By Onomiguren Agbamu
The Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND), a non-profit organization that promotes peace and equitable economic growth in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region through multi-stakeholder partnership has identified various measures to preventing conflict in Nigeria, and especially in the Niger Delta region.
The PIND Foundation in a two day seminar workshop with the theme, “Capacity Strengthening for Prevent Councils in Delta state, mobilizing traditional institutions and conflict mediators for peace and development in the Niger Delta” took place at Villa Toscana Hotel in Asaba, Delta state capital on August 29, 2024.
Giving an overview of the foundation, the coordinator, Partners for Peace Network, High Chief Lawal Africas said, the Prevent Councils peacebuilding is essential to manage the individual, group, communities, and the nation’s differences to reduce violence and poverty.
Chief Africas also disclosed that the early measures would help to create security stability with communities for preventing existing conflicts from escalating and maps emerging conflicts from the land and among others.
Africas listed several approaches that entails in peacebuilding across the nation as include; increasing awareness and understanding of conflicts dynamics; building capacity of peace among actors; Interventions to address conflict and violence, and promoting synergy and cooperation among actors in the region.
Chief Africas, however, urged that stakeholders should be involved throughout the process of conflicts resolution, build on local capacity to manage the conflicts peacefully with home-grown ownership and ensure that there is conflict sensitivity and guide against unintentional harms.
Chief Lawal noted that the central goal for PIND is to promote and sustain social cohesion and peaceful coexistence in the society, adding the achievement of sustainable peace must involve multilateral engagements with the traditional institutions as critical positive influencers and conflict mediators in their respective states and communities.
Lawal revealed that “conflict issues are mostly around criminality and communal tensions over land and boundary disputes, which often lead to violence, deaths, destruction of properties, and internal displacement of residents.
Adding separately, the consultant, Conflict Prevent Councils, Delta State (PIND), Ambassador Pastor Edewor Egedegbe said the peacebuilding programme is aimed at achieving the greater goal of regional and lasting peace in the Niger Delta;
Pastor Egedegbe said PIND “achieves this through creating sustainable peace partnerships, encouraging collaboration and synergy among peace actors, providing support for economic development and strengthening indigenous structures for peace while also creating and building interface with larger state-level peace efforts”.
Edewor disclosed that the aim of the Prevent Councils is to engage traditional institutions as positive influencers and conflict mediators in their respective states and communities, and respond to identified potential precursors of violence and instability in collaboration with the existing Partners for Peace Network and Prevent Committees and other stakeholders at the state, local, and community levels.
Earlier, in his welcome address the chairman Prevent Councils, Delta State, Dr. Agboro Andrew disclosed that since Prevent Councils was set up two years ago and has been doing wonderfully well in the state, and appealed to members to be devoted to the aims and objectives of the council’s in achieving it goals for sustainable peace.
Participants at the seminar also suggested that early campaigns and sensitisation should be carried out to various primary schools for awareness to set the mind of the young one on the dangers of violence.
Participants at the seminar cut across all stakeholders in the state and government institutions
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