Workshop
By Mohammed Tijjani/ Sani Idris
The Commandant-General of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCD), Abdullahi Mohammadu, has called for sincere cooperation between security agencies and civil populace to prevent conflicts in the country.
Mohammadu made the call in Kaduna on Wednesday at a 2-day workshop organized by the NSCDC and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), on Early Warning and Early Response (EWER) and conflict prevention for communities and security providers.
The training workshop was also in collaboration with the Kaduna State Peace Commission, funded by the Norwegian Government.
Mohammadu who was represented by Assistant Commandant General Zone B, Danladi Mugadi, also urged communities to fish out crisis merchants in their midst for appropriate punishment.
He said it was important to have sincere cooperation to “bridge the torn fabric of trust between security agencies and the civilian population”.
The NSCDC chief also called for greater synergy between security agencies to ensure successful prevention of conflicts.
“We must change our attitudes to work and collaborate more instead of fighting for supremacy and survival.
“We must see ourselves as a complete system where the action of one component affects the other towards goals attainment.
“In peace and conflicts resolution, no single organization is superior to others as both have some jurisdictional powers, in effect, no single organization can do it alone.”
The official appealed for effective collaboration between peace institutions and other stakeholders to encourage community networking system and family policing strategy.
“Law enforcement agencies and peace initiative
institutions should be adequately funded and
strengthened by government to provide the much
needed intelligence and responses, instead of relying
on foreign and international donor Agencies”, he added.
The Commandant-General disclosed that the NSCDC has been working to engender support from the population to ensure effective policing at the grassroots.
“Furthermore, the Corps as a grass root security agency
with a mandate to settle disputes from willing members
of the public is committed to “walking the talk” in terms of encouraging Early Warning through intelligence
gathering and public engagements.
“We are intensifying efforts as we evolve a human centric policing strategy,” ‘he added.
According to him, conflicts are flourishing because of the inability of the society to bring the merchants of destruction to book.
He also identified the absence of good governance, mistrust, inter-communal violence and organized crime, as precursors of conflicts which must be tackled through collective action.
Earlier, the Executive Vice Chairman, Kaduna State Peace Commission, Ms Pricilla Ankut, said the workshop was a precursor to the formal launching of the Conflict Early Warning Early Response System (CEWERS), the commission had developed with the support of the UNDP.
According to her, the workshop was designed to build the capacity of relevant stakeholders in peacemaking,
peace-building, conflict mitigation and prevention.
“Over the years, the Kaduna State Peace Commission (KAPECOM) has organized similar and other capacity building workshops to empower peace workers in undertaking peace works, mediation and negotiation across the state.”
She noted that early warning and response to potential conflicts makes mitigation easier and more effective in
limiting conflicts.
Ankut thanked the UNDP, the Norwegian government and the NSCD for the collaboration.
“With development partners such as the UNDP, the design and operationalization of the CEWERS that will assist in achieving this preventive objective has given us a flip for which we are grateful”, she said.
Also, the Team Lead, Governance, Peace and Security Unit of UNDP, Matthew Alao, said the training was critical, as there would be no development without peace in any society.
Alao who was represented by Elia Von-Rotz, said the training was important as it sought to advance an integrated approach to conflict prevention, through early identification and reporting of conflict situations.
“It is a known fact that conflict is inevitable in every society, in our daily interactions, conflicts are bound to happen, however, if they turn violent, outcomes are always destructive, thereby hindering national development.”
He noted that the UNDP had worked with Kaduna State Government and provided support for the establishment of the peace commission and the ICT-based Early Warning and Early response system.
“The essence of this collaboration is to deepen the peace process which is a core aspect of the SDG 16, to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development,” Alao added.
Edited by Maharazu Ahmed
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