Search For Common Ground (SFCG) Advocates Opportunities for Conflict Transformation Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic
Rhoda Nomhwange
SFCG’S Project funds the Peace Architecture Dialogue (PAD) meetings titled “Transforming Farmer and Herder Conflicts and Promoting Freedom of Religion and Beliefs in Nigeria’s Middle Belt.” The 24 month project is aimed at influencing increased collaboration between farmers/herders communities to develop joint, effective, sustainable local mechanisms for early warning response, dispute management, and violence prevention and mitigation at the community levels. It also aims to strengthen implementation of rule of law and accountability measures through interagency collaboration in the State. This project is being implemented in 8 LGAs and 3 States (Benue, Nasarawa and Plateau) in the Middle Belt Region.
In Benue, the project is housed and Chaired by the Special Adviser to the Governor on SDGs/NEPAD Dr. M.M Dura and co-chaired by Director-General Benue Sate Planning Commission. The project is driven by a Steering Committee which meets every month to consider conflict issues in the state and draw actions plan towards resolving them. However, the April meeting was held via virtual platform with the theme Interactive Session led by Members of the PAD Steering Committee on “The Peace Architecture Dialogue and Opportunities for Conflict Transformation amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Declaring the meeting open, Director Finance and Administration and Officer in Charge of the Middle Belt Region Onnu-James Udalor gave an overview of the project, its objectives, implementation scope and search for common ground as a whole. In his words “As we all know, Search for Common Ground (SFCG) is an international non-profit organisation that promotes peaceful resolution of conflict. Search’s mission is to transform how individuals, organisations, and governments deal with conflict- away from adversarial approaches and toward cooperative solutions.”
Key action plans from the meeting after plenary session presentation by Dr. Helen Teghtegh and Nathaniel Awuapila were the Steering Committee call on the Government and Stakeholders to consider:
There is a window for advocacy with Government since the emerging conflict pandemic is killing more people and destroying properties than the Covid-19 pandemic. This advocacy according to the peace experts can be done through the media to highlight reasons why the Government should put in more energy in responding to conflicts as is done with Covid-19 pandemic. More so, they say there is now a lot of efforts, resources been pushed to the covid-19 pandemic. And the question that comes to mind is why is it that this kind of attention is not given to resolving conflicts in the state? The need for accelerated peace actions should be put into the conflicts resolutions in the state, the chat stated. And that government should realize there is need to do more in transforming conflicts messages. Other concerns of the chats include the need to follow up on traditional rulers who have become agents of mischief and lost focus in promoting peace in their communities. Dialogues that can bring them to a common table is required to proffer a solution to the lingering crisis which is sometimes triggered by the traditional rulers who are not well informed with peace building development knowledge. The lack of cohesion and hierarchal struggle among the traditional institutions was also identified as a major cause of emerging conflicts in the state. In the same vein the Experts recommended that there is the need to re –orientate the traditional rulers on their roles of promoting peaceful coexistence and the extent of their powers. As most of the conflicts linked to traditional institutions are economic with struggle for land as the conflict drivers in communities across Benue and the Middle belt region
The Benue State Steering Committee also urged the Government of the Middle Belt region to deepen advocacy to traditional institutions and synergy/linkages with security agencies in crisis areas as the rate of incidences of conflict in border areas. Furthermore, there was call for the need to close the gap between the Covid-19 pandemic and emerging communal issues in the state where attention is more on the Coronavirus, than the communal crises which are leading people into poverty.
The State Program Manager for SFCG Mrs. Daghil Iember, the Director Technical Cooperation, Benue State Planning Commission and the State Program Manager, SFCG Mrs. Gift Omoniwa all thanked members for finding time to attend the virtual meeting.
