To mark the 2024 World international Peace Day celebration , UN Harmony Week Winner, Pastor Dr. Buru, Honors Monarchs and Ambassadors in Kaduna Communities for Promoting Peaceful Coexistence and Tolerance
Pastor Dr. Yohanna Buru,who is the the winner of the United Nations World international Interfaith Harmony Week 2022, has honored community leaders and peace ambassadors in Kaduna State, Northwestern Nigeria, for their service to humanity and efforts to promote peace and unity within their communities.
Pastor Dr yohanna buru who is equally The Peace national president Revival and Reconciliation Foundation of Nigeria honoured 3 peace ambassadors in Barnawa, Tudun Wada and Kakuri Gwari/Makera communities all of Kaduna South Local Government Area of the state.
In his address, the founder of Peace Revival and Reconciliation Foundation of Nigeria, Pastor (Dr.) Yohanna Buru, said the event was to honour some citizens identified as peace builders who have and are still playing critical roles in maintaining peaceful coexistence their different communities.
The awardees include: the District Head of Barnawa, Alhaji Kabiru Zuberu for strengthening relationship and peaceful coexistence among the diverse religious and ethnic groups in his domain; Sarkin Gabas, Alhaji Gambo Ibrahim who pushed for the establishment of Security Outpost in Tudun- Wada; and Mallam Yusuf Abbas of Kakuri Gwari/Makera for their efforts at peace building in their communities.
Pastor Buru called for more hands to be on deck to entrench lasting peace in Kaduna State.
Responding after receiving his award, Alhaji Gambo Ibrahim, the Sarkin Gabas of Tudun Wada, Kaduna, is a respected traditional leader recognized for his unwavering commitment to fostering peace and unity in his community. He has been honored for his efforts to steer young people away from drug abuse and other vices while actively contributing to the establishment of a security outpost in the area.
Alhaji Gambo continues to educate residents of Kaduna on the importance of rejecting violence and crime. His peace initiatives extend to engaging women and youth in underprivileged neighborhoods, where he advocates for religious tolerance, love, and togetherness, laying the foundation for a brighter future. His work as a member of the Community Peace Observers highlights his dedication to creating lasting harmony.
The third awardee who is the Chairman of the Association of Peace builders, Mallam Yusuf Abbas, said he was grateful for the recognition.
He said the group’s office sited at the Kakuri Gwari Makera Kasuwan Monday) have enjoyed cordial relationship among it’s members and the community as both the Christians and Muslims have been living and conducting their daily activities peacefully.
Abbas said: “Here, we have Christians and Muslims who are businessmen, traders, security personnel among us who are doing whatever they can to promote peace in the community. During festivity periods like Sallah, Christmas and New Year we celebrate together, exchange pleasantries, and advice ourselves on the way forward in seeing that peace continue to reign in our communities.
“Today, I feel honoured and happy with the award. I did not know that one day someone would come here and recognize what we’re doing and honour us just like the way I have been awarded. So, I thank the organization for this honour and I promise to do more on what I have been doing.”
Mallam Abbas urged other communities in the state to emulate what the Kakuri Gwari/ Makera communities have been doing to sustain peace in it’s area. He however, cautioned that whatever others intend to do must be done in sincerity, citing their own case, where they put in their personal resources to carryout whatever programmes they intended to do.
Also speaking at the Kakuri Gwari Makera venue of the award, the Deputy Imam of Juma’at Central Mosque Kakuri, Mallam Shuaibu Adamu, said the peace being enjoyed in Kakuri among the different ethnic and religious groups in the area was achieved through dint of hard work, commitment, sincerity of purpose among others.
He enjoined other citizens to emulate the peace building efforts ongoing in Kakuri Makera communities.
Mallam Abbas’s leadership has been instrumental in fostering a spirit of peace, unity, and cooperation, encouraging residents to live together in harmony and mutual respect.
It will be recalled that in 2021, the communities of Barakallahu, Down Quarters, and Kurmin Mashi were recognized by Pastor Dr. Buru for receiving the “Best Muslim-Christian Peace Settlement” award.
According to him, despite the ethno-religious and political crises that have affected peace and stability in the state, the communities of Kurmin Mashi, Barakallahu, and Down Quarters have remained united as one.
He emphasized that these communities deserve more than just an award for their commitment and dedication to promoting peaceful coexistence between Muslims and Christians, as well as religious tolerance throughout the state.
Buru explained that honoring these communities became essential due to the significant roles played by their traditional leaders, religious clerics, youth, and women’s organizations in fostering peace and preventing violence.
“If all Kaduna communities could follow the example set by Barkanwa, Kurmin Mashi, Barakallahu, and Down Quarters, there would be peace and development,” Buru stated.
“These communities should be role models for all others in the state,” he added.
The cleric called on the Kaduna State Governor and other peace ambassadors to encourage other communities to emulate these settlements, where Muslims and Christians live together harmoniously, in order to foster unity across the state.
Buru noted that previous crises had severely impacted the peace and stability of the state, underscoring the importance of promoting peaceful communities.
“We must remember that we are one family under God, brothers and sisters, and we must learn to live together in peace and harmony with everyone,” he said.
World International Peace Day is celebrated annually on September 21, with over 150 countries participating in the observance.
Also, the Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Barnawa chapter, Pastor Emmanuel Chet, expressed gratitude to God for the event and urged the organizers to not only stopped in Barnawa community, but extended the foundation’s activities across the state.
According to him, this will bring citizens together and established the kind of relationship they’re supposed to have among one another.
Similarly, the Chairman of Jama’tul Nasir Islam (JNI) in Kaduna South, Alhaji Salisu Abdullahi, said the honour was timely because it was given to who deserved it.
Abdullahi said: “I have lived in Barnawa for over 40 years now. The awardee is someone I know from my childhood. I know the kind of family he comes from. His father during his life time embraced all in Barnawa. So, it’s not something new that he has continued in his father’s footsteps.”
