuja
Leaders in Nasarawa state have promised to work together towards stemming insecurity and violent uprisings, as well as entrenching sustainable peace across the state.
A statement issued by the National Orientation Agency (NOA) Chief Press Secretary, Paul Odenyi, said they made the commitment when NOA’s Director- General, Mr. Mike Omeri, led his management team on a house-to-house peace advocacy visit ahead of the Agency’s Peace Town Hall meeting in Lafia, the state capital.
Omeri stressed the need for peaceful coexistence amongst communities and charged Nasarawa state indigenes to embrace the virtues of tolerance, dialogue and mutual understanding.
He condemned the practice of rumour mongering, stating that the vice was responsible for the escalation of violence amongst Nigerians, and urged citizens to only disseminate truthful and verified information in the society.
Omeri solicited the full commitment of the leaders he visited to mobilising their followers towards love and acceptance of the universal brotherhood of all mankind.
He further charged them to go beyond the condemnation of violence and take concrete steps in working for peace.
According to the statement, the leaders are unanimous in condemning the recent cases of violence and bloodshed in the country which they attributed to “excessive westernisation of our cultures” and called for a quick return to age-long cherished values of communal living, tolerance and dialogue.
It also urged persons in possession of small arms and light weapons across the country to surrender same to security agencies in accordance with the various disarmament programmes of the federal government.
