By Marie-Therese Nanlong

The Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, NIPR has brought on board a platform that would drive nation building saying the recent survey conducted by the body has confirmed that Nigerians across the board are interested in living together as one.

To ensure effective conversations for nation building, the body is holding its North Central Zone Citizens’ Summit for national integration, peace and security with the theme: Reopen Conversation, Rebuild Trust.”

Explaining the aim of the event billed to take place on Tuesday in Jos, Plateau State; Barrister Haroun Audu said citizens need to have frank conversations that would enhance national cohesion because so far, rather than speak to one another, Nigerians are shouting at one another due to the common challenges facing the people. 

According to him, “… The NIPR will midwife the avenue for conversation on national integration, this country does not have a poverty of initiatives but in terms of having a template for implementation, this country has suffered poverty of execution of policies.

“We are determined to mobilize the vast pool of human resources, stakeholders’ groups spanning across about 60 organizations. We want a citizen-focused conversation that would focus on solutions to our problems. The end result of the summit will be a continuity of action.

“This country is a very rich country not just in money but in terms of materials and human resources, we have no reason to be going through the resource challenges that we are going through. This country requires a conversation that recognizes that our diversity is not a minus, but an asset.

“This country is at the point that we cannot continue to think about how good yesterday was, we cannot remain a country perpetually living in nostalgia, giving our resource endowment. This Summit is to rekindle our hope in these two things; create a new mindset for Nigerians, to create new Nigerians who would create a new Nigeria.”

Speaking further, he stressed, “We must agree that the issue of leadership is a big challenge, leadership has failed us but let us remember that these leaderships were not fabricated from space, these leaders are products of our communities.

“That is why we are engaging our communities and begin to ask questions; how do our leaders emerge? Who are the people to provide the right type of leadership because that is what will drive the kind of conversations that we will have in a decent and mutually rewarding manner.

“This Summit is pro-citizens, that is why we have mobilized stakeholders to drive the process. The conversation taking place in the public space tends to be very violent. That is why we must return the conversation to issues that matter to the majority of the people.

“Roads are failing, public schools are failing, utilities are not serving us well, the security architectures are in shambles, why are we not asking questions about the humongous resources that go into security provisioning yet they don’t make a dent?  Where are the resources going?

“These are the conversations we need to have because the citizens deserve better. We do not represent any political tendency, we are not infusing anything partisan into this Summit, we need to drive our conversation recognizing that the failings in the political space are failings that we need to confront together. It is the citizens who must drive the change we desire, citizens must be mobilized to ask the right questions.”