By Stanley Onyekwere
The Senior Special Assistant to the President Goodluck Jonathan, on Islamic Affairs, Alhaji Tahir Umar, has stressed the need for Nigerians to embrace peace in the interest of the overall development of the nation.
He made the point while briefing newsmen on national issues, in Abuja.
According to him, embracing peace was accepting to live together as one united people, as without peace, the country could not achieve any meaningful development compared to other peaceful nations.
“Peace is the mother of all development in any part of the world, and no nation in the world can develop and move forward in the atmosphere of rancor,” he said.
He therefore called on the Muslims and the non-Muslims to rise above religious sentiments and think of moving the country forward.
He noted that the major reason why his office was created was to foster peace between the Muslims, Christians and other faithful in the country.
He pointed out that his office has been able to organise seminars and workshops on peace within and outside the country, with a view to sensitising them on the importance of peace.
Umar said that the recent extension of the operations of Joint Task Force (JTF) in Adamawa, Yobe and Bornor was enough to show the president’s commitment in the area of peace.
He, however, called on Nigerians to always give useful information to the security agents in order to assist them in carrying out their responsibilities.
On government’s effort towards resolving the lingering insecurity in the north eastern part of the country, Umar reminded Nigerians that security was a collective responsibility and should not be left in the hands of the government alone.
“We should all see a situation of insecurity anywhere as abnormal in human society that calls for urgent and concerted efforts to quell.
“If quelled, we will be able to live in peace and start thinking of moving our country forward in the right direction,” Umar said.
The aide therefore expressed confidence that in no distance time, the security problem facing the country would soon be a thing of the past.
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