Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed has said that bad governance is one of the factors responsible for the current spate of insecurity in the nation.
Governor Mohammed stated this on Thursday while declaring open a citizens’ summit on National integration, peace and security organised by the Bauchi State chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations(NIPR), held at the Federal Polytechnic Bauchi.
Represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Ibrahim Kashim, the governor explained that good governance is imperative for peace and security to thrive in the nation, adding that they are requirements for harmonious coexistence among the people as well as the basic ingredient for national integration.
“The convening of the Peace Summit for National Integration, Peace and Security by NIPR cannot have come at a better time than now as there is a need to examine and interrogate the threats to the existence of our great country as a united indivisible entity.
“The unity in diversity that used to characterize peaceful coexistence among the people of the country in the good old days must be restored. It is my hope that this forum would provide credible and sustainable solutions to the challenges that are facing the unity, progress and development of our country”
“For a country like Nigeria that is characterized by ethnic and religious heterogeneity to develop, there must be a deliberate and concerted effort by the government to engender peaceful coexistence amongst the various groups in Nigeria,” he said
DAILY POST report that the governor pledged for the continued partnership between the state government and NIPR, saying that the institute is a professional image-making organization with a reputation building manager for the promotion of the laudable achievements of his administration.
In a keynote address, NIPR President and Chairman of the Council, Mukhtar Zubairu Sirajo stressed that good communication is key to resolving national issues, insisting communication must be employed if peace is to be sustained in the country.
The NIPR boss said the Institute decided to come up with the citizens’ summit on national integration, peace and security with a view to foster understanding among diverse groups in the country.
“As relationship builders, NIPR has all the necessary skills to bring back the old days mechanism of resolving issues by talking about current issues with a view to finding out how to solve them and that is why we came up with the idea of the citizens’ summit so that our people can once again come together and utilize the opportunity positively for the benefit of all.
“In public relations, we speak as it is so that we can really understand the situation. You will agree with me that the relationship of our people in this country, instead of becoming stronger, we are seeing a negative perception, but we believe that diversity is a positive phenomenon and therefore, we must harness it for collective development” he said
Sirajo said with good understanding, Nigeria can harness its resources for the benefit of the citizens, stressing the need for all hands to be on deck towards building a progressive society for a better tomorrow.
“Instead of building a progressive society, we are always thinking like yesterday. It is for our interest that we should be thinking towards better days. If we think that our yesterdays are always better than our today, then we cannot build a progressive society that way.
“The duty of every generation is to ensure a better society than the one inherited. It is time to lay a foundation of ensuring that we can build a progressive society for better Nigeria” he said
