The Spokesperson for the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Armiyawo Shaibu, says the country still has a long way to go in understanding the various dimensions of peace.

According to him, the actions of the government and politicians suggest that their sole understanding of peace is the absence of war. He explained that other dimensions of peace, such as economic stability, access to safe water, and the availability of resources, are consistently neglected by leadership.

Speaking on Joy News' AM Show on Monday, September 9, he noted that instead of focusing on how to improve the country, discussions have shifted to finger-pointing over who performed worse.

“Availability of resources that make people live a peaceful life is part of the peace process, so if you keep people devoid of existential needs that they need to survive and that is why I say that peace is an all-time need and it relates to some other things that facilitate that we experience the peace.

“So if our water resources are being polluted to the point that there will come a time when we have to import water, think about the very poor. The poor of the poor who form the majority of the larger strata if you draw the triangle…how many of them will be able to import water?"

He stressed that this can lead to situations where individuals lose their peace.

“Peace is total and I think that we need to understand the broad context and be able to work to achieve it.

“I don’t think that as a nation we have understood all the dimensions of peace that is why we are handling it the way we are handling it,” he said.

He clarified that although there appears to be some calm in the country, it does not represent perfect peace.

Sheikh Shaibu said that it is crucial to identify areas that could undermine the nation’s peace, especially as the general elections approach.