The Cleansing and the Blessing of the Nigerian Nation Being the Speech Sent to the Igbo People Action Congress On the occasion of the Peace and Solidarity Rally on December 9, 2006 By Reverend Titus K. Oyeyemi, President and CEO African Foundation for Peace and Love Initiatives     His Royal Highness, the Eze Ndigbo of Lagos, Eze H.N. Ohazuluike, OON, the Eze Udos of the local councils in Lagos, the President, and officials of the Igbo Peoples Action Congress, the African Children of Peace, the Governor of Lagos State, and President Olusegun Obasanjo, CON, and all the peace loving citizens of Nigeria.     Today is a day of felicitation, a day when the Igbo People of Nigeria at home and in Diaspora, their kings and leaders, their wise men and women, their nobles, their men and their women, their illustrious sons and daughters, the strong and the not-so-strong, stood up in unison with the rest of the citizens of Nigeria, in the congress of all Nigerian sovereigns and nations, ethnic, religious and political affinities, to rally for the peace of Nigeria as one-nation in unity under God and for Africa, the Future Land of Peace. I want to thank the Igbo Peoples Action Congress and the organizers of the Peace and Solidarity Rally/Honors Award that we are gathered here today to celebrate. In consonance with the objective and goal of this event, this is not a day to throw punches, fight and curse one another, open old wounds, re-enact past erroneous political histories and bickering, fan ancestral fires of hatred, spout invectives, breathe anger, seek vengeance or pour tirades. But today, let us all come together with brotherly love, clean hearts, sanctified minds, purified lips, anoint our heads with the oil of fellowship, love, peace and unity. “… [Behold] How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down upon the collar of his robes. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.” (Psalm 133) As we search for new leaders in the coming 2007 General Elections, let us pray to the Lord, with purified lips, that the Lord will give us national leaders and not just tribal leaders. Let us stand up, shoulder to shoulder, as a one people with one destiny, with no sacralization of tribes or instrumentalization of religions, but as a people equal before God, to petition the Throne of Grace (not the throne of mammon) for a godly President and Commander In Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria come April 2007. Let us serve God by collectively serving Nigeria. “… Then will I purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the name of the LORD and serve him SHOULDER to SHOULDER.” (Zephaniah 3:11) Let Nigerians arise as one troop, not as tribal militias or as warlords, to fight the “Assyria” of our own time represented and personified as powers and principalities, tribal hatred and religious intolerance, which like cankerworms, are destroying the basis of our existence as a people and a nation. Let us collectively fight tribalism, cronyism, corruption, complacency, etc. With God’s generous gift of oil to Nigeria, wealth and human resources, the most populous nation in Africa, the political strength of 36 States, 519 Local Governments, uncountable professionals and experts, community and religious leaders, and our endowment of royal and traditional rulers, let us collectively destroy the bane of “bad leadership” and cleanse ourselves of the “reproaches of corruption and wickedness” in both the low and high places. Let us elect a new Head of State, who shall be the man of peace and like the “seven shepherds and the eight principal men”, let us together fight to eradicate from our country corruption, poverty, desolation, famine, HIV/AIDS, hunger, sicknesses, hatred, violence, war and disunity, electricity outages, unmotorable roads, street, gang, cult and political violence. “Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. But thou, Beth-le-hem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. … And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. And the man be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds and eight principal men.” (Micah 5:1-2; 4-5). Are you a shepherd or a principal man?  Let’s hear King David out “The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after the rain.” (2 Samuel 23:3-4). I want to thank the organizers of this event for their decision to involve the participation of African Foundations for Peace and Love Initiatives, (AFPLI). Today we are ably represented by members of our African Children of Peace Clubs. We have been taken our children around for a while so that these Nigerian leaders of tomorrow could demand a peaceful tomorrow from the Nigerian leaders of today. As you will see in the children’s presentation, the goal and objective of AFPLI is to encourage Ethnoreligious Harmony and Proactive Grassroots Peacebuilding in Africa in general and in Nigeria in particular. The drama, our peace anthem, and our nation Peacebuilding song, which our children will present to you today are enough for the wise to realize that our organization, African Foundation for Peace and Love Initiatives has been saddled with the task of cultivating new lifestyle of Peacebuilding for this and future generations.     If we want to listen to and learn from the children, if we learn and want to change, and if we change and want to become profitable, events taking place around us on daily basis are enough to convince us that things are not as they are supposed to be in our country – politically, economically, educationally, socially, and culturally. But unfortunately, we have not only refused to learn, listen, change, so that we could become profitable, but we have also failed to grow up and mature politically, economically, educationally, socially, and progressively. We often thought to ourselves that we are a wise, educated and advanced people, but our lifestyles suggest the contrary. As a people of the stature we are and the position we occupy at home and abroad, it is criminally alarming that we cannot resolve our national conflicts non-violently or at least without resorting to violence. “And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.” May the envies of the Igbos depart, may the Hausa not longer vex the Igbos, may the adversaries of the Yorubas be cut off. May the legacy of violence and hatred disappear from Nigeria. May the legacy of peace and love come in its place.     I used this occasion to call for the support of all Nigerians of walks of life to support APPLI efforts to promote Ethnoreligious Harmony and Proactive Peacebuilding in Nigeria in particular and in African in general. On August 13, 1996, the Lord shared the vision with me couched in these words “Africa, the Future Land of Peace.” Since then I have taken it upon myself, with the support of my wife, children and immediate family members, and a few friends, to pursue this vision to turn it into a mission. In May 2001, African Projects for Peace and Love Initiatives was founded in the United States of America and was incorporated as a 501 c 3 Not-for-Profit organization on May 20, 2003. The Nigerian Chapter, African Foundation for Peace and Love Initiatives was incorporated with the CAC Abuja on June 30, 2005.     At APPLI, we mobilize the African grassroots for proactive Peacebuilding and Ethnoreligious Harmony. We launch grassroots peace clubs in religious and educational institutions and socio-cultural communities. We design and develop curriculum for structured education for peace and socio-cultural peace programs. We promote youth and community peace for nation building and youth economic empowerment programs. We conduct street peace rallies. Our Youth Peace and Nation Building Clubs include the African Children of Peace Clubs, the Youth Peace Alliance Clubs, and the KAIROS Peace and Love Clubs. These peace clubs are launched in elementary, secondary and tertiary institutions, respectively. Our Community and Nation Peacebuilding Clubs include the KAYERO Peace and Love Clubs, the City Peace Clubs, the Peace Intercessors Clubs, and the New World Peace Legacy Clubs. These clubs are founded in religious institutions, socio-cultural societies, and at city levels. The highlights of our programs include the Street Peace Rally that we conducted on April 17th and 18th, 2003 to usher in the Peaceful General Elections of Year 2003. The celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the International Day of Peace when we mobilized local governments in Lagos State and our peace clubs in other parts of the federation to rally for peace. We have rallied to various king palaces such as the Eze Ndigbo of Egbe and Idimu in Lagos State, the palaces of Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akinolu, the First, the Osolo of Isolo, and the Baale of Mende in Lagos State, to name a few. We have also taken our peace rally to the Lagos State Governor to encourage the government to conduct peaceful elections in 2007.          We have launched our KAIROS Peace and Love Clubs (KPLC) in institutions of higher learning such as Federal University of Technology, Akure; Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye in Ogun State, Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo; Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba, Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education, Ijanikin, to name a few. Similarly, we have launched our Youth Peace Alliance Clubs (Y-PAC) in over 200 schools in Education Districts II and VI in Lagos State comprising Ikorodu, Kosofe, Somolu, Ikeja, Mushin, Oshodi/Isolo, Local Governments Areas. We have also launched our African Children of Peace in several nurseries, kindergartens, and primary schools, around Lagos State. We are looking for sponsors and partners for our programs. “Blessed are those who labor for peace in Africa, for they shall put the enemy of humanity to shame.” I wish you happy peace and solidarity rally/honors award. God bless you. Peace. Shalom. KAYERO! Reverend Titus K. Oyeyemi President/CEO African Projects (Foundation) for Peace and Love Initiatives TimeOn KAIROS Peace Academy Email: admin@africanprojectsforpeace.org; Website: http://www. africanprojectsforpeace.org