Leader Olumba Obu Canvasses Peace For Nigeria’s Growth

BY UBON EKANEM, CALABAR – The Spiritual Leader of Brotherhood of the Cross and Star (BOS), Leader Olumba Olumba Obu says domesticating the global peace mantra will positively drive Nigeria’s socio-economic growth and development.

He said if there has been any time that the country requires peace most, such time is now given the alarming reports of kidnapping, banditry, and large-scale communal clashes leading to the unfortunate loss of precious lives nationwide.

Speaking in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, during a special ceremony organised by BOS in conjunction with the United Nations to mark the 2022 International Peace Day celebrations, Leader Obu said the desire for peace, which cuts across racial and ethnic boundaries, cannot be ignored in the face of existing and emerging challenges on the global stage.

The BOS Spiritual Head, who maintained that peace on all fronts would be in the overall interest of Nigerians and the country at large, added; “We are heading into elections and given our impatience to imbibe the culture of the winner being magnanimous and the loser playing the role of a sportsman by accepting defeat with humility, there are bound to be cases of skirmishes and our political leaders should initiate proactive measures to ward off whatever man-made conflicts may arise.”

According to him, experience has shown that no meaningful progress can be achieved where conflicts thrive, hence the need to give peace a chance so that the little efforts achieved in our march toward nationhood could be preserved and built upon for the benefit of generations yet unborn.

Also adding his voice to the call for global peace, the Spokesperson of BOS, Christ Shepherd Archibong Edet praised the media for their positive role in conflict resolution and urged the practitioners not to rest on their oars, as a lot still needs to be done for the world to enjoy peace.

He said in an interactive session with media men after the world peace day celebrations, that the choice of the theme “Give peace a chance” for this year’s event could not have been more appropriate given our daily experience with disturbing reports of unending conflicts across the country.

In his response, Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Cross River State Council, Comrade Nsa Gill while highlighting the importance of celebrating Global Peace Day, stressed that peace remains an essential ingredient for Nigeria’s growth and development going forward.