*Calls for national unity, institutional reforms, community participation
President of Rotary International, Olayinka Hakeem Babalola, on Saturday, called on Nigerians to embrace grassroots-driven peacebuilding, institutional reforms and national unity.
He said that lasting peace cannot be achieved through military intervention and government institutions alone.
He said peace must be nurtured from the foundation of society through collective commitment, mutual understanding, justice and inclusive development.
Babalola spoke at the All Nigeria Rotary Peace Summit held in Lagos, where he urged government officials, traditional rulers, religious leaders, security agencies, civil society organisations and citizens to work together towards building a peaceful and prosperous country.
He said Nigeria had demonstrated considerable capacity in promoting peace and stability across Africa through its contributions to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and United Nations peacekeeping and peace support operations.
According to him, the country must now redirect some of that experience and commitment towards addressing its internal challenges.
“Our work in Liberia and other parts of Africa shows that we have the experience and ability to help prevent and manage conflict beyond our borders.
“Now it is time to turn those energies inward — to bring our commitment to building peace among our neighbours and the world back home,” he said.
The Rotary International President stressed that peace should not be understood merely as the absence of violence.
He argued that sustainable peace depends on the attitudes, institutions and structures that promote peaceful coexistence.
He said: “But we cannot impose peace. We must nurture it from the very roots of our society so it may grow into a great tree that will feed and shelter all of us under its protective embrace.”
Babalola explained that Rotary’s approach to peacebuilding was anchored on the philosophy of “Positive Peace,” which recognises the importance of strong institutions, social inclusion, access to opportunities and community participation in preventing conflict.
He said meaningful peace in Nigeria required the involvement of every segment of society rather than exclusive reliance on security agencies and government institutions.
RI President Olayinka Babalola; The Rotary Foundation Trustee, Ijeoma Pearl Okoro; and the Chair of Central Planning Committee of All Nigeria Peace Summit, Dr. Kazeem Mustapha, at the opening of the summit in Lagos…on Saturday.
PHOTO: ROTARY INTERNATIONAL
“Here in Nigeria, meaningful peace cannot rely on our security forces and government institutions alone. It requires every level of society to come together for the betterment of all,” he said.
Babalola challenged Nigerians to reconsider their individual and collective contributions to national development.
He stressed that the country could not achieve a different future without a change in attitudes and institutional practices.
He said: “Before we can Create Lasting Impact in Nigeria, we must first have the courage to change ourselves, whether we are members of Rotary or not.
“We cannot continue to do what we have always done and expect our great tree of peace to magically sprout from the ground. We must nurture our country and ourselves with all our being.”
He called for a Nigeria where citizens would enjoy equal access to justice, opportunities and dignity, irrespective of their backgrounds, religious beliefs, ethnic identities or circumstances of birth.
According to him, the country’s future depends on the ability of its people to recognise their shared interests and reject divisions and violence.
“A future where differences are respected, where violence is rejected, and where we all come together, not as different groups in competition, but as Nigerians in harmony,” he said.
The Rotary chief also urged participants at the summit to translate discussions and resolutions into practical initiatives capable of producing lasting benefits for communities.
He noted that Rotary could contribute to peacebuilding by strengthening trust between institutions and communities, promoting public confidence and supporting initiatives that improve the living conditions of ordinary Nigerians.
“This summit is an opportunity to turn our shared commitment to peace into practical action — to take mere words and transform them into a bright future for us and all our children,” he said.
Babalola urged members of Rotary across Nigeria to make peacebuilding a defining legacy of their service.
He added that the success of the initiative would ultimately be measured by its impact on future generations.
He said: “Our true measure of success is not the words we share among ourselves today, but the impact of our actions that lasts generation after generation.”
He expressed optimism that collective commitment to positive change would enable Nigeria to build a society where future generations could live in safety, dignity and freedom.
In her paper, the Director of Partnerships, Institute for Economics and Peace, Lea Prekerests noted that there are two kinds of peace, adding that peace is more than the absence of violence.
According to Prekerests, while Negative Peace is the absence of violence or the fear of violence, Positive Peace represents the attitudes, institutions and structures that create and sustain peaceful societies but Positive Peace is what makes peace last.
The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, in his paper, called for collaboration between the Rotary International and the police
to strengthen the partnerships that connect institutions with communities, government with citizens, and security with service.
The IGP, who was represented by AIG Miller Dantawaye, said: “Let us translate that principle into action. Let us work together to build communities where justice is accessible, institutions are trusted, citizens are responsible and every individual can live with dignity, security and hope. That is the foundation of lasting peace.
“Let me therefore take the first bold step of appealing to the RI president that we jointly fix a date for the first official Police/Rotary fellowship that will be jointly presided by the IGP and RI President to kickstart the collaboration”.
