NIGERIA NEEDS URGENT REPROGRAMMING TO PREVENT WAR

NIGERIA NEEDS URGENT REPROGRAMMING TO PREVENT WAR – Kolade, Anya, Wigwe, Obiozor, Ladi Thompson, others speak

– Kolade, Anya, Wigwe, Obiozor, Ladi Thompson, others speak

Prominent statesmen under the auspices of Burdened Elders have called for urgent reprogramming to rescue Nigeria from the brinks of war, adding that a new Pan-Nigerian consciousness is urgently needed if the nation must remain one and work again. The coalition has as members elder statesmen like Nigeria’s former diplomat, Dr Chris Kolade; former Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria Economic Summit Group, Prof. Anya Anya; an engineer, Shyngle Wigwe; and a former Nigerian ambassador to the United States, Cyprus, Israel, Prof. George Obiozor and many others.

At a summit convened by Ladi Thompson, pastor Living Waters Unlimited, in MUSON Centre, Lagos Nigeria Thursday, the elders, in a speech delivered by Professor Kalu Anya, mourn every single life that has been lost and the innocent blood that has been shed. “Age and wisdom know that this is the hour when great courage, faith and wisdom are in urgent demand because there are too many voices in the wind and it is not every voice that wishes us well.” 

• SPEECHES
• PROVERBS OF PEACE AND YIGBA PROGRAM … The Younger Generations
• CONSTRUCTING THE BRIDGE OF PEACE – REPROGRAMMING NIGERIA

“For the peace and prosperity of every Nigerian citizen, the drums of war have to be silenced. Every dark cloud must be dispelled and the confusion must cease. This can be achieved through inspirational and innovative leadership. We must explore widely, look deeply, act fast, and be ready to think out of the box.

 “A native African proverb says, ‘The elder who examines a situation to declare that we have never seen anything like this before, is only dramatising the situation before offering a solution’. The fact that things are not the way they ought to be in Nigeria is not debatable, but we must not allow ourselves to be dragged into an abyss of the troubles of the hour,” the group said.

“Armed with the wisdom of reprogramming, we will, if need be, contend inch for inch, person for person, and language by language, to rescue our nation from this present darkness of instinctive mistrust, blood spills and bitter divisions.

 “The average Nigerian may be surprised to discover that the things that bind us together far outweigh what is dividing us. There is really no problem in Nigeria except the problem programmed inside the Nigerian. Once this can be fixed, we will overcome all challenges with ease. Research also teaches us that we were all programmed to act as rivals and fight one another for resources through the colonial heritage,” they added.

CHRISTOPHER KOLADE
Christopher Kolade, alluding to the speech of Anya said the drumbeat of wars across the nation is very unfortunate, adding that Nigeria, with over 200 million people would be disastrous to breakdown into war. No nation in Africa would be able to swallow the effects of war in Nigeria.

Drawing encouragements from his experience and history, Kolade said in the past, he travelled to various parts of Nigeria without fear, believing that wherever he got to, there would always be people to love, welcome and assist him. But this happy stance is being allowed to fade away and be replaced with needless hatred and suspicion. “Things that unite us as a nation are much more than our differences. The challenges of Nigeria are mere distractions that Nigerians should do away with. Nigerians must leave behind the history of animosities and define a future path that is prosperous and productive.”

GEORGE OBIOZOR
Prof. George Obiozor, former chairman of the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs said, “There are two major problems in Nigeria: leadership and the problem of justice. Don’t tell me about unity when there is no justice. The leadership can change the destiny of any nation. The destiny of a leader is clearly linked to the destiny of the nation. This country has been through so many crossroads. If we can cross this one, I will be happy.”

LADI THOMPSON
The convener of the summit, Pastor Ladi Thompson listed some of the reprogramming projects to include YIGBA, a unified cultural platform for national discussion and construction of bridge of peace.

 “Like the Hausa-Fulani concept, it would allow us to share many things that are of common interests without firing one gunshot. We would have made a giant stride of progress in national integration.

Ladi explained that Yigba is a concept that will unite the people in the south which will eventually provide a platform that would interface with the Hausa-Fulani concept that has been instituted for centuries. He said that the problem of Nigerian is not really that of restructuring but reprogramming.

“God, in His office as a creator has programmed the world and mankind to act in certain ways that cannot be changed. Man cannot resist the force of gravity under certain conditions. The Hausa-Fulani concept as it plays out in Nigeria was a programmed written by Lord Lugard. There is a need for an urgent programming to take care of the shapeless south so as to meet in unity with the Hausa-Fulani concept in the North.

THE COVENANT POINTS
To achieve this, Thompson stated some THE COVENANT POINTS:
* All mankind is created, and equal, by God.
* We embrace as unconditionally true that no person, gender, creed, tribe, ethnic group, or race, is superior or inferior to any other.
* Every form of racist, supremacist, and discriminatory ideologies and practices are unacceptable.
* We are firmly persuaded that our common traits, strengths and differences are individual elements of our glorious whole.
* Our diversity should be used to make our unity stronger.
* We firmly commit to use non-violent in all communications, always, perfecting streams of love as we continually construct bridges of peace.
* We must constantly reappraise our norms and traditions, while preserving the essence of our humanity and identity.
*We will cherish the trust given to mankind by observing the natural laws, unpolluted by our own prejudices.