The 1914 amalgamation of the defunct southern and northern protectorates of Nigeria into one nation and the ultimate attainment of independence in 1960 may have been viewed as a mere fusion of strange bed fellows who would hardly sustain the delicate task of nation hood.

Although both past and present Nigerian leaders have in various ways and capacities attempted to navigate the country into a notable status, it is regrettable that the towering state of insecurity in the country in past couple of years tends to heighten the distrustful attitude. For instance, the country has experienced more than a fair share of hiccups and distractions that penetrates the harmonious existence stretching from the killings of the retrogressive civil war, to incessant ethnic and religious crisis.

Whatever form or guise it assumes, insecurity is disruptive and retrogressive and must therefore be abhorred. With the nations general dose of divine favour, epitomized in the abundance of natural endowments, it is saddening that rather than continue to appropriate such divine blessings for national stability, the nations peace has been distorted by various forms of hostilities.

What Nigerians desperately desire is to regain the consciousness to reinvigorate their past glory and reinstate peace and tranquility in the country. This is because beyond food and shelter for the citizenry, a secured environment is essential for wholesome livelihood.

The present administration deserves a measure of credit for the appreciable progress it has made in the fight against insurgency in some parts of the country.

It’s still crystal clear that more needs to be done because insecurity in the country has assumed different dimensions which cannot be successfully tackled by the government alone. As a major bailout therefore, Nigerians generally need a comprehensive re-orientation and attitudinal renaissance.

What the worrying situation demands is that all Nigerians must not only reaffirm their stake in the Nigerian project, but collectively rise to save it from danger.

Accordingly, they must collaborate to actualize the age long goal of attaining a harmonious society. Both the old and young must at all times resist the urge to make themselves available for manipulation into inglorious or dastardly indulgence that could hinder the corporate interest of the country.

Unarguably, Nigerians need to wisely key into the global spirit of love and fraternity in their affairs both at their interpersonal level and the larger society. Citizens must shun the impacts of disaffection and rekindle love for fellow country men and women, so that peace will be re-engendered in all homes and communities.

Now is indeed the time for all Nigerians to embrace the truism that peace and friendship have no alternatives. That the difference in tribes and languages does not matter, but serves as a collective strength, no Nigerian is anything short of a Nigerian thus brotherhood is compelling and must be affirmed to condition the peace that is required for the nation’s breakthrough in various realms of human endeavor.

All citizens must continue to precipitate, embrace and perpetuate peaceful co-existence by rejecting disruptive lifestyles and shunning champions of national discord. In as much as cracks are bound to occur in both interpersonal and inter communal relationships, such cracks should be rightly perceived as phenomenal and nipped in the bud, rather than been allowed to degenerate into monumental and uncontrollable dimensions.

Government at all levels must also continue to live up to its responsibilities of making life affordable and worth living. The National Orientation Agency (NOA) should reactivate an intensive its mobilization processes, while engaging in massive grass root enlightenment to revamp the spirit of brotherhood among all citizens.

All hands must be on deck to check security breaches. In particular, traditional rulers must remain symbols of unity and the focus of communal solidarity. While religious leaders must conform to the tenets of liberalization to eliminate minds and redirect people’s conscience to peaceful virtue in preference to vices.

On the road to nationhood: Nigerians as agents of sustainable peace

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