Let Us Work Out Ways To Peace

The tension in the Niger Delta and indeed Nigeria must not be allowed to escalate further. This is time for dialogue. Let all parties agree to sit at the table and resolve those issues considered hitherto to be no go areas. Across party,religious and ethnic lines we can make concessions for peace. We can work it out. There is no need to war and fight over what can be easily resolved across the table.

The Creator of the world has given us resources to exploit and guidelines to do it peacefully. If we have forgotten,it is only our greed that makes this place no longer a paradise on earth. There us no reason for government not to understand that people of Nigeria belong to diverse cultures and traditions to make them all different in viewpoints. What benefits one at a time may harm the other.

This is why there is plurality and democracy to structure society into harmony and peace. Any government that fails to allow dissent and opposing views will not engender harmony in a group setting. To avoid such leadership attaining power,rules and regulations were enshrined in a constitution for which a leader is made to swear on assumption of office.

The idea is to protect harmony in diversity. The rules must be followed. To ensure that it is obeyed,campaigns are made to be long and rigorous for political contenders. Gates for the position are placed high enough to select only qualified people. Then campaigns are tests for capability which must end in debates. Debates further give the electorate chance to see the attitude of their aspiring leaders to issues .

But where an ingenious way is discovered to elude these steps during campaign a country may end up electing a wrong person and the stage is set for disaster.Disaster comes from governance mistakes which accumulate dissensions until it becomes uncontrollable.But we can check the trend at every point so that it does not escalate. Now is not the time to stick too much to right.we can bend backwards everyone and allow peace to reign while getting our heart desires. To the leadership of Nigeria at this point I say that your governance mistakes has got us this far.

This is the time to backpedal and sit down for dialogue. No need to pull out federal might because the purpose of this might is the good of all not the good of few for then it is no longer federal! To the agitators, understand that there is always another way to achieve the same thing not just the way you think. Let everyone sit down to explore other ways to peace. Remember peace has no alternative.