Yar’Adua foundation holds 3-day retreat on national cohesion in Abeokuta

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

The Yar’Adua Foundation, with support from the Ford Foundation, has scheduled a three-day retreat to Promote National Cohesion and Build Platforms to Counter Divisive Behaviour at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta.
The event is scheduled for Thursday, June 21 – Saturday, June 23, 2018.
The event, which will be chaired by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, will serve as a platform for community youth groups and influencers to develop a comprehensive strategy to address sources of rising ethnic and religious tension in Nigeria.
A statement yesterday by the Director-Genetal of The Yar’Adua Foundation, Jacqueline W. Farris, said, “Since the struggle for independence, Nigeria has experienced tensions and divisions between and among various ethnic identities.
“Efforts to manage and resolve conflicts have been deployed, but latent acrimonies and mutual suspicions remain evident due to a combination of socio-economic and political factors, compounded by perceived and existent injustice”.
The retreat , the statement said, will feature two sessions:
Challenges of a Multi-Ethnic Society: Identifying Historical Impediments to National Unity.
Current Manifestations of Divisive Behaviour: Countering Contemporary Threats to a United and Prosperous Nigeria.
The opening plenary will feature performance poetry by Dike Chukwumerije No Culture Is Older Than Being Human and Drawing Blood by Atilola Moronfolu.
“The Yar’Adua Foundation’s mission is to promote national unity, good governance and social justice by creating platforms to engage citizens, policy makers and stakeholders in national conversations that foster an inclusive and prosperous Nigeria”, the statement said