By Victor Nwegede, Abakaliki.
To demonstrate their avowed determination for peaceful coexistence in the border communities of Cross River and Ebonyi, the youths from the two sister states on Thursday came out massively at Abkaliki to celebrate their 5years of ceasefire.
It could be recalled that border communities of Cross River and Ebonyi States had clashes resulting in the destruction of lives and valuable property due to boundary conflict and other severe misapprehension within their areas.
In his address, the President of Cross River - Ebonyi Youths Peace Development Movement, Barr Paschal Nwenyi expressed joy over the event which according to him, was aimed at collaborating with community-based peace structures and critical stakeholders for the development of effective conflict early warning response to enhance conflict prevention in the two sister states and Nigeria in general.
Nwenyi cited that the Institute of Peace and Conflict Resolution would formally inaugurate a Community-Based Early Warning Early Response System (CB-CEWERS) made up of the members of Cross River - Ebonyi Youths Peace Development Movement (CREBYPDM) who was on the part of Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding at the crisis affected areas of the border communities of the two states.
Emphasizing the significance of the event, the President described the inauguration as 'very vital because it is making the 5years end of hostilities and communal conflicts at the border coast of some parts in Ebonyi involving Izzi, Abakaliki and Ikwo Local Government Areas and their sister communities of Yala, Obubra and Abi LGAs in Cross River.'
"We were born to meet the land and will certainly die leaving the land to the generations yet unborn. The purpose of the land is therefore to use it to take care of the living. Why then should we die for land instead of using it for sustenance? We need to bring our various claims to the table for peaceful options and resolutions. We need not to take the laws in our hands and be judge in our case," Nwenyi stressed.
He disclosed that it was on that premise, that the youths from the two sister states in collaboration with their stakeholders introduced a systematic approach to return their lost peace, 'having known the peaceful community initiative, resilience, and coexistence in creating local solutions to the local problems that the indigenous people of the communities had earlier identified.'
The president maintained that the inaugural ceremony of the 5-years ceasefire in the two states would engender collaborative negotiations, multi-stakeholder engagement and census building which is valuable for synchronising issues, with the target of achieving a commonality of purpose among their diverse interest.
He commended the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Abuja for its bold step in strengthening the objectives of the CREBYPDM which has engaged itself in peace-building initiatives.
He also lauded the governors of Cross River, Senator Bassey Otu and his Enonyi counterpart, Chief Francis Nwifuru alongside their Deputies and government functionaries for their contributions to the sustenance of border peace.
He commended the traditional rulers, the clergy and all the citizens of the two states especially those from the war-affected areas for giving peace a chance to rule in their vicinities in the past five years.
Presentation of goodwill messages by stakeholders from the two states and cultural troupe were among the highlights of the event.
