The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu has lamented that despite the huge resources expended on various efforts to restore peace in the South-East, insecurity still persists in the region.
According to Kalu, the lingering crisis in the region prompted him and other peace-loving indigenes to establish the Peace in South East Project (PISE-P).
Kalu said this on Wednesday when he hosted the directors of Institute for Peace, Security and Development Studies (IPSDS) of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, led by their Co-Chairman, Chief Chikwe Udensi.
The Deputy Speaker announced that the South East Development Commission (SEDC) Bill would soon be sent to the President for assent.
He said: “In my private studies and others conducted by the team around me, we discovered that the kinetic approach, in isolation of non-kinetic mechanisms, was not delivering the expected deliverables of this engagement.
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“Call it Operation Egwueke or Lion, or whatever you call it; it wasn’t delivering. Yet, Nigeria was spending so much money making those operations alive to the detriment of the blood of our citizens on the streets.
“We said no. It was about time we considered an alternative approach to the resolution of this conflict. That was why we birthed the Peace in South East Project, fortunately advancing, advocating, highlighting, showcasing the possibilities of achieving peace without the barrels of guns.
“The region was tired of hearing the sounds of guns that they heard over 50 years ago. A new sound reminded those who were around what they passed through. And that stimulated a new conversation about the war – not about reconciliation; about the pain, not about the progress towards peace.
“So, the more sounds of guns, the more history is told about how it re-echoes in the minds of those who lost their dear ones.
“We wanted to stop that. We said for the price of guns, give us other tools that are non-kinetic. Give us good roads, give us good hospitals. For the price of the budget for the military interventions, give us good hospitals. Give us grants, fulfill that promise of reconciliation, of reconstruction, of reintegration.
“That was what pushed us through the advocacy of Peace In South East Project to look for the lowest hanging fruits that catch up the desires and the dreams of the region in one bloc. That’s what we saw in the South East Development Commission Bill.”
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