The strategy of governance the leaders of this nation have adopted and have been practicing for a long time in order to conveniently rule the people without any opposition is “divide and rule strategy.” What does this strategy entail or mean? It means preventing the people, especially the mases from uniting in opposition. My attention has been drawn to this by the Holy Spirit and I have observed with keen interest that the leaders and the politicians of this nation create and encourage divisions among the people to prevent alliances that could challenge the pre-existing structure which could be faulty or lacks capacity to produce results. No nation will become prosperous and powerful if her leaders continue to divide the people in order to rule them; Nations prosper and become powerful when the people are united in vision-going towards the same direction and also in purpose.  

“No nation or political party can make visible progress, or can be built in the midst of crisis, war or chaos; but in an atmosphere of peace and tranquility.” A nation whose citizens are hostile to each other, where its citizens cannot live in harmony but fear or lack the confidence to live in certain region is a nation that is not yet ready to become prosperous. A Scripture I found so apt in the context of this discuss is in Ephesians 4:1. It says; Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. One God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.

I found a statement in this Scripture that would be very relevant to what would be discussed in this article. It says; “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” I wonder what kind of effort our leaders are making or have made in order to for the people to be united. The New Living Translation puts it this way; “Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.” So, it is possible for a people to be united in the spirit and what unites them or binds them together is peace. This is the reason why it baffles me why political aspirants, and leaders in government pay no attention to this issue. We have peace as a motto but the citizens hardly live in peace and the government and leaders are making no effort to ensure that it becomes a culture and an experience for every citizen of the nation.  

 

The focus of this article is to draw the attention of leaderships and politicians across the length and breath of this nation to treat this matter with every sense of urgency if the nation they want to serve or lead will really stand and become a safe haven for all.

If I may ask; should peaceful coexistence only be a song, a pattern, and a culture that only a certain tribe, religion or ethnic in this nation is particular about? What about others? Peace is very important and fundamental to the development of this nation that politicians and leaders of this nation must see as a top priority?  When last have we heard this concept being talked about in communities and religious gatherings; In schools and in market places, on bill boards and sign posts? Everything in this nation must remind us about the need for peace coexistence. A popular line goes thus; An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. An eye for an eye only makes the world blind. An eye for an eye will make the world blind. An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind. It looks like a repetition but each statement conveys its own message.

Jesus said admonishing His disciples in the bid to encourage peaceful coexistence, He said whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. ⁴⁰ If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. ⁴¹ And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. What happens to a nation where violence is displayed every day on our TV screens and mobile phones? How many Nigeria will agree or adhere to this kind of teachings. But this is the ideal thing to do, we must begin to love each other if this nation must move from where it is to where it must be.

King Solomon the wisest man in his time made a statement in 1 Kings 5:4. He said; “But now the LORD my God; This is King Solomon speaking; He said but now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor evil occurrence.” The Good News Translation puts it this way; “But now the LORD my God has given me peace on all my borders.” This is the reason why Israel prospered during the reign of king Solomon. If your leadership will prosper, if the nation will prosper, you must first receive peace and address anything that has the capacity to distort peace during your reign and you will be amazed at what the transformation the nation will experience within a short period of time.

Peace is a vital tool for the development of any nation or society. It is so vital that God instructed Moses to tell Aaron and his sons to bless the children of Israel in this manner; Numbers 6:24-26. “The Lord bless you and keep you; ²⁵ the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; ²⁶the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” Peace is so important that a people needed to be blessed with it. Verse 26 says may the Lord turn His face towards you and give you peace. This looks like a repetition of what was given to Solomon; this nation must lay demand for it if really wants to experience prosperity and development.  

Peace is the state or period in which there is no war or the cessation of war. It also means freedom from disturbance[s]. Where peace is lacking; growth, development and prosperity is lacking. Whether it is inner peace or external peace whatever kind, it is obligatory for every leadership to execute their leadership agenda. This is what God gave king Solomon. The Scripture we read above said God gave him rest on every side. And that was the reason why the nation of Israel could be prosperous during his reign. I want us to note that this word was carefully used in this verse; It says “the Lord my God has given me rest on every side.” So, the first thing I noted was that Solomon served a God that has the capacity to give peace.

The reason why it seems peace is simply not something that could become a possibility in this nation is because we don’t have a leader that serves a good that gives peace. Peace is not achieved by guns and bombs and by reprisal attacks, no! peace is gotten from the giver of peace. But that may not be the case for all leaders. Looking at the case of a leader like Nehemiah for example, he encountered resistance like Sambalat and Tobaiah as he was trying to rebuild the wall of his nation. Even though the building process was making progress, it was at a slow pace because the peace that was required was not accessed. Bible says God does not watch over a city the watchmen watch but in vain. Military operations and security guards don’t guarantee peace, let leaders turn to God almighty the giver of peace.

God recognizing how chaotic the earth was as recorded in Genesis chapter 1 and verse 2, the Bible says; In the beginning God (prepared, formed, fashioned, and) created the heavens and the earth. Then verse 2 gave a very sharp contrast in its description of the earth that God prepared, formed and fashioned. It says; The earth was without form and an empty waste, and darkness was upon the face of the very great deep. The question is; did God deliberately and intentionally prepared, form and fashioned the earth to be an empty waste, to be without form and to be full of darkness? Certainly note! I believe the earth was in a perfect order before the negation.  The Living Bible puts verse 2 this way; it says the earth was^[a] a shapeless, chaotic mass. When the word chaos is mentioned what does it mean? It means complete disorder and confusion. That talks about lack of peace.

As a matter of fact, these words accompany any situation where peace is not noticeable. What is experienced is confusion, panic, disorder and anxiety. This was the situation of the world until God found it necessary to restore order. By introducing peace. How was God able to achieve that? He sent His Son into the world not as a warrior, but as a prince of peace. Because this is what the word lacks; peace! Not another war lord. The Bible says in Isaiah 9 that the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end. When Jesus came to the earth, He made a very profound statement in John 14:27, He said Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. So, God knowing that if Solomon is not settled with peace, building the temple would rather be a very difficult task. So, He gave him peace and rest on all sides just as Jesus gave His disciples peace. Nehemiah encountered challenges when He was re-building the wall and it slowed down the pace at which the work ought to have gone. Nations who make tangible progress enjoy a relative peace in comparison with nations who are war torn, and going through one form of unrest or the other.

So, what are the characteristic properties or indicators of peace? How do we know that peace is inherent in a particular state, community or nation? Or what are the factors that contribute to the peace of a nation, state or community? The following must be evident;

• Forgiveness
• Tolerance and mutual respect
• Unity
• Justice and equity
• Objectiveness
• Understanding

If peace is very important in the development and prosperity of any nation, state, community or tribe, it is very important that we look into how peace itself can be built.

PEACE BUILDING PROCESS

What is peace building? And what does this process entail? Peace building is a deliberate process or measure taken or adopted to seek and address the root causes of conflict. The primary aim or goal of this process is to help nations, states, communities and tribes bedeviled with insecurity and all forms of barbaric attacks. It will also help political parties to resolve their grievances or differences peacefully, so as to lay the foundations which would prevent future disorder or violence.

#. The first step to starting a peace building process is reconciliation. What does it mean? It means the process or act of restoring friendly relations or the action of making one’s view or belief compatible with another. This was the summary of the task Jesus came to establish between God and man. In peace building process love, mercy and forgiveness must take the center stage and another opportunity must be given to allow the wounds to heal. It is not a time for exchanging blames. When accusations and blames becomes the order of the day, peace would be trampled upon. And there must be willingness of both parties to come together. 2 Chronicles 7:14 “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

So, the first step to begin peace building is firstly by reconciling with God, repent by turning away from wicked ways and God will heal the nation. But will our leaders see this step as the starting point? They would prefer to do other things but to go to God they won’t. And until this is done the healing of this nation cannot begin. The Bible made us to understand in 2 Corinthians 5:18-19. “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹ that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.” So, haven reconciled the estranged nation back to God, the next step is to reconcile the citizens who are agitated back to themselves. This is how to begin to build peace.

#. Secondly; Sit on a round table and have honest discussions with grieved or marginalized parties, languages, group, tribe or community. Hence the government or leadership of the nation, must embrace accountability, transparency and objectivity.  The people must never be left in the dark, the leaders must come to the level of the people, explain the reasons why they have formulated or implemented certain policies and also share the vision of the government with the people. By so doing the barrier or distance between the government and the people will be reduced, the people will feel carried along and they are part of the government.

#. Thirdly; Equip citizens with the right knowledge and give commitment to fundamentals of religion and morality. Moral standards should be put into much consideration, and attention should also be given to what is being taught in schools and religious gatherings. Children, youths must not be indoctrinated or exposed to messages and videos that would instigate hatred and zero tolerance for one another. 

#. Fourthly; Revisit past experiences and learn from what was the cause of the last violence. It talks about going back to the drawing board reflecting and retrospection. How and when did we begin? What caused it? And how did we get here? As much as it is good to look at the brighter side of life and begin to focus on rebuilding process, attention must also be given to what decision, what statement, what leader and what posture resulted in the last conflict and measures must be adopted to become sensitive to them in the future in other to avoid or nip in the bud future occurrence.

#. Fifty; Speak words of peace. There are words that commands peace to be experienced in a particular territory. There are words that aggravate situations, there are words that can calm situations. Jesus rebuked the wind by words and the Scripture says there was a great calm. In as much as God is the giver of peace, when He has given peace lets be careful not to bring violence by the words, we speak to one another.

#. Put Security Measures in Place. In order to ensure the safety of lives and properties and to prevent intrusion. This talks about those who will enforce law and order, whose response will be prompt when the need arises. Peace is very essential and we must do all it takes or require to embrace and enjoy it.

Thanks for the gift of your time, I am Apeh Francis Abah!

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