By Peter Amine
Dr Abiodun Essiet, Senior Special Adviser (SSA) to President Bola Tinubu on North Central Community Engagement, says that a peaceful and prosperous Nigeria is achievable through unity and strengthened social cohesion.
Essiet, who made the assertion on Thursday in Makurdi at a community workshop and inauguration of community-based peace structures, said enduring peace would be entrenched if the nation’s diverse ethnic, cultural, and religious groups unite.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that the event was organised by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement (North Central), in collaboration with the International Communities Organisation (ICO) and the North Central Development Commission.
The SSA described the initiative as a milestone in advancing peace, fostering inclusive development, and deepening social cohesion across the North Central region and Nigeria at large.
“A peaceful and prosperous Nigeria is achievable in unity. This event marks a significant step toward strengthening collaboration among communities, promoting understanding, and sustaining peace through inclusive engagement.
“My office earlier launched the Presidential Community Engagement Peace Initiative (PCEPI), a demonstration of President Tinubu’s commitment to building safer communities and embedding citizens at the heart of peacebuilding efforts.
“Promoting Community Peace and Strengthening Social Cohesion in North Central Nigeria”, our ongoing project, is part of Nigeria’s broader commitment to implementing the United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR) recommendations, in partnership with the ICO,” she stated.
The presidential aide added that community leaders, traditional rulers, farmers’ associations, the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), and women and youth groups from all 23 local government areas of Benue were invited to take active roles in shaping the peace structures.
“The core purpose of this initiative is to complement the work of security agencies and support the Benue State Commission for Peace and Reconciliation through its community peace committees.
“We are working collaboratively to expand these structures into areas yet to be covered, strengthening intelligence gathering, early warning systems, and community dialogue,” Essiet said.
She pointed out that the new peace structures would also serve as grassroots communication channels for federal government initiatives, ensuring communities remain informed, engaged, and connected to national development policies.
The SSA further revealed that her office was collaborating closely with the North Central Development Commission to sustain dialogue, empower local voices, and translate peace-building into tangible improvements in security, infrastructure, and livelihoods.
“Building social cohesion is not a one-off event; it is a continuous journey requiring patience, inclusiveness, and collective commitment.
“When no one is left behind, development becomes sustainable and peace becomes enduring.
“Let us seize this moment to work together, not as separate communities, but as one united people, determined to build a peaceful and prosperous Benue State, and by extension, a stronger Nigeria,” she said.
Gov. Hyacinth Alia of Benue, in his remarks, commended the Federal Government initiative of setting up community-based peace structures across the 23 local government areas to end perennial crises in the state.
Alia, who was represented by his deputy, Dr Sam Ode, thanked the FG for the engagement, describing it as a sound initiative.
The governor said his administration has also not rested on its oars to ensure that permanent peace is achieved in the state.
Alia noted that peace is sacrosanct to the development of any society, saying that it was the reason that his administration has tirelessly engaged with security agencies and the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) to return peace to the people of Benue.
The governor promised to ensure that the FG’s peacebuilding structures cascade down to the villages, saying that the villagers would be sensitised on early detection of the danger of crises so that they could speak up.
He called on ALGON to ensure that the peace initiative of the FG is preached even in the hinterlands, saying that the burden of ensuring peace in the villages rested heavily on them.
Alia alleged that they knew the people causing insecurities in the state but would not call names.
“We know those causing insecurities in our state, but we are not here for name-calling but to find solutions to the problems,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of the council of traditional rulers, the Ter Ukum, Chief Orkar Kave, expressed concern that people were still being killed on a daily basis.
Kave hoped that their meeting with the FG and setting up of community-based peace structures would yield different and better results.
The traditional ruler said that it has become normal for people to attend meetings on tackling insecurities but return home doing nothing.
“Our people are still dying, farmers cannot go to farms, women cannot go to the stream, and people just come for workshops on solving the problem of insecurities but go back home to their different businesses.
“Some people are even feeding on the crises, and that is why it’s not ending,” Kave alleged.
He, therefore, appealed to Tinubu to stop the people from killing Benue people, saying that he had the capacity as the chief security officer of the nation to do so.
Mr Vitalis Neji, Chairman of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), Benue Chapter, said peace is key to achieving sustainable development.
Neji commended the SSA on North Central Community Engagement on the initiative, which he described as timely.
The ALGON boss pledged the support and cooperation of local government chairmen for the sustenance of the initiative.
The Chairman of All Farmers Association (AFAN), Pastor Ernest Atoji, said that farmers in the state craved enduring peace to enable them to continue with their farming activities.
Atoji, who lauded the organisers of the event, pleaded with stakeholders to give peace a chance.
NAN reports that there were goodwill messages from traditional rulers, MACBAN, civil society organisations, and many others. NAN
