The Office for Strategic Preparedness and Resilience (OSPRE) in partnership with the NEEM Foundation and other critical stakeholders in Kaduna State’s Security and Peacebuilding arenas, convened a transformative three-day summit.
This gathering of early warning, early response, and peacebuilding professionals represents a pivotal stride towards fostering resilience and transformation in Kaduna.
OSPRE also known as the National Early Warning and Response Coordination Centre of Nigeria works with state actors and civil society to enhance the preparedness of institutions and communities and build their resilience to threats to human security.
The Consortium for Conflict Resolution and Development (CONCORD) Initiative is OSPRE’s flagship peacebuilding programme inaugurated in Abuja since December 2022.
Despite the chequered history of communal, sectarian, and ethnic tensions in Kaduna State, state and non-state actors continue to find innovative ways of promoting peace and tolerance in the state.
In her remarks, the Deputy Governor of Kaduna State, Dr. Hadiza Balarabe expressed gratitude to the organisers for supporting the agencies of the Kaduna State Government in advancing peace and security in the state.
The Deputy Governor who was represented by the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mr. James Kanyip, noted that the State Government was very much concerned about the security situation in the State and has been making concerted efforts to arrest this rather unfortunate situation.
“We have undertaken many initiatives that will prevent and manage conflicts in the State. For instance, the State Government has established Peace Committees at the Local Government levels and encouraged the formation of community peace committees, which have all been trained on early warning conflicts and early response mechanisms by the State Peace Commission,” he noted.
The CONCORD Kaduna Zonal Workshop, themed “sustainable peace, enduring security, and collective prosperity,” opened with discussions on promoting synergy between the various peace, security and early warning institutions operating in the state, the role of traditional institutions in civil-security relations, developing strategies for community resilience, maximising the role of women in conflict transformation, and promoting peaceful relations between farmers and herders.
The Director General of OSPRE, Chris Ngwodo briefed the participating experts on its efforts to strengthen linkages between national, regional, and local authorities as well as non-state actors in early warning, peacebuilding, and development.
He said that CONCORD seeks to create synergies between all relevant stakeholders and stressed the need to be conscious of the nexus between security, peace, and development.
High-level panels and expert syndicates formed part of the programme with insightful briefings and deliberations on inter-faith relations, social cohesion, conflict management, urban regeneration, and multi-sectoral partnerships.
The summit was hosted with support of the ECOWAS Peace and Security Architecture and Operations (EPSAO) project, co-funded by European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), implemented through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ GmbH).
In partnership with the ECOWAS Commission, its institutions, Member States and Civil Society Organisations, the project seeks to contribute to bridging the gap between early warning and early response, and finally enhance the work of National Peace Infrastructures as a stepping stone for sustainable development.