Abuja, Nigeria - At the 2014 National Unification Summit organized by UPF-Nigeria at the National Merit Award House in Maitama, Abuja, on Dec. 12, 2014, Ambassadors for Peace were invited to attend with their spouse as part of the efforts to promote "couplehood for peace." During the special couples assembly at the summit, emphasis was placed on the importance of working together as couples. A photo of the UPF Founders Rev. Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon was presented and an appeal was made for Ambassadors for Peace to attend public events with their spouse, following the example of the UPF founders.
The photo presentation inspired the Ambassadors for Peace to think of a new initiative for promoting couplehood among public leaders in Nigeria. Representing the commitment to this ideal, certificates of couple leadership were presented to the secretary general of UPF Nigeria and his wife as well as to the three executive directors for interreligious, international and resource development affairs and their wives, inducting the four couples as core leaders of the organization in Nigeria.
Couples pledged not only to follow the standard of couplehood established by the UPF founders but also to put it into practice nationally. After couples shared their experiences of working together with their spouse, the participants were moved and joined in the appeal for men and women to work together for the sake of peace.
Some of the Ambassadors for Peace who were invited to attend the summit with their spouse could not come together due to logistical issues. However, they expressed their determination and commitment by coming to the summit with the photo of their spouse with the belief that even though their spouse was not physically with them, by carrying their photo to the summit, they were together spiritually.
During the presentation of certificates, the couples came up the stage with the photo of their spouse and pledged to remain faithful to their partner for life. One of the special participants who was invited from the University of Ibadan to be commissioned as an Ambassador for Peace, Professor Amos Omoloye, could not hide his feeling as he spoke passionately about the possibility of UPF partnering with the University of Ibadan to begin a couple degree program at the university in 2015 to strengthen advocacy for true couplehood.
One of the resolutions of the summit was the call on all public leaders to follow the example set by the UPF founders by posting the photos of the leader with their spouse in all offices as a demonstration of support for couplehood.
Photos accompanying this report show some of the Ambassadors for Peace who received the couple certificate at the summit with their spouse, those who attended the summit with their spouse's photo, and the UPF-Nigeria leaders who attended with their wife.
It is hoped that the inspiration received from the couples assembly at the unification summit will advance the Ambassadors for Peace movement to become a revolutionary movement of couples for peace in Nigeria.