Youth critical to peace building, says IPCR DG

By Ochiaka Ugwu

The Director General of Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), Dr. Bakut T. Bakut has said that youths are active stakeholders in peacebuilding, promotion, saying their involvement is critical in either sustaining the threats to peace and security or promoting peaceful co-existence.
In a press statement released in Abuja yesterday and signed by the Institute’s Head of media, Mr. Musa Mato it stated that the Director made this known Wednesday in Abuja while speaking at a Youth and Dialogue conference with the theme: “Building a New World and Embracing Peaceful Co-existence”.
According to him, the agenda for a new world should resolve around youths, who occupy the greater percentage in the nation’s demography.
“They are creative and equally active in the new media, which is vastly changing the landscape of social relationship in Nigeria in particular.
“We firmly believe that we can only build a sustainable new world when people, especially the youths, appreciate the importance of dialogue as a veritable mechanism for resolving differences,” he said.
The Director General however, said “we shall collectively strive to promote dialogue as a way to responding to the threats to peace and security in our society.”
Speaking during the event, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Youth and Sport Development, Mr. Olusade Adesola, stressed the need for peaceful coexistence for every society to develop.
He assured that the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development remain committed to providing conducive atmosphere for Nigerian youth to excel in all their undertakings.
Also speaking, the Vice President UFUK Dialogue, a Non-Governmental Organization, Mr. Emrahi Igen, appreciated the Director General Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Dr. Bakut T. Bakut for supporting the programme.