What is the price for peace? – By Ajobiewe – @olu_soul

‘’The greatest evil in the world today is the lack of love and charity, the terrible indifference towards ones neighbour who lives at the roadside assaulted by exploitation, corruption poverty and disease’’. (Mother Theresa of India.)

From ages past, the world of men has recorded and witnessed countless number of wars, and been forced to endure for centuries several episodes of tyranny, anarchy and murderous orgies. Beyond doubt, the overwhelming quest for world power, economic, social, psychological, and technological freedom as well as territorial dominance can be said to be the harbinger of wars, tribal conflicts, ethnic rivalry and religious differences which has ruined our world today. At this point, there are begging questions i must hastily inquire before proceeding with this piece, and they are; will our world ever be devoid of wars, genocide crimes, terrorism, tribal clashes and communal conflicts? When will Nigeria be released from the shackles of

oppression, torment and grief? When will the Middle-East ever know peace? Interestingly, the mystery behind these queries uncovered the second i remembered that tales of wars and battles were captured in the holy Bible, accounts of how empires were destroyed, stories of how troops were massacred on battlefields and anecdotes of how thrones and dominions was overthrown, and as such it means that from time immemorial the world all over has not known peace. What then is PEACE?

Peace can be described as a state of civil rest, societal sanity, mutual co-existence and interrelationship between societies, communities and countries of the world. In other words peace could mean freedom from conflict or disagreement among people or groups of people. Where there is no peace there cannot be development, but how can we see an end to wars, if it serves as an avenue for political propaganda and a means to generate ill wealth? Yes Nigeria is troubled, daily do we get treated with the news of bloodbath and gory narratives of massacres, and we are being held hostage by the perpetrators of lawlessness who have in recent years kidnapped the tranquillity we did possess as a nation; having said that, parting away with a ransom fee appears to be of dire importance if only we intend to regain the serenity enjoyed in the past. The question then is, how much do we have to pay for peace?

General Yakubu Gowon had this to say as regards the crisis that has rocked the northern region of Nigeria in recent years. He said, ‘‘what is happening today is not the Nigeria and the north we inherited and for us it cannot be the north we desire to bequeath to the children. The present north was not bequeath to us neither are our children responsible for it’’.  Our past heroes will never forgive us, the Nigeria they built on equity, justice and accountability is on fire. Our roofs are on fire with incessant bombs, i only fear that this insecurity will not consume the country and like prophecies we shall not become the underdogs. Nigeria was once dominated by economic viability, once crowned with leadership, once lived under security buoyancy. In fact, Security and peaceful co-existence were the very pillars of our existence.

What then happened to peace, unity, harmony and progress? I thought that was our trademark as a nation, I thought we professed unity in diversity. What happened to our cultural beliefs, customs and practices? The Nigeria i grew up to know unexpectedly changed before my eyes, the dreams of our youths are short-lived, even the younger generations are not allowed to grow anymore. As terrorism crept into the country its fruits became the order of the day; from incessant blowing up of our towns, cities, universities, media houses, and churches to suicide congresses and the killing of non-guilty citizens to mention but a few.

Yet attempts to create a dialoguing atmosphere with the culprits proved rather futile. Nevertheless as we march forward as a nation in our struggle to reclaim harmony, we should not be swayed by the attitude put on by the ruling class towards the attainment of this goal, rather all hands must be on deck to collectively advocate the need for a peaceful co-existence with one another regardless of ethnic, tribal and religious backgrounds/differences; as that is the price we all have to pay for peace to reign in Nigeria and in the world at large. Eulogies to our fallen comrades and heroes, who must have lost their lives in the warfare of this struggle, and to their bereaved families i register my condolences. Still the fight must continue for posterity’s sake, as there is no great nation that did not pass through its own trying times. This is perhaps ours; and we’ll definitely survive it.  Fondly do i hope and fervently do i pray that this mighty scourge of hostility will speedily pass away.

By Ajobiewe Tolulope O.