The Nigerian government has pledged unalloyed support to the newly appointed United Nations Global Advocate for Peace, Maryam Bukar Hassan, in her bid to promote unity and peace across the globe.
Vice President Kashim Shettima, who disclosed this on Monday in Abuja, described the appointment of Maryam, a Nigerian spoken word artist and peace advocate who is the first person to hold the role across the UN’s entire Peace and Security Pillar, as well deserved.
Speaking when Maryam led her team on a courtesy visit to his office at the Presidential Villa, Shettima noted that Maryam had been consistent in her peace advocacy as depicted in one of her videos that went viral: ‘Violence has no Religion’.
“That is the Nigeria of our dream, and she (Maryam) has been consistent, and one of her ardent contributions was that video that went viral: ‘Violence has no Religion’. To me, it is the crowning glory of her career. I have watched that particular video more than a hundred times because it’s very inspiring,” he said.
Taking a leaf from former US House Speaker, Tip O’Neill, who said that ‘all politics is local’, Shettima pointed out that Maryam’s resolve to align “with the challenges and the aspirations in her home state of Borno is equally inspiring.”
The Vice President assured the UN Global Advocate for Peace of Nigeria’s unflinching support throughout her tenure, maintaining that the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a pro-youth administration, will do everything possible to support her cause.
He stated: “On behalf of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, I want to warmly welcome you and thank you from the bottom of my heart for the great work you’re doing for the UN. And most importantly, on behalf of the President, I want to assure you that the present administration is a pro-youth administration, and we will do whatever it takes to support your cause.
“Be rest assured, Maryam, that you’re not alone. We’re in this together, and whatever support you need, we’ll give you. In fact, as a politician, it is in my self-enlightened interest to align myself with you because you are promoting peace; you are promoting unity, not creating disunity.
“Believe me, the grass is not greener on the other side. We can make this country great. God has blessed us with enormous human and material resources, and when we properly handle them, we can really transform lives in this country.”
Earlier, Maryam said her primary duty is to bring the message of peace to the world, just as she noted that she is not only going to be an advocate for United Nations peacekeeping but would also promote the same in Nigeria where she comes from.
The purpose of her visit, according to her, was to showcase the work she and her group had been doing to promote peace and harmony, calling for collaboration with the federal government for an enabling environment for the group to carry out its advocacy project.
“Nigeria is grappling with so many security challenges and as far as my work is concerned, I am to go global and want to start with my own country. This is the reason for our visit. We are trying to showcase what we are doing and to know how we can do this together, as this is not something that we can do alone,” she noted.
On the roadmap for peace advocacy with the United Nations, one of the members of the delegation said the major work Maryam will do is to build a coalition of people in order to bring together many other young voices.
For the next two years, the team said they will be working with other creative people around the world who will help share information about how they can build peace.
