Rights commission inducts northern students as peace ambassadors
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has inducted students of the University of Abuja into the Human Rights Club of the commission.
The induction was held at the first edition of the Peace Summit of the Northern Nigerian Students Forum (GAMJI), University of Abuja chapter, with the theme: “Sustaining Peace in Northern Nigeria”.
Speaking on the idea behind the setting up of the club, the Executive Director of External Communication of NHRC, Dr. Lambert Opara, said the commission considered the students as a critical population for human rights propagation in the country because as youths their minds were still open for ideas.
Dr. Opara charged the inductees to assist the commission to promote human rights both within and outside the campus; in their families and communities.
He said, “The respect for human rights is sine qua non for peace. Peace is just not the absence of war; there are other things involved.
“If you have an unenlightened society, hunger, and if you have people who don’t have future in the society, there are tendencies that you will have disaffections in the society. And of course, this will certainly generate wars or confusion or civil disobedience.”
Speaking during the event, the Etsu Kwali in the FCT, Shabba Audu, charged the youths to emulate the virtues of a former Premier of the Northern Region, Sir Ahmadu Bello, in ensuring the development of the region by avoiding drugs and all forms of violence.
The Chairman of the occasion, Prof. Sheriff Ghali-Ibrahim, said peace has been a driving force in the development in Europe and the world after World Wars I and II which led to the deaths of millions.
Prof. Ghali-Ibrahim said, “The implication is that without peace nothing can work for you and me. What happened to Maiduguri is that children cannot go to school, traders cannot go to the market, civil servants cannot go to work because of insurgency. So, peace is the sine qua non; the paraphernalia for the existence and continuity of any society.”