Commandant, Kwara state command of the Nigerian Peace Corps, Mr. Azeez Toyin, has said that panacea to Nigeria’s political underdevelopment and current economic recession remained love of one another and patriotism to the country.
Speaking at the launching of the state chapter of the corps in Ilorin on Tuesday, the commandant said that campaign of love was a new formula needed to be enshrined in order to counter all societal ills in the country.
Toyin, who said that the campaign was recently launched Nationwide by the acting national commandant of the corps, Chinese Nneji, with a view to bringing back the original intent of the nation’s founding fathers to continually create love and relationship among ethnic groups in the country, explained that the campaign was directed to curb killing, maiming and wanton destruction of property and activities of terrorists.
He said the corps found out that the vices grew because of absence of love and that the love was needed to ensure peace which he said could guarantee development.
“Our research has abundantly revealed that we operate in the atmosphere of political acrimony, religious bigotry and religion politicisation, tribalism, statism, nepotism and ethnicity all of which are deeply rooted in the “absence of love for one another.
“Even though churches are multiplying while mosques are spring up on geometric progression yet hatred and all sorts of evils thrive astronomically to our detriment simply because love has evaporated from the society and condensed at the temple of egocentrism.
“It has therefore become crystal clear that almost all the viable political ideologies and economic formula have woefully failed to liberate us from the web of economic recession and suppression as well as political underdevelopment as we all need to be convinced that only the instrument l of love can bring about needed peace for national development”, he stated.
Also speaking at the occasion, the secretary of the state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Reuben Ibitoye, urged that this is the time to promote peace and love saying when there is peace there will be love and when there is love there will be peace.
The cleric said love promotes peaceful co-existence and that peacefully co-existence aids prosperity.
He charged members of the corps that while they are campaigning for love and patriotism they should do that with good examples in their conduct.
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