West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), Akwa Ibom State Chapter has advocated for re-designed peacebuilding intervention strategies in communities with the civil society organizations as the key drivers that will interface between the communities and the government.
WANEP explained that such peacebuilding interventions design should provide a sustainability plan to cater for new dimension and occurrence of violence within the South South zone.
Speaking with newsmen during the international day of peace celebration on Friday September 22, in Uyo, Ambassador Peace Edem who represented WANEP, harped on partnership between government and the Civil Society/Peace Actors in order to effectively address Nigeria’s current threats to peace and security.
Making allusion to PIND report of 2022, Edem identified threats to peace in the South South geo-political zone to include; piracy, militancy, kidnapping, gang/cult supremacy clashes, armed robbery, killings for ritualistic purposes and organ trafficking, mob violence, sexual violence, human trafficking, communal violence, land disputes, separatist agitation, targeted violence against government security facilities and personal, extra-judicial killings, election violence and protests.
“Government convening powers and Civil Society Networks offer important opportunities for fostering peace as does their ability to support the peace architecture. This is primarily because the Civil Society Organizations are grassroot based; they understand the people to the extent that they know their needs, try to address them and leverage on this for peace building.
“Communities should also be made to take over ownership of this process at the end of any intervention and withdrawal by the civil society or international donor agencies. The traditional methods of peacebuilding in our communities should be revisited.
“There are challenges and prospects in Women participation in Peace and security; but it is important that the Civil Society Organizations should work with the Nigerian government to develop legal frameworks and policies that will promote the inclusion of women/ women platforms in peacebuilding and conflict resolutions.”
The International Day of Peace was established in 1981 by the United Nations General Assembly. Two decades later, in 2001, the General Assembly unanimously voted to designate the Day as a period of non-violence and cease-fire. This year’s Theme was, “Actions for peace: Our ambition for the #GlobalGoals”.
