Former Director General, Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Prof. Osita Osang, has identified the deteriorating moral values, drug abuse, youth unemployment and negative peer pressure as the bane of the recurring crises in Kaduna state.
Prof. Osita, who also lamented poor peer pressure, government’s nonchalance towards policies that integrate the society and degrading family values, called for the apprehension and prosecution of those
found culpable of stoking violent conflict in the country, to deter others.
Addressing a high level roundtable on Strategies for Traditional/Ethnic and Religious Leaders to Contribute Effectively to Peaceful Coexistence and Sustainable Development in Multi- Ethnic and
Multi-Religious Community in Nigeria, organised by Konrad Adenauer Foundation yesterday in Kaduna, Osita said Nigerians should work towards violent conflict prevention.
He said: “Violent conflict is preventable but can only be achieved by strategic mechanism that can detect early signs that a violent conflict is likely to occur for some reasons. We need some form of
early warning detection system to notice anomaly, those things that go wrong that could lead to violence and stop it.
“The deterioration of our moral values and the fact that the moral fabric of the traditional family is almost non-existent because parents don’t know where their children are and the friends they are
moving with, are some of the factors that lead to recurring violent conflicts in Kaduna state.”
Resident Representative of Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) in Nigeria, Dr. Vladimir Kreck, in his welcome remarks, said the high level roundtable dialogue aimed at searching for a sustainable solution to peace in Kaduna state.
“The initiative was aimed at providing a synergy-building platform for traditional and religious leaders to consolidate their individual initiatives in achieving a peaceful coexistence in Kaduna state. The
promotion of peace among populations is one of the core mandates of the KAS. Peace is a requirement for the functioning of every democratic system,” he said.
Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji Shehu Idris, in his remarks, urged religious and traditional leaders to preach peace, love, unity and tolerance. “Moral upbringing is one of the problems in recurring conflicts. We
have to join hands and work together,” he said.
The emir, who was represented by Alhaji Jibrin Magaji, added that, “government is not doing enough, if we want to live in peace, we have to go back to what we left back. Once there is problem let the
perpetrators be punished and others would be deterred.”
