Continuous dialogue panacea for peaceful Nigeria – Gambari

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

The founder and Chairman of Savannah Centre for Diplomacy Democracy and Development (SCDDD), Prof. Ibrahim Gambari has said that continues dialogue is a panacea for peace in the country.
Gambari stated this in Abuja while speaking during the Centre’s third edition of policy monitoring dialogue forum.
At the programme themed: “Nigeria’s unity and national integration: theats and opportunities for national development,” the founder said “the issue of various agitation in Nigeria provides us with the basis for dialogue. We need to understand the demand of the various sections of the country. Nigeria can accommodate all of us and therefore, there is need for inclusive government that will address the genuine interests of all. Whatsoever the problem or any genuine concerns are, we shall discuss it, all of us as Nigerians . Nigeria’s stability should not be left on the whims and caprices of ethnic bigots or gladiators. For us at Savannah Centre, Nigerian government should not be left at the hands of ethnic or religious champions.”
While commending Acting President Yemi Osinbajo for holding meetings with key stakeholders to address ethnic tensions, Gambari said the scope of consultations should be all inclusive, adding that conflict management is an important part of nation-building.
“But the sad reality here is that we have failed to manage most of the crises that have befallen our nation on a sustainable basis. It is the reason we have produced a nation where majority of the population are agrieved”.
As a way out of the current discontent by some sections, Gambari who is also a former Nigerian Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) said there is need to identify the role of key stakeholders in the country.
“It needs to be restated again and again, that the sustainability of the Nigerian project for a united Nigeria, cannot depend on one person and must involve a collective endeavour to open a new chapter in national life that would represent both a clean break with the past and the opening of a new gateway in to the future.
“The acting President is leading the fight for the people and we must support him so that we can take our country back from the enemies of the Nigerian state- the looters and destroyers of our national resources and from the defenders of ethnic interests.
“Also, there is need to invest in the public provisioning of accessible and quality educational and health services, build an integrated social policy that feeds back in to the economic development, grow the national economy to generate jobs for teeming population of young Nigerians, revive and expand the real sectors of the economy with particular attention to manufacturing and agriculture and renew the national infrastructure across the board”.

from peoples daily