IPCR to build contemporary peace academy soon –Bakut

By Ochiaka Ugwu

The Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) may have concluded plans to build a world standard contemporary peace academy soon, Director General of the Institute, Dr. Bakut Tswah Bakut has said.

Bakut who made this know in Abuja Tuesday at the induction of 37 graduates trained by National Peace Academy (NPA) a training arm of the IPCR into membership of the Peace Institute (mpi) revealed that proposed Peace Academy Centre would be built on 20 hectares of land space with international centre for mediation and negotiation.   

While stating they had the approval of government for the building of the academy, Bakut praised the inductees on their resilient while embarking on the course, saying that upon difficulties faced, they were able to learn and interact with the institute.

He mandated them to always represent the institute anywhere everywhere based on the fact it was recognized all over the world as a fore most federal government institute saddled with peace building and conflict resolution responsibilities.

He tasked the inductees to meet up with world standard by equipping themselves with information of peace and conflict issues to enable them mediate from the point of knowledge and world’s best practices.

Also speaking, Director of the academy, Dr. Bosade Awodola said the Institute was happy to be adding a lot more workforce to peace building in Nigeria with their graduation and induction as Members of Peace Institute.

Awodola expressed joy that the Academy that started as a joke had become a learning centre to be reckoned with, saying it had grown more than they had anticipated.

She reminded the inductees on the need to work hard as peace building works need resilience.

Chairman of NPA Alumni, Sir Innocent Nweke (mpi) who welcomed the inductees to the peace building palace urged them to be steadfast in their task as peace building was painstaking.

He asked the inductees to always pursue an absolute peace upon the fact that it may not be possible to achieve, but will make them to arrive at relative peace.

Presenting a paper titled, “Peace Building in Democratic era in Nigeria” Dr. Peters Maji stated that conflict have become more diverse and challenging giving multiplicity of issues at hand.

Maji noted that most states were divided along tribal and religious lines, but expressed hope that it could be made better by applying intensive peace building mechanism that would be sustainable.

One of the inductees, Iyo Dorine from Diddo Ance Niche Concept expressed happiness on the training and induction saying that her target of institutionalizing peace building practice was in the family being the first unit of the society.