A Non-Governmental Organisation under the aegis of ActionAid Nigeria has said any government which deprives its citizens of education, either through lack of access or industrial action, is promoting violence and extremism.
At a press conference to mark the 2017 International Day of Peace with the theme, “Together for peace : Respect, Safety and Dignity for All,” the group said no nation grows when there were frequent closure of its tertiary institutions.
While addressing the press, the spokesman of the NGO, Mr. Gbenro Olajuyigbe, said no nation or state could merely wish for peace without a collective effort to achieve it.
According to him, “Our work for peace today has shown that ordinary people from different communities and ethnic groups can work together. We can not wish peace to happen without collectively working toward it”
While emphasising on the need for the Kogi State Government to provide access education its citizens, Olajuyigbe obviously referring to the frequent closure of schools in the state, called on governor Yahaya Bello to dialogue with labour to avert more damage to the future of the children.
He also called on Kogi state government to provide schools for the children of the Fulani community residing to enable them educate their wards and reduce the high level of illiteracy.
In a similar development, the Executive director of Trees on Earth Foundation, Moses Adedeji, called on all Nigerians to strive to live in peace irrespective of tribe or religion saying Nigeria can be greater if we are united.
He called on the federal government to dialogue with the leadership of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to find a lasting solution to their agitations instead of proscribing the body, which he said was not the best solution.
