Insecurity: Ex-envoy asks FG to constitute peace, reconciliation conference

Nnamdi Onochie, a former Nigerian envoy, has asked the federal government to constitute a truth, peace and reconciliation conference of Nigeria’s ethnic nationalities in October.

Onochie, in a statement, said the conference would tackle rising political tensions and curb violence, including recurring abductions of school children.

He expressed concern over “the drumbeats of war and disintegration’’ as Nigeria gets set for another general elections in 2023.

“The conference will draw the roadmap for devolution of powers and other issues in the country before the general elections in 2023,’’ he said.

“The persistent calls for secession and agitations for self-determination by some ethnic nationalities show that the ship of state may be currently adrift and requires concerted stabilization and fortification.

“Government at all levels, especially the Federal Government, needs to dedicate greater financial resources to reduce the cost of living, hunger, hardship and eliminate social wickedness such as killing and butchering of Nigerians for body-part sales by fellow Nigerians.

“Our country today is highly divided along ethnic, social and religious lines, this should not be. So the APC should urgently tackle the issues by finding a middle ground for discussion as a way forward.

“If I were the president of Nigeria, I will find a middle ground to end all the agitations for secession, religious extremism, inhumanity and other crippling issues holding down our country from year to year.

“My proposal to the Federal Government is to ensure that staging of the dialogue doesn’t go beyond October this year, and participants should include top government functionaries, leaders of political parties, national assembly members, business leaders, traditional rulers and civil society groups, among others.”

He also re-stated his warning to government to desist from seeking additional foreign loans for Nigeria, to prevent the country from being given conditions or prescriptions by external institutions that would worsen prevail human conditions in the country.