The Chairman of this occasion and other distinguished guests.
I stand here as a delighted Kogite to represent the voice of Kogi Liberation Movement (KLM), a group I am privileged to have founded over ten (10) year ago. But I am more delighted to talk about peace, which is one of the cardinal points of KLM vision.
To talk about peace, no distance is too far; we are here as a movement to support this initiative because we believe it will bring togetherness amongst our people.
One of the most pernicious myth is our mind engagement, that peace and prosperity are hopelessly complicated and unattainable. This is not true because the only complication to attaining peace lies in our inability to stay together and create a team, so that together everyone achieves more.
Our renewed vigour should be that peace and prosperity can be achieved with power, pace and precision; if only we keep in our minds a continued quest to the realization of five (5) basic fundamental freedom: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom for want, freedom for the environment and freedom from fear. Yes, other rights are also essential but these basic rights and freedoms established a framework with which, other rights can grow and flourish.
If truly, seriously we are bent on having an egalitarian society devoid of too many rancor; be it politics or on our normal social lives; these freedoms and many more must be hallowed as a social principle to creating a social order where people are not only free but also feel secured to make choices.
KLM is very engrossed in this direction and we are ready to be part of fora like this anytime we are called upon. As a group, we have made our contributions to the growth of our dear Kogi State. Currently, we are engaging in sectoral discussions proffering solutions to the many problems we are facing as a state from education, employment, agriculture, health etc. because we believe that illiteracy, poverty, unemployment etc stand at the other side of the gully to peace. Until we are able to address these social ills, no peace deal or agreement with few individuals of negligible percentage can make us attain the most desired peace in our state.
Kogi State as it were, is one of, if not the most literate state in the North with a very brilliant set of human beings carefully selected confluencly by God across the state. Inspite of this, we have not been able to attain the needed development for our people because we have not encapsulated a clear vision carrying these basic freedoms that will usher peace in our state.
I therefore, urge all of us who are lucky to be here today to carry back home, a message of hope; that peace is possible when we stand behind each other, trust each other, share idea with each other and learn to respect our diversities. So that those differences can be spun to strength instead of threat.
Kogi State cannot afford to miss out on peaceful coexistence because everything about this state is peace
Ladies and gentlemen, you may wish to recall that after a wide travel between our two (2) notable rivers; River Niger and Benue, both rivers saw no place worthy to shake hands but here. Just here, very close to you and I.
Are you aware, that after the regional struggles between the North and the South, the 1914 amalgamation by Sir. Fredrick Lord Lugard sees your state, my state worthy to be the centre of peace for both regions; that is why our government House up till now is known and referred to as Lugard House.
For this, I think I am not wrong to say that Lugard House should also be known as peace house, that Lokoja should be known as a peace town, that Kogi State should be known as a peace state and that Kogi people should be known as a peaceful people.
If we look carefully, this natural and human peace effort I have cited, then we have just one option to our developmental agenda and that is peace.
It is my sincere prayer that we have:
- Peace in our State, Kogi
- Peace in our country, Nigeria
- Peace in our continent, Africa and
- And peace in the world at large
Finally, let me encourage all of us that if we are sincerely ready for peace, then we must be seen ready all the time, not to sit back and harvest peace as a result of other peoples’ action and effort, but must be ready also to contribute and cultivate peace.
Thank you very much for your time.
God bless all of you.
– A speech delivered by Salihu Adam Jiddah, Founder, Kogi Liberation Movement (KLM) at the 2019 Kogi Peace Summit on 23rd January, 2019.
