Sokoto: Stakeholders in the Northwest have pledged to strengthen their partnership and collaboration to address violent extremism and build community resilience against all forms of reactiveness.
They made the commitments during a four-day Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop in Sokoto, which had the theme” Strengthening Stakeholders Capacities for Co-creation and Implementation of State and Local Action Plans.”
The training was organized by the Partnership Against Violent Extremism (PAVE) Network and Preventing and Counter Violent Extremism-Knowledge Innovation Resource Hub (PCVE-KIRH), supported by ActionAid and the Global Community Engagement and Resilient Fund (GCERF).
A participant, Wazirin Gwandu, a traditional ruler from Kebbi, Alhaji Abdullahi Umar, described the engagement as relevant to unravelling the root courses of conflicts and fine-tuning the mitigation process.
Umar said that the calibre of participants, including representatives of security agencies, government officials, civil society organizations, community leaders, and groups directly affected by conflicts, would provide a roadmap for lasting solutions.
He explained that conflicts in the northern states were rooted in farmers’/herders’ clashes, which metamorphose into different forms such as banditry, kidnapping for ransom and others.
The traditional ruler stresses that involving community inhabitants and government officials in solving lingering conflicts would be the best solution, as the present training provides.
He urged the participants to ensure the right stepdown training in their respective locations to achieve the desired impacts.
A lead facilitator and member of PCVE, Prof. Lanre Aladeitan, said the capacity building was designed using multidimensional approaches, providing action plans that could be used to prevent various conflicts in the affected areas.
Aladeitan noted that the content of the action plans catered for local needs and local solutions to challenges toward preventing conflicts with needed skills.
He underscored the importance of living in peace and harmony as a catalyst for every development and called for increased synergy among government and nongovernment actors to actualize the blueprint.
According to him, rehabilitation and reintegration processes were involved in the strategies, emphasizing the need to deploy a non-kinetic approach to resolve conflicts.
He also highlighted the need to reactivate traditional institutions’ roles, implement meaningful fights against poverty and economic empowerment schemes, and enhance education systems at all levels.
Dr Ahmad Surajo, the regional manager of the North-East Youth Initiative for Development (NEYIF), said peaceful initiatives should be the collective responsibility of all citizens and urged stakeholders to implement community approaches to finding solutions to conflicts.
Surajo said states in the Northwest of Nigeria are currently experiencing increased activities of violent extremist groups with worsening socio-economic situation.
In his presentation, Dr Dauda Gombe said peace and security are two important components, and individuals, groups, and governments at all levels deserved to support all efforts aimed at addressing insecurity.
Gombe, the Executive Director of NAYIF, said mainstreaming action plans, security and development policies, and desired partnerships would surely yield positive impacts on ensuring lasting peace and safer communities across the country.
He advocated for good governance and judicious use of resources for human and infrastructural development in the nation.
The training witnessed presentations from the Director of International Corporation in Sokoto State Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Mr Musa Wamakko, and Prof. Madgeline Igbolo. Participants were drawn from Sokoto, Kebbi, and Zamfara.