The United Nations (UN) International Organisation of Youth Promoters of Peace (IOYPP) says it will train 500 Nigerians as World Chaplaincy Officers to ensure peace in the six geo-political zones of the country.

This was part of the communiqué issued on Tuesday at the end of a youth summit organized by the association in Abuja.

The training was organized by the IOYPP to ensure Nigerian youths embrace peace and become peace ambassadors for the country, Africa, and the world in general.

Captain Hounakey Kafu-Ata, a UN Peace Ambassador, said that peace was necessary for the country ahead of the 2023 general election.

“Nigeria is the heart of Africa and neglecting her peace is a very big risk for Africa,” he said.

Kafu-Ata said the organization’s presence in Nigeria was to empower men and women that would propagate peace in all looks and crannies, to save the country from atrocities and vices that could destroy it.

“Every African country is concerned about peace in Nigeria. We are going to Abeokuta on Sept. 10 to train and empower youths on mediation.

“And on Sept. 14, we will be in Port Harcourt to do the same thing with youths in Rivers State.

“On Sept. 16, our UN Chaplaincy Officers training will take place for two weeks and those to be trained will officially become UN Chaplaincy Officers in Nigeria.

“After the training, they will have the mandate to carry out assignments on the field as UN Chaplaincy officers to help Nigeria to handle the minor problems of peacebuilding.

“We will also train Justices of Peace, International Police Chaplain Officers that will carry out our activities of diplomacy, mediation, settlement through cohabitation, dialoguing and human right defenders,” Kafu-Ata said.

Commandant Johannes Makouvia, the International President, IOYPP, said the country cannot afford to have peace mediators whose duty would be to unite citizens at every given time.

“We are here to promote peace and that is why we are talking about training the youths for mediation.

“Once you train many youths on mediation and they know how to manage conflict, they will be mediators in all their areas of residence and operation, and by so doing, ensure peace.”

Makouvia said that the training was targeted at the Northern and Southern parts of the country to have a balanced result.

Certificates of participation were presented to participants at the summit, while awards were presented to some Ambassadors of Peace.