Stakeholders Brainstorm On Better Civil-military Relationship

Executive director of CLEEN Foundation, Mr. Gad Peter, has asserted that the relationship between civilians and military personnel in conflict-affected states such as Borno, Plateau and Zamfara is critical to sustainable peace, security, and community resilience.

Peter spoke at a two-day workshop on “Regional Dissemination On Security Dynamics, Solutions and the Civil-Military Relationship (CMR)” CLEEN organised with Open Society for Africa (OSA) for civil society organisations (CSOs) and security personnel in Jos, the Plateau State capital.

He said the workshop aims to promote excellence in public safety and security by developing professional standards and ensuring quality service delivery by security agencies.

Peter pointed out that it will also improve the effectiveness of the legislative and civilian oversight function regarding human rights abuse, identify challenges, and propose strategies for improvement.

He explained that the foundation recently unveiled research findings that are fundamental to promoting civil-military relationships and cooperation and decided to disseminate them to the stakeholders in these conflict-affected states.

Also, the programme director of CLEEN, Mr Salaudeen Hashim, who spoke on “Understanding Civil-Military Relationship,” said the country’s civil-military relationship is unstable, so we have gathered stakeholders to find ways to function properly.

Hashim said the military has tried to institutionalise this by establishing a directorate for civil-military relations and having a legal desk.

He argued that even at that level, the idea is about the directorate’s efficacy and performance and how they have helped contain and solve problems to protect the people concerned.

Similarly, the president of Plateau State Peace Practitioners Network, Naman Debadi, said the training was intended to enhance and deepen civil-military relationships, especially in conflict states in the country.
He noted that the military and civilians need more orientation and education to understand themselves and coexist peacefully in society.