“Today’s young people must act as agents

of peace”
August 1, 2017 Africa, Human Development, Nigeria, Peace
 The shift towards a more peaceful world order rests
squarely on the shoulders of young people, writes Bryan
Obaji, 27, a Commonwealth Correspondent from Calabar in
Nigeria.
The modern world is becoming smaller, highly integrated
and technologically more advanced. It also becoming
highly fragmented, less peaceful, and unsafe for both
present and future generations.

Since the beginnings of ‘civilization’, the most gifted men

and women have toiled, unsuccessfully to end conflict and
warfare. Conflict and carnage continues unabated: in
Syria, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Iraq, North Korea,
Chechnya, the Philippines, Thailand, Kashmir, Nigeria,
Somalia, Libya, Southern Sudan, and the Congo.

In my mind, peace is the feeling that all’s right with the world. When everyone around me
in my family, my circle of friends, and my neighbourhood is happy, eager to love, accept
and relate, I feel at peace.

But those feelings of peace feel fewer and fewer. I’ve had a member of my family be
murdered, members of my community killed, and thousands of my fellow countrymen
have died in a civil war.

I belong to an economically poor country, but one that is rich in culture and imagination.

As a young leader, I can see subtle changes in thinking that everyone needs to adopt to
bring us closer to a culture of peace. For example, we need to update our 20th century
idea of putting aside cultural differences with an attitude of tolerance. In the new
millennium, we must realize true peace requires a spirit of appreciation. Indeed, true
peace will come only when we stop putting aside our differences and learn to embrace
them.

I believe that young people can – and must – play an active role in fostering peace. In
Nigeria, for example, young leaders can band together by forming grassroots networks in
the non-governmental sector. Doing this would help place an added emphasis on the
education and spiritual renewal of children. Further progress can be realized if young
people forge links in order to demand political development, such as bureaucratic reform,
governmental accountability, and transparency. On the global scene, young people can
become peace ambassadors and create educational exchange programmes in areas of
culture, science, sport, and technology.

The youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow. Youth leaders are an essential part of
advancing the culture of peace. Given tools and the opportunity, we can change the world
while we are still young. May the 21st century be one of tolerance and peace, free from
conflict! Let’s open our minds and horizons, share ideas, interest and values, and build
cooperative relations to enrich a new culture of peace for the welfare of future
generations.

photo credit: RTIfightsNTDs via photopin (license)