The Southern Kaduna Joint Peace Committee (SKJPC) has tasked students of the Kaduna state College of Education, Gidan Waya on the need to engage in activities that promote peaceful co-existence.
The co-chairman of the committee, Ahmad Yandeh, made the call at a meeting with students of the institution at Gidan Waya, Kafanchan.
Blueprint reports that the meeting was convened in collaboration with the Nigeria Early Recovery Initiative (NERI), a component of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
NERI has been working to strengthen grassroots security and implement other developmental interventions in Southern Kaduna since 2020.
Yandeh said students had a critical role to play in building social cohesion and restoring mutual trusts amongst communities in Southern Kaduna.
According to him, the committee was planning inter-communal football competition and carnivals for youth as part of efforts to promote unity.
He said the committee had visited all the chiefdoms and emirates in Southern Kaduna who pledged their cooperation and support.
“We visited all the Chiefdoms and Emirates in Southern Kaduna to introduce ourselves to the royal fathers and to seek their blessings,” he said
He, however, decried the seeming link between consumption of harmful substances and insecurity, while urging the students to stay off drugs.
“We are concerned as a committee but are optimistic that with the help of all stakeholders we will find a solution to the menace of drug abuse.
“We are already consulting relevant stakeholders on the need for youth empowerment schemes to make them more productive,” he added
In his remarks, the Senior Grant Officer of NERI, Adebayo Joshua, said the agency remains committed to achieving sustainable peace in Southern Kaduna.
Joshua noted that NERI will continue to provide logistics and technical support for peace building initiatives.
