Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
Rotary Club of Makurdi, (District 9125) has staged a peace walk around Makurdi metropolis in Benue State to stress the need for peaceful coexistence among all Nigerians irrespective of tribal, religious or political affiliations.
President of the club, Mrs Scholastica Nambe, said the peace walk with the theme, “Take a Step in Support of World Peace,” was in line with the peace message of the Rotary Club for the month of February.
“Rotary wants us to speak peace this month of February and that is why we are embarking on the peace walk. We have chosen Wadata area of Makurdi as one of the areas we will be visiting because, as you know, there have always been conflicts between the Hausa and Tiv in Benue.”
Also speaking, immediate past Chief Judge of Benue State, Justice Adam Onum, who is also a Rotarian, stated that the walk was to tell the people of Benue and the world over that peace is the essence of living.
“The four-way test of Rotary is: ‘Is it the truth, is it fair to all concerned, will it build goodwill and better friendship, and will it be beneficial to all concerned?’ This four-way test is the cradle of peace. Whatever you want to do to your neighbour, consider whether it is fair to all and to all concerned.”
Onum, a past president of Rotary, while noting that without peace, there is no way we can achieve this, stated that if there is peace in the world, there will be sufficiency for everybody and everyone will derive a benefit from one another.
“So, we are doing the walk to celebrate Rotary’s concern for peace in Benue and the world over and all we are saying is that the commonwealth God had endowed us with can be enjoyed by everybody. Peace is priceless and we encourage everyone especially politicians to imbibe peace.”