The Commander, Nigerian AirForce Detachment, Warri, Delta State, Air Commodore Sani Abdullahi Zakari, has advised youths in the Niger Delta region to contribute their quota to global peace-building efforts by obeying constituted authorities at all times.
Zakari, in a chat with our correspondent in his office in Osubi, Okpe Local Government Area of Delta State, noted that Niger Delta youths should also think of what they could do to develop the region, rather than fueling crisis.
He said that the crises in the region were being exaggerated in the media, describing the people in the area as, “peace loving, very receptive and accommodating.”
He added that with critical infrastructure put in place in the region, crises would be a thing of the past.
Zakari said, “My advice for the youths is not far from what the elders have been telling them.
They should listen to constituted authorities. They should also look ahead and have a strategy B plan and look at how they can contribute to their communities, their states, and, of course, the nation, which also dovetails into global peace.
“Global peace starts from the community, probably from the family. If they do not contribute to peace, then they are making it difficult, not only for other people, but also for themselves.”
The commander, who is in charge of all AirForce formations in Delta State, lamented the existence of mutual suspicion and misunderstanding in Warri, where he said that the citizens did not like to be identified with their brothers.
He stated that such a situation must be corrected.
He said, “Here in Warri, there is quite a lot of mutual suspicion and misunderstanding, particularly amongst the populace. I believe that you know what I am talking about.
For example, this place that we are now is called Osubi, but if you mistakenly call it Warri, crisis can erupt because of that. “In other places, people do not have that kind of problem.
If you go to Kano, for instance, and you are in Taroni and someone that is staying in Kurna Asabe can as well say that he is in Kano.
Even those living in the villages say they are in Kano. Also in Lagos, Ikorodu and Ikeja are all called Lagos. But here you cannot call Effurun, Warri.”
He added, “Virtually all the people here are good people. Whenever there is threat, particularly at the communal level, they all react to it.
What I may suggest is that they should key into the larger society and national interest must come first, rather than communal, family or village interests. “That is how the United States and China live their lives.”
He said his unit, which is part of the security architecture of the state, would work within its powers to support peace building efforts in the state.
