CLEEN Foundation Establishes EWER Stakeholders Forum and Community Safety Partners in Kaduna State.
Oru Leonard
CLEEN Foundation Establishes EWER Stakeholders Forum and Community Safety Partners in Kaduna State.
In Welcome address, the Acting Executive Director, Mrs Ruth Olofin who was represented by Mrs Chigozirim Okoro, Assistant Program Manager noted that recently launched Early Warning and Early Response (EWER) Project in Nigeria with focus in sixteen (16) communities in four states of the Federation- Kaduna, Plateau, Zamfara and Taraba.
She stated, “Today, we have gathered to “Establish EWER Stakeholders’ Forum and Community Safety Partners” in Kasuwan Magani, Maraban-Kajuru; Kujama & Maraban-Rido of Chikun and Kajuru LGAs of Kaduna State.
“This is one of the activities under the Village Monitoring System Project on Early Warning Early Response implemented by CLEEN Foundation in Four Volatile States and sixteen Communities in Northern Nigeria. The purpose of this workshop is to brief the selected stakeholders on the project goals, objectives, activities and expected outcomes.”
CLEEN Foundation disclosed that the workshop seeks to cultivate additional input into EWER implementation strategies, secure buy-in among stakeholders and set up the EWER Stakeholders Forum in Kasuwan Magani, Maraban Kajuru, Kujama & Maraban Rido in Kajuru & Chikun LGAs of Kaduna State. The project is designed to contribute to the mitigation and to bring to an end the frequent conflicts, disappearances and mass violence that is persistent in Northern Nigeria. This incidences are being driven by the effects of climate change; ethnic, religious and cultural tensions; weak response by security agencies.
“Collectively in a bid to protect themselves, communities have resorted to self-help; self protection and a progress involvement of women through the empowerment of community members, including women, to serve as peace-builders. These will be trained in early detection and early response to conflicts” she said
The specific objectives
of the project are to:
o Strengthen understanding of regional conflicts and mitigation opportunities through stakeholder assessment and community engagement;
o Strengthen and expand linkages in sixteen (16) communities between early warning alerts of incidents and on-the-ground responders through communications and networking activities and to;
o Build the capacity of thirty-two (32) early responders to respond to conflict incidents and mitigate violence in sixteen (16) Northern Nigerian communities over a two-year period.
Accordingly, the project is designed to respond to the need for improved civilian protection from the incessant attacks on various communities in the target states in Nigeria.
She noted that the Northern part of the country has recently seen an increase in the rate of violent conflicts with different underpinnings which calls for review of strategy of operation by duty bearers especially the government and has raised several queries on human security in the country.
The Foundation informed that the United Nations described human security “as an approach that helps in identifying and addressing cross-cutting challenges to the survival, livelihood and dignity of the people, it calls for “people-centred, comprehensive, context-specific and prevention-oriented responses that strengthen the protection and empowerment of all persons.”We have seen government at different levels come up with several strategies and policies intended to address the multiple layers of insecurity in the country.
“It is against this backdrop that CLEEN Foundation, has established EWER Stakeholders Forum and Community Safety Partners in Kasuwan Magani & Maraban Kajuru, Kujama & Maraban Rido in Kajuru & Chikun LGAs of Kaduna State. The project commenced with a mapping study conducted in the focal communities to serve as a baseline for the implementation of the project activities.
“A major outcome of the mapping exercise was the production of list of stakeholders that formed the Early Warning and Early Response Stakeholders Forum and Community Safety Partners in Kaduna State.
CLEEN Foundation is committed in promoting public safety and security in Nigeria. We are convinced that a successful implementation of this project will help to mitigate violent conflicts in Kaduna State. We therefore solicit for the cooperation of everyone, including, traditional, religious youth, community and women leaders, formal and informal policing groups, the public, Kaduna Peace Commission and other relevant stakeholders in the State to contribute to the realization of the project objectives”, Chigozirim said.
