PEACE EDUCATION THE BUILDING BLOCK FOR THE NEXT GENERATION
If there is to be peace in the world, there must be peace in the nation. If
there is to be peace in the nation There must peace in the cities. If there is
to be peace in the cities, there must be peace between neighbors. If there is
to be peace between neighbors there must be peace in the home, There must peace
in the heart-Lao Tzu.
It is truism that no meaningful development can be attained in an atmosphere
of rancor. A society riddled by war, chaos and conflicts is likely to
experience retardation rather than progress and development.
Nigeria
as a nation has had its own share of conflicts and violence since she gained
independence. There have been series of political unrest, ethnic crisis, the
menace of Boko Haram, Niger Delta militants, kidnapping and so many other
problems.
Conflicts, chaos and their likes in societies are often as a result of negative
exploitation of ethnic multiplicity, religious intolerance, poverty, corruption
and even actions of bad and irresponsible government of all which culminate in
societal problems which of course lead to insecurity and instability of so many
activities in the nation.
It is
true that we all desire peace, no matter who we are, or where we live, but what
are we doing to ensure a peaceful coexistence.
The
challenge, we face today and as in the past is the inability to translate the
various principles for peace into practical reality. We merely talk
about peace for others, but hardly take ownership of what we teach to become
part of us. It remained a mere concept in the heart of conscious men and women.
Throughout history, people have been teaching about the principles of the
peace, the Holy Book commands us to live in peace with all men. We have many
people who have learnt them, but the issue has been inability to ‘practice’
this idea which should have produced living models for peace.
This is the sad reality, and here, lies the need for peace education which
addresses the issue of teaching, learning which practice exercise that can
facilitate the emergence of peaceful people, families and eventually a peaceful
world.
Peace
education programme is the type of education that inculcates in learners the
right type of tenets that would make them live peacefully in the society.
In the quest for peace, a group of people have decided to take the bull by
the horn by setting up a programme called ‘peace club’ in their school to
sensitize their wards on the need to live peacefully with everyone around them
despite their differences.
The Principal Sunshine International School, Bauchi Miss. Zahrah Buba
Atare, has taken up this insurmountable challenge of creating awareness on the
need for peaceful co-existence through the setting up of peace club in the
school, the first of it’s kind in all schools in Bauchi state.
According to Miss. Buba, the whole idea behind the setting up of a peace
club in the school is “because she noticed the present generation have the
problem of religious and ethnic barriers, which is what is bringing conflicts
in the society among other problems. It’s a bit too late to fully correct this
problem ( Religious and Ethnic barriers) that we have, she says, so I decided
to start from the bottom level, with the younger ones that are coming up. We
believe we will be able to resolve this ethnic and religious barrier as humanly
possible as it maybe, so that we can bring peace back to Nigeria and the World
in general”. Says Miss Buba.
On what could be the multiplier effects of this peace club on the society,
and in the lives of the students in particular, she said “peace education will
enable each of us to become peaceful in our families, school, and communities
and eventually network to realize a peaceful World. The lessons taught in the
club will promote and build a new peaceful generation that will restore world
peace.”
On the things that are being taught in the club, she says “we essentially
infuse in students values that would bring about peaceful social integration.
Such value includes the maintenance of diaphone tolerance, they are also taught
respect for other peoples feelings, human rights, respect for culture tradition
and norms as well as how to manage conflict among themselves and external
conflict resolution, anger management skills, what the society is doing to
bring peace to Nigeria, Africa and the World in general, What happens in the
absence of peace and many many more topics.
She advised policy formulators to encourage the setting up of peace clubs in
schools so as to lay a peaceful foundation for the next generation.
The holy books says “Teach a child on the right way to go and the child will
not depart from it”.
Nigeria depends on these knowledgeable and thoughtfully students, who are
the next future leaders to keep fanning the embers of peace and love that have
been deposited in their hearts through the various teachings, and practice
exercise on how to co-habit peacefully with everyone around them.
