Nigeria’s representative at the International Parliament for Tolerance and Peace, Senator Ike Ekweremadu (PDP Enugu West) has sued for peace in the country, noting that no nation could make progress without peace.
Ekweremadu, who doubles as the chairman of the parliament’s Committee on Judicial and Legal Matters, also called for justice and equity, stressing that there could not be sustainable peace without justice.
Ekweremadu made the call in a statement released in Abuja by his media adviser, Uche Anichukwu, to mark the International Day of Peace on Tuesday.
He said: “As the world marks the International Day of Peace, it is an opportunity for all Nigerians to reflect on the values of peace, tolerance, equity, and justice.
“We must discourage ethno-religious discriminations, intolerance, and exclusionist tendencies that tend to tear the nation apart and instill destructive ideas in the minds our youth and populations in general. It is time to embrace and promote the humanistic values of compassion, respect for life, acceptance, and tolerance as routes to peace”.
The lawmaker enjoined the Nigerian youth to embrace the virtues of peace and dialogue in seeking redresses to their grievances, emphasising that dialogue was still the best way to go.
He equally enjoined the youth to take advantage of various post-graduate degree programmes in the areas of peace building, conflict resolution, mediation, and tolerance to be funded by the International Parliament for Tolerance and Peace in universities around the world.
Ekweremadu felicitated the United Nations on the occasion of the International Day of Peace, and called for concerted efforts by all towards global peace.