From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Presidency has emphasised that nearly 70 percent of the North Central’s security problems are resolvable through community-centred, nonviolent approaches.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement for North Central Nigeria, Abiodun Essiet, stated this yesterday during a capacity-building training session for the North-Central stakeholders at the State House in Abuja.
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-1718806029429-0’); });
According to her, “From our analysis, nearly 70 percent of the security challenges in the North Central can be addressed through dialogue, reconciliation, intelligence sharing and community engagement, rather than through force alone.”
Reflecting on the launch of the Presidential Community Engagement Peace Initiative (PCEPI) on June 5 in Jos, Plateau State, she said it was “a significant step in our collective journey toward fostering unity, strengthening social cohesion and empowering communities to take ownership of their peace processes.”
Essiet revealed that her office is collaborating with the International Communities Organisation (ICO) on a project titled, “Promoting Community Peace and Strengthening Social Cohesion in North Central Nigeria,” aligned with Nigeria’s United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR) commitments.
She highlighted the grassroots nature of the effort, saying, “At the heart of this initiative is the establishment of a peace structure that will cut across all the 110 local governments in the North Central region. This structure will not just exist in name; it will be an active platform, focusing on gathering and sharing intelligence, facilitating continuous dialogue and helping us identify underlying issues and root causes of conflict. Ultimately, this peace structure will serve as the backbone of sustainable peace-building in our region.”
Stressing the importance of early conflict resolution, Essiet said: “Once we succeed in resolving internal communal conflicts and addressing the root causes of tension, we will already be halfway to overcoming insecurity in the North Central,” while noting that armed criminality remains the responsibility of security agencies.
The training covered key topics, including Peace-building and Conflict Resolution, Conflict Dynamics and Community Engagement, and Intelligence Gathering for Peace. It also featured state breakout sessions to assess risks, stakeholders and targeted interventions.
Speaking to the participants, he said: “This training is not just about acquiring knowledge; it is about forging partnerships, building trust and developing strategies that will directly impact our communities. I urge every participant to be open, interactive and collaborative.”
Concerns were raised about forests and border areas as security pressure points. Commandant-General of the Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS), Joshua Wole, underscored the need for improved forest management and inter-agency coordination.
“For sustainable peace in our communities, all our forested regions must be well coordinated and preserved. We need to protect the forests,” he said. “We must create additional security agencies to conduct continuous security surveillance. Three states border international frontiers, comprising Niger, Kwara and Benue, are the epicentres of insecurity. There should be inter-agency cooperation and effective control of our forests.”
He further cautioned: “What Nigeria is currently going through goes beyond farmers–herders clashes. We must also consider the post-Gaddafi era,” pointing to mercenaries scattered across the Sahel after the Libyan conflict.
Director of the MacArthur Foundation, Kole Shettima, reiterated the foundational role of peace in development, saying, “Unless there is peace, you cannot do what you want to do. Peace is essential and paramount.”
He called on the National Assembly to reinforce traditional institutions. “We have to look historically at how our elders solved conflicts and learn from it,” he said.
Project coordinator, Jacob Alagbe, explained that the programme brings together state-level actors to promote coexistence and social cohesion, with outcomes feeding into tailored state action plans.
The post Dialogue key to solving 70% of N’Central’s security issues –Presidency appeared first on The Sun Nigeria.
