PEACE EDUCATION: A MEANS OF PROMOTING NATIONAL UNITY AND PEACEFUL CO-EXISTENCE IN NIGERIA
Keywords:
Education, Peace Education, National Unity, Peaceful Co-existenceAbstract
Peace is paramount and indispensable in every human society. There can be no sustainable development and progress in any nation where people frequently experience war, destructive conflict and violence. The people in a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country like Nigeria need to be united and co-exist peacefully in order to remain an entity that is capable of building a strong and dynamic nation where equality and social justice strive and people benefit maximally from the available joint resources. To achieve these, people need to understand and tolerate one another in order to avoid unresolved disagreements that can lead to conflicts and violence. This paper discussed the concept of unity, peaceful co-existence, education and peace education. It also explained the need for unity and peaceful co-existence in Nigeria and the role of the family, the school, religious institutions, community leaders and government agencies can play in promoting unity and peaceful co-existence. It was recommended that Peace Education be included in the appropriate school curriculum in Basic, Post Basic, Tertiary and Non-formal Education level of education in Nigeria. The religious and the community leaders should be sensitized on their roles in promoting unity and peaceful co-existence in their various domains through organized workshop and seminars. The government agencies in charge of public enlightenment, in collaboration with the mass media, should educate and sensitize people on the various media in official and local languages on the need and the benefits of living in peacefully and being united and how to prevent and manage disagreement or conflict without resulting into violence.
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