By Philip Yatai

Generation for Peace Nigeria, an NGO, has called on Kaduna State Government and residents of the state to encourage and support youth to play active role in peace building in their communities.

Mss Jelilat Abidoye, Administrative Officer of the NGO in Kaduna made the appeal at a news conference organized to mark the 2019 International Human Solidarity Day on Friday.

Abidoye said that the NGO, along with its partners were celebrating unity in diversity of the Kaduna people to show solidarity with humanity.

“We are, therefore, encouraging residents of the state as well as the government of the day to appreciate people’s cultural diversity and learn to respect these diversities.

“We equally want people to tolerate one another and build channels and platforms to bridge religious gaps.

“As we join other parts of the world to commemorate the 2019 International Human Solidarity Day, we are calling on all and sundry to join us in supporting the fight against violent extremism.

“We want people to take personal responsibility and actively engage in creating a shared future for all communities to live in peace and harmony,” she said. 

She explained that the human solidarity day was set aside to celebrate unity in diversity and remind governments to respect their commitments to international agreements.

She also said that the day was set aside to raise public awareness on the importance of solidarity needed for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The official said the NGO had in the last one year implemented a programme tagged, “Arts and Advocacy for Peace Programme (AR-ADPP) in the state.

“The programme was designed to enhance peace and security in Kaduna, through arts and advocacy initiatives for youth and adults that encountered violent extremism to prevent conflict.

“The programme engaged 60 ethnically and religiously-diverse youth and adults from Kaduna, with representation from 10 ethnic groups and drawn from Islam and Christianity,” she said.

She said that the programme was implemented in partnership with Global Young Generation for Peace Development Initiative with funding from Embassy of the United States of America, Abuja.

“We will be conducting a nine-day online campaign to further reinforce our message of solidarity to the people of the state and beyond,” she said.