By Andy Nkemneme
In 1985 the UN Secretary General mandated the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) to coordinate a campaign to promote International Volunteering Day (IVD) every year, and promote the impact volunteers have in communities, nationally and globally, for peace and development. Saturday, December 5, 2020, was marked all over the world as the International Volunteers Day (IVD) with the theme, “Together We Can Through Volunteering”. This year’s celebration may have come and gone without pump and pageantry because of the menace created by COVID-19 on the economy, politics, and psyche of world. It however does not take away the essence of such a day in the promotion of peace, peaceful coexistence, love, tolerance and general development of the society, especially for a country like Nigeria which has been terribly fractured and almost subdued by conflicts of unimaginable dimensions.
The Theme for the years 2020 called on all nations and people of the world to promote volunteerism, encourage governments to support volunteer efforts and recognize volunteer contributions to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at local, national and international levels. As UN Deputy Secretary General Amina J. Mohammed reminded us in July 2020, she emphasized that “the efforts of 1 billion volunteers is an important foundation at a pivotal moment for development to enable us to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic”. Truly, Nigeria and Africa in general may not have experienced the imparts of COVID-19 like Europe, America, Pacific, Asia and most other parts of the world but the mammoth nature of conflicts facing us daily calls for Volunteers to enable us stem the tide. You will all agree with me that the success of the Sustainable Development Goals rest on the shoulders of SDG 16, which seeks to “promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels”. If we fail in creating a peaceful society, no other form of development will succeed.
For this reason and numerous other reasons, the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) was established in February 2000 as a government think-tank on issues of peacebuilding and conflict management in Nigeria and Africa with the mandate to conduct in-depth research into the root causes of conflicts, leading to the prevention, management and peaceful resolution. To meet its broad mandate, the Institute adopts so many strategies including volunteerism in identifying emerging conflicts, preventing and managing such conflicts within the context of our Conflict Early Warning and Early Response Mechanisms. In most conflict prone Zones especially in the North-East and North-West, States, Local Government and Communities, IPCR has Peace volunteers who track conflicts and reports same on real time to the Institute. A day like this we use it to celebrate you all and your immeasurable efforts in bringing peace to Nigeria.
In the same vain we celebrate other Peace volunteers like the Partners for Peace (P4P) in the nine states of the Niger Delta, Cross River/Ebonyi Youths Peace Ambassadors, Ikwo/Izzi Youths Peace Development Movement, Messenger for Peace, Peace Ambassadors, the partnership between Institute for Peace Conflict Resolution (IPCR) and the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), the various security agencies in Nigeria and numerous other peace volunteer organizations scattered all over the country. In response to the call by the Deputy UN Secretary General to make IVD this year a worldwide moment to thank volunteers and celebrate their efforts despite all the challenges at hand, the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution salute and celebrate you. The distance created by COVID-19 cannot take away the memories of your very esteemed contributions in making Nigeria a peaceful country.
Volunteerism is not a new thing in the African culture. Before the coming of the colonial masters we volunteered in securing our communities; we volunteered in keeping the community clean, we volunteered in training a child by calling the child to order where he/she is going astray; we volunteered in sustaining our cultural values and maintaining the norms and ethos that held the society together. In the Igbo society of today, volunteerism is not only in labour but also in cash and time. Thanks to the motto of Rotary club which say you can give cash, time, and energy to the society. Today we also have lawyers who take up human rights cases on pro bono. These and more are voluntary services to the society.
Mahatma Gandhi said, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others”. It therefore takes more to volunteering than just raising a hand. It is a passion to help without a fee. It is the readiness to spend your time, energy, skills and at times money without looking for a compensation. Volunteering is described as an unpaid activity where someone gives their time to help a not-for-profit organization or an individual who they are not related to. Wikipedia says, “Volunteering is generally considered an altruistic activity where an individual or group provides services for no financial or social gain to benefit another person, group or organization.” Over the last months, as the COVID-19 pandemic ravage across the world, volunteers have been at the forefront of medicals, community and societal responses. The COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan by the WHO identifies community volunteers as key stakeholders for risk communication and community engagement. This indicates the valuable and great efforts volunteers are doing during COVID-19. Today Palliatives has entered the social lexicon of the average Nigerian because Federal, State, and Local Governments as well as Non-Governmental Organizations, Community based Organization and Faith-based organizations all volunteered their time, energy, money and skills in providing palliatives and knowledge to the needy in our society. These efforts we recognize as peacebuilding efforts as well because a hungry man, they say is an angry man and can be very vulnerable to violence and the disruption of a peaceful community. This is also the time to say thank you all for these efforts of yours.
This year’s IVD campaign, designed to thank volunteers worldwide and also shed light on the difficulties and needs of volunteers especially during the pandemic is also time to showcase the impact of volunteers in their communities during this crisis, hence the message of Together We Can Through Volunteering. Volunteerism in Nigeria seems to be more hectic considering that some Volunteers work in very difficult circumstances and conditions like in the North-East and North-West. Some have become untrained counsellors healing the broken hearted; some have become hunters because they want to see insurgency in the North-East come to an end, some have even lost their lives in the line of their duties. However, It is not all about woes in volunteerism. Some volunteers too have gained elevation from volunteering for peace. Volunteerism also affords the person a lot of experience and insight; it is also an opportunity to give back to the society (Corporate Social Responsibility) and gaining the blessings of God by the fact that you are helping others. Volunteerism has also given youths the required connection with people the person couldn’t have known under normal situation. For those who see volunteerism as a call to service it comes with a comprehensive sense of accomplishment, innate satisfaction and self-actualization.
In understanding SDG 16 and Peacebuilding processes, one will agree that it consists of a wide range of activities associated with capacity building, reconciliation and societal transformation. It is often referred to as ‘healing agent’ that ensures that the root causes of conflicts are removed. Volunteers in the area of peacebuilding are involved in a lot of activities that holds the societal fabrics together. They include but not limited to peace education, conflict tracking, early warning, conflict prevention, conflict management and reconciliation, youths and women empowerment, mediation, capacity building and skills acquisition, environmental rehabilitation, human rights monitoring, election monitoring and evaluation, security, etc. For a country like ours with a very high youth population, volunteerism should be encouraged to effectively engage the youths and channel these youth energies into creative and productive ventures. The United Nation Security Council Resolution 2250 (Youths, Peace and Security) encourages nations to recognise and engage the Youths in peacebuilding activities. The resolution sees youths beyond violent perpetrators but as peace agents if properly harnessed.
As we celebrate the International Volunteers Day, the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution enjoins the youths of this country to join IPCR in preventing, managing and resolving conflicts by becoming Peace volunteers. It behooves on us and indeed every young man and woman to volunteer against the ills in our society, but most importantly let us volunteer for peace in our community and Nigeria. Let us all stand against those who see us as tools for the actualization of their ambitions – be it political, economic, psychological or religious. Let us all stand against those who jeopardize our lives and future in the name of politics or religion. Let us all embrace peace in not only our community and state but also in Nigeria as a whole. God has bestowed on us a very rich land, interesting beautiful culture and wonderful people; may we not allow scavengers and conflict entrepreneurs deny us of the better life we are destined to live. LET US ALL VOLUNTEER FOR PEACE.
Mr. Nkemneme wrote from the Directorate of Internal Conflict Prevention and Resolution, Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution Abuja (Tel: 0803-477-2168 Email: candynkemneme@gmail.com)