By; KELVIN OKPARA, Enugu
Institute for Peace, Conflict and Development Studies (IPCDS) of the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), has expressed concerns over the alarming rate of conflicts and crisis currently bedeviling countries of the world, including Nigeria, urging warring nations to lay down their arms and embrace peace and dialogue which have no alternative.
It challenged South East Africa, and global leaders to make issue of peace building in their respective territory a topmost priority, as there is no alternative to peace.
The institute, maintained that no nation, no matter how rich or poor, developed, or developing such as Nigeria, can achieve any positive feat in an environment of crisis and Insecurity as currently being experienced in parts of Nigeria and entire world.
In his speech last weekend during the orientation exercise for the 2023/2024 academic session for new course participants, director of the institute Professor Felix Asogwa, said peace is important in any nation, because it has no alternative.
The Director, who thanked the Vice Chancellor of ESUT, Professor Aloysius Okolie for providing the institute the enabling environment to operate, calling on all and sundry to always show interest on any issue geared towards promoting peace in the society.
Professor Asogwa advised the new course participants drawn from various disciplines to brace up to the challenges and take their studies very seriously as the school has no room for cutting corners.
The administrative officer of the institute, Dr. Chiedozie Nwafor, earlier, took the students through the history and information about the Institute which began operation in 2019.
Professor Asogwa promised the participants that the institute will do its best to ensure that committed students graduate in specified Nigeria University Commission (NUC) record time of Master Degrees,18 months and PhD, three years respectively.
He informed the students that the school commenced in Accra Ghana, through the initiative of the West African Network for peace building (WANEP), a leading regional peace building organization founded in 1988 in response to Civil wars that plagued West Africa in the 1990s.
The Director, said though other universities in South East Nigeria and elsewhere had struggled to host the regional institute, but ESUTH was lucky to be awarded the host school.
According to Professor Asogwa, PCDS of ESUT is a multi – disciplinary, research based establishment designed for capacity building for those involved in peace building and development.
The director noted that as a multi- disciplinary field of study and practice, it stands to serve Nigeria and Africa by equipping practitioners, scholars, students and Stakeholders with requisite intellectual and research skills.
He added that fundamentally, the institute offers Msc Degree in peace and conflict Studies, Msc in peace and conflict Management (MPCM), Executive as well as Doctor of Philosophy PhD in in peace and conflict Studies.
He further informed the students that peace is so important in every human endeavour and reminded them that having gained admission into the institute, they have joined promoters of peace and development, stressing that the institute has many professors and qualified lecturers.
A breakdown of the course participants list indicates that a total of sixty-eight students, comprising 5 PGD, 35, MSc, and 27 PhD enrolled for the programme, as well as well as 17 others, whose names have been forwarded to the ESUT Vice Chancellor for action.
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