Chief Emeka Anyaoku
Religious extremism and the struggle for political power have been identified as the root causes of internal conflicts in the country.
Former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku said this on Tuesday at a national retreat on human security organised by the National Orientation Agency (NOA) in Abuja.
Anyaoku said that conflicts arise when one group decides to impose its brand of religion on another group because of extremism.
“Whereas with Boko Haram in Nigeria, religion is a contributing factor to insurgency or conflict, we must continue to affirm the need for all religions to treat one another with mutual respect. Such conflicts naturally generate antagonistic memories that are sometimes hard to heal, even long after the cessation of conflict,” he said
He also said national crisis was more disruptive of human security when there is struggle for control of political power between the component major ethnic groups, or imbalance distribution of social economic resources.
He called for all inclusive governance in a country that has been torn apart by internal conflict
According to him; “where such inclusive governance is absent, the art of reconciliation and healing of memories becomes difficult and even unrealisable.”
The Director General of NOA, Mr. Mike Omeri, in his remarks, identified the place of peace and security in the development of every nation.
“As an agent of development, man requires personal security and a conducive social environment to drive the development process,” he said
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