Mr. Rights Blog

By Abdulrazaq O Hamzat An increasing amount of attention to peace indexes has provided insights into the levels of peace and conflict around the world. The indicators used in Vision of Humanity’s renowned Global Peace Index (GPI) report have now been adopted in a Nigeria Peace Index, created by the Foundation for Peace Professionals (FFP), with slight adjustments made to suit local use. This is a useful tool for peace builders in Nigeria, especially for authorities in search appropriate policy direction for peace building. Measuring peace at the national level allows a country to assess the social, political and economic factors that create peace. More importantly, the NPI will allow peace builders in Nigeria to change the narrative, by concentrating the advocacy on foundational indices of peace, not on crisis or conflict management. This is important because, by focusing the discussion on fundamental indices of peace, we are channeling efforts towards advocating for improvement

Some years ago, when Boko Haram insurgency was at its peak in North East Nigeria, sacking villages, detonating bombs in markets, mosques and churches, killing children, women and elderly and forcefully conscripting innocent youths into its fold, many of our fellow citizens in the other parts of the country are feeling so unconcerned. The reason for their lack of concern is very clear; they thought the violence is a northern affair that would never get to their part of the country. To add salt to the injury, some unkind people, out of sheer carelessness went on social media to mock victims of the insurgency without feeling any sense of shame. In the most inhuman and demeaning manner, the whole world heard them saying; ‘’let the north continue to kill themselves’’. Nothing could be more shocking and heart breaking. These people made it clear to all that they do not care about the innocent lives being lost in North East. It doesn’t matter if more than 20,000 people are gruesomely ki