GOVERNOR Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State on Thursday reiterated his administration’s commitment to providing more acquisition skills centers and job opportunities to youths and other vulnerable persons in the State with a view to reducing unemployment in the society.
Ugwuanyi who spoke at a one-day national conference on peace and conflict development organized by the Institute of Peace, Conflict and Development Studies of the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), Enugu in conjunction with the West African Network for Peace (WANEP) and Baywood Foundation, said it was imperative for the youths to be actively engaged in meaningful ventures.
The governor noted that the importance of peace especially where it involves the active youth population of the nation cannot be overemphasized, adding that the government would continue to support ESUT and by extension the institute to succeed.
“The government is doing all with its capacity to empower and reposition the youths for greatness in the state as we have the most robust youth practical skill acquisition system in the country via `one youth, one skill programme’.
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“We have also built and renovated many primary, post-primary and tertiary institutions; with a lot of ongoing development projects in ESUT campuses in the state,’’ he said.
According to him, the state government will continue to encourage peace building mechanism and bridge building to further cement the country as one and engender holistic development.
Earlier, the Vice Chancellor of ESUT, Prof. Luke Anike, said that the theme of the conference was germane basically because insecurity had become the most worrying challenge to the well-being and survival of Nigeria and Nigerians.
” Insecurity in our time has manifested in numerous and disturbing forms – the most virulent being acts of terrorism, kidnapping and armed banditry of varying dimensions.
“The truth is that in whatever form insecurity manifests, the general public is imperiled – lives and property are lost – and this places a huge question mark on the sentences of our development and civilization as a people,’’ he said.
“In an overview of the institute’s objectives and mandate, the Director of the new Institute, Professor Felix Asogwa, said that everything people do in terms of progress depends on peace and security.
“People must seek to dialogue and make peace through positive and purposeful communication. There is this necessity to have peace and manage peace and that is what the institute sets out to achieve,’’ Asogwa said.
According to him, the institute will bring solution to issues that trigger conflicts even within immediate localities in South-East such as land disputes and traditional leadership tussles.
He noted that the institute, whose curriculum is a Post-Graduate based and domicile within the Faculty of Social Sciences in ESUT, would have its catchment areas to cover students from South-East, South-South, the country, and Sub-African region.
“Those expected to apply to include military and para-military personnel, political, religious and community leaders as well as Nigerians who have interest in peace,’’ he said.
In a goodwill message, Emperor Baywood Ibe, Founder of Baywood Foundation, said that the foundation was interested in peacebuilding throughout Africa through targeting of youths to pursue peace and be an agent of peace themselves.
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Ibe noted that the foundation would continue to support the institute to build on its capacity to deliver on its objectives and mandates since the continent especially Nigeria needed peace in all its ramifications to succeed.
The Executive Director of WANEP, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeh, commended a Baywood Foundation for supporting institutions and groups that promote peace within Africa; thus, standing against issues of violence and unnecessary bloodshed and destruction.
“So, WANEP will also support ESUT’s Peace Institute initiative to create dynamism for professional skills and resources to be available to build and sustain peace in Nigeria and by extension Africa.
The high points of the occasion were the donation of 200 books on conflict resolution and management to the new institute and investiture of Society for Peace Studies and Practice (SPSP) on Ibe and Anike for their outstanding contribution to peace and conflict resolution.
The theme of the conference is: ” Harnessing the potentials of the youths in Nigeria in support of the African Union and ECOWAS peace and security architecture “
