By; AMOS TAUNA, Kaduna
A group under the auspices of Obey The Mecedonian Call (OTMC), has called on all Nigerians to prayerfully embrace the wisdom that is better than weapons of war and turn the general election into a stepping stone towards building up Nigeria into the greatest nation of the world.
“As we get prepared for the the 2023 elections which is coming up tomorrow, we are calling on all Nigerians to prayerfully embrace the wisdom that is better than weapons of war so that we can turn this election into a stepping stone towards building up Nigeria into the greatest nation of the world,” the group advised.
Addressing newsmen in Kaduna on Friday, the Kaduna state chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. John Joseph Hayab, said they are not unaware of the crippling pains that the orchestrated fuel scarcity and shortage of currency has brought upon the nation.
He noted that opinions would always differ on how things should be done in a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-generational country like Nigeria, stressing that the trauma of the violent past and painful experiences has never been healed.
Rev. Hayab who is the Country Director, Global Peace Foundation Nigeria, stated that the truth is that the average Nigerian citizen, north, south, east and west are peace loving, trusting and patient Africans at heart.
He explained that there was the need for Nigerians to rise beyond the engineered divisions and stress to deploy the creative African advantage that defines their heritage.
He said that Nigerians should see themselves as their brothers keepers and God fearing people and not to mention the natural tribal mastering of non-violent communication and the use of proverbs in settling all disputes.
In order to de-escalate the present tensions, he noted that Nigerians need to consider that fact that most of them mean well, stressing, “In a sense, we are all victims of history from the president to the peasant on the street. Our greatest problems are systemic in nature and we must not allow anyone to lead us on a self-destructive path.”
“It is imperative that we must make and keep the peace throughout Nigeria this weekend and beyond while we work in cooperation with the Nigerians and well-wishers in the diaspora who are praying and offering their support for the peaceful conduct of our elections,” he emphasized.
He stated that to deliberately isolate the mischief makers in any community, the use of by tokens of peace to mark all households of peace and appealed to matriarchs and parents who can speak directly into the hearts of the wayward ones for peaceful coexistence before, during and after the general elections.
