Kukah Centre Trains Stakeholders On Peace, Conflict Management

The Kukah Centre has organized a regional two-day capacity building for stakeholders in North Central on Peace and Conflict Management, under its Independent State Based Peace Architecture (ISPA).

Speaking at the training centre on Wednesday in Lokoja, Mr Lawson Eselebor, the project manager, TKC, said the peace capacity building was an extension of the national peace committee to facilitate and advocate overall peace in Nigeria.

Eselebor said the participants would be introduced to practical conflict resolution techniques and strategies to effectively utilise when managing conflict.

He said the initiative was meant to build capacity of the stakeholders as a result of the fallout from the just concluded general elections in the country.

According to him, there are some consequences from the results of the elections, because we have violence before, during and after the elections at different locations across the country.

”We know that conflict which is the focus for this training is inevitable, with both positive and negative outcomes but it depends on how you manage the situation.

”If conflict is properly managed with the right tools, techniques and approach, then the results will be favourable.

”But when you avoid conflicts or apply the wrong tools and techniques, they cause violence, destructions, killings as we have seen in these elections,” he said.

Eselebor said the training would empower stakeholders to see within their local content how they could manage whatever conflict that might arise after the elections.

He said the stakeholders in Kogi would work for peace in the upcoming governorship election in the state to prevent conflicts to the barest minimum before, during and after the election.

Eselebor said “We all know the role the national peace committee plays in trying to broker peace in the country and exploring peace meetings with political parties and their candidates. So, we are trying to replicate that at the various state levels because of peculiarities of each state through conflict resolution mechanisms. Over 600 persons would be trained on Peace building, conflict management and the roles that communication plays in conflict management.

”This is the first regional training taking place in Lokoja for 50 participants from five States namely: Kogi, Benue, Nasarrawa, Kwara and Oyo.

”We will also engage those in North East, North West, South East, South West and South South.

‘We will be training 150 participants for the first level capacity building training who will train other 600 individuals in the state, who would then  cascade it to local government levels.”