By Nwamulunamma Ogbunka
Abuja
Senate President of Nigeria, His Excellency, Chief Godswill Akpabio, has changed parliaments globally on peace, justice, and humanity, saying global tensions demand legislative leadership beyond lawmaking.
He made the call while addressing delegates at the 152nd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), according to a press release by Jackson Udom, Special Assistant to the Senate President on Media.
Speaking under the Assembly’s theme, “Nurturing Hope, Securing Peace and Ensuring Justice for Future Generations,” Akpabio noted that conflicts are spreading across regions and testing the resilience of nations and institutions. Other speakers at the opening ceremony also urged renewed commitment to multilateral cooperation and democratic values.
“I bring you warm greetings from the resilient people of Nigeria — a nation that has learned that peace is not inherited; it is built, defended, and sustained,” he said. Drawing from Nigeria’s experience with conflict and nation-building, he described legislatures as “the first hope of the masses” and “the conscience of the people.”
Akpabio warned that no region is immune to instability, citing ongoing conflicts across the Middle East, Europe, and Africa. He called for a shift from war to development: “It is time to turn from destruction to construction… and redirect the instruments of war toward the work of development.”
Highlighting the human cost of conflict, he said casualty figures mask broken families and devastated communities. “This is not merely a crisis of security — it is a crisis of leadership. Might must not be mistaken for right, and weakness must never justify injustice,” he told delegates, quoting Martin Luther King Jr. to underscore humanity’s shared destiny.
The Senate President urged the IPU to take a more decisive role in strengthening global institutions, particularly the United Nations, and in amplifying the voice of vulnerable nations. He closed with a charge for renewed commitment: “Let this moment mark a turning point… a covenant not just with our people, but with posterity.”
Nigeria reaffirmed its readiness to work with the international community to build a world where hope, peace, and justice endure. Earlier, IPU President Tulia Ackson, Speaker of the National Assembly of Tanzania, had urged member parliaments to uphold democratic responsibilities and act decisively on rising global conflicts and inequalities, noting that the world looks to legislatures for leadership and moral clarity.
