Nation building can be strengthened when there is consensus on national interest and efforts are expended on it, panelists said.
A panel discussion organized by the Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) and Ministry of Peace under the theme: “National Values for National Consensus” was held today.
At the panel, the importance of national interest for nation building, national identity for strong national unity, and promoting national values for solidarity were thoroughly discussed. Presenting a paper on the national interest for nation building, Ethiopian Diaspora Service Director-General, Mohammed Idris, said the level of nation building and types of national interest differ from country to country.
Noting the importance of national interest in nation building, he added that “a country is built by society, and the benefit of society is protected by the country.”
According to him, there will be no national interest without the success of nation building, and there will be no social benefit without the success of national interest.
The failure to focus on national interest will result in the loss of internal capacity, internal conflict, and exposure to external forces.
Addis Ababa University lecturer, Kairedin Tezera who presented a paper on national identity for national unity stressed that national identity is essential for a strong state.
“The sources of our country’s lack of peace are related to lack of national common understanding and strong state-nation formation one way or the other,” he said.
Lasting peace and political stability exists when the majority of citizens have a close understanding of the country’s affairs, according to the panelist.
Moreover, it has been proven that when the issue of identity is not managed properly and institutional and policy-based political and economic solutions not tailored to it, this can be a cause of conflict.
Carrying out development works that strengthen national identity, peace and security work and confidence-building is crucial.
Nation building that is beyond the building of institutions, is non-material but extremely important, and involves building the spirit of common solidarity, unity, ownership in the minds of every citizen, Kairedine underlined.
Dire Dawa University Peace and Law lecturer, Rob Petros said it’s important to use the various national values for unity and peace in the country.
He said that we should “realize that our values are the source of peace in our nation, and our unity is our beauty.”
The lecturer noted that mega projects such as the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) have the potential to enrich national consensus and are also expressions of common values, unity and sovereignty.
Source: Ethiopian News Agency