As the world commemorates 2015 International Peace Day on September 21, the UN has charged Nigerians to work for the restoration of peace in the North-East and Middle Belt parts of the country.

UN Peace and Development Adviser, Dr. Zebulon Takwa, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja.

He said that every Nigerian had a role to play in bringing peace in the conflict zones.

Takwa explained that the protracted crisis in the North-East and other parts of the North had hampered full realisation of the potentials in the country.

“We have to affirm and re-affirm that peace is the foundation of everything that we need to do.

“The absence of peace has pulled back Nigeria, the greatest economy in Africa, the giant of Africa as we have always said, with all the potential to take everybody along.

“We have now focused on insecurity; we have been bedevilled by the insecurity in the North and that has retarded so many things.”

According to him, the commemoration of the peace day is to further draw attention to the need for all stakeholders to pledge peace for the country to realise its great potential.

“Let us pause again and reflect just for one day on what we are doing as an individual, as a government, as a collective organisation, as groups, to make peace happen in Nigeria.

“How can we forget about our differences and put our hands on the platform to say what are we going to do collectively to address the security challenges in the North East?

“How can we focus on the current challenges in the Middle Belt and other zones that we sometimes undermined but are hampering the development of this country?”

The UN official said that every tribe and religion in Nigeria preached peace, but stressed that there was the need to move from preaching to practicing the message of peace.

“Everybody believes in peace; every religion talks about peace. Let us put this on the table to say let us concretise what we have all been affirming.

“That is the reason why the peace day is a re-affirmation of this individual pledge to say we want to make peace happen.

“And the theme for this year is ’Partnership for Peace’ and that is to say that everybody is a stakeholder, and what a timing and what a message for every Nigerian.

“So everybody, a driver, job seeker, a government official, housewife or market woman, everybody will enjoy the dividends of peace and everybody can contribute to making that peace happen.”

The International Day of Peace, also known unofficially as World Peace Day, is observed annually on Sept. 21. (NAN)