2015: Need for Peace and Tranquility in Abia (Part One)

Abia State is not in commotion for now. But the heat of the 2015 elections in the state may be assuming an excruciating direction owing to interests, not of this present government, but of outsiders and antagonistic politicians.

We Abia people must do everything within our powers to mature our minds, our habits and words, so that we do not plunge the state into a somewhat Iraq, Afghanistan and other warring places or be deceived into actions of ruinous tendencies.

Rioting and wars are never the best ways to settle issues in a democracy. This is why everywhere in the world people are in quest for a democratic government. Countries need democracy because we all need peace in our homes, places of work and in the entire world.

The peace we want to see in the world must begin with each of us in Abia State, before the enlarged villages and towns and state we respectively come from. Peace is not elusive; it is meant for us to find it, accept it and take it to anywhere we want, but especially around Abia State.

Peace and tranquility in our state is essential for posterity. Some perceived quarters are not better than the other, likewise those perceived as bad are not worst than the other. This is life and we must accept the world of peace than a world of tumultuous happenings.

Peace is the primary objective of any government in the world and we have been working in that line; we want peace and we must get enough of it instead of the redundant heating up of Abia State by certain interests.

There are many hazards and frustrations in the country already that we do not need more to envelope us. There is an end to everything and that end will not come from the blues, it is meant to come from us. In a society there is bound to be friction and divergent views to things, but like the Americans would always say, 'what unites us is greater than what divides us'.

This is the spirit all Abia people and residents alike should imbibe and resonate with the mindset that our state is greater than any individual or group and that we have no other state than Abia State to call ours.

Even if the state is divided today according to the constitution, those of us that will find ourselves elsewhere will continue to be part and parcel of the Igbo project, of which Abia State is part of that project.

Much more loudly than we had expected, wars and riots bring endless ruins than they bring the peace the partakers had thought they will bring. It is time we Abia people made a life changing features that will benefit our state instead of unsheathing the swords and spears that clearly can damage our collective aspirations.

2015 is a period the youth have to tell our fathers that there is hope for the future by conducting themselves and not wallowing in acts of violence and petty crimes that do not lead any given people to anywhere in the world. 2015 is a time the youth have to be campaigning for peace and asking anybody they come in contact with if they want peace. Peace and tranquility can never occupy the negative side of history. We do not need to kill ourselves, because of the 2015 elections before we can begin to speak of peace and be peaceful ourselves.

Our people should see peace as something internal and not external; we cannot get it from a far land than within us no matter the standards, certainties and uncertainties and institutions we have set for our individual selves.

Peace is something that has to do with fact not fiction. It is essential that we always remembered that line of thought that always tells us that we can make peace; we can live peacefully and see our state through the soul of our children and ourselves than seeing it through the lens of overzealousness, bigotry, division, hatred, over ambition and what have you. Peace and tranquility are the ultimate safety that we need for a peaceful transition in 2015.

Nkwachukwu is an Aba-based civil engineer

Disclaimer: "The views expressed on this site are those of the contributors or columnists, and do not necessarily reflect TheNigerianVoice’s position. TheNigerianVoice will not be responsible or liable for any inaccurate or incorrect statements in the contributions or columns here."

Articles by Madubuko Hart