PARE Builds capacity of 25 community leaders of farmers, pastoralist communities in Kogi

By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja.

PASTORAL Resolve (PARE), a Non-Governmental Organisation working on Community Initiatives to Promote Peace (CIPP) Project has built capacity of 25 local leaders of control communities to address lingering conflicts affecting the various communities.

The Team Lead and facilitator of the programme, Mr Israel Okpe, Senior Program Officer with the Pastoral Resolve disclosed this at the end of the training on Monday in Ajaka, Igalamela-Odolu LGA of Kogi.

Okpe said the programme was organised by the CIPP with funding from USAID and support from Mercy Corps alongside other partners on the project including IMC, SCDDD and ARDA.

He said that the three-day Interest-Based Negotiation and Mediation (IBNM) training was aimed at promoting synergy among various stakeholders in addressing lingering conflicts affecting the various communities.

According to Okpe, the programme also aims to further improve the impact of CIPP and promote sustainability of negotiation and mediation skills among CIPP participants.

The training which spanned from Friday to Monday featured: Pencil Simulation, The Crocodile and the Elephant Game, Negotiation and mediation, Role of mediators, Mediation process and meaning of Alternative Dispute resolution.

Others are Characteristics of ADR, Introduction to the Seven Elements and Circle of Value, Mediation Role Play, Ladder of Understanding and Community Actions Plan.

One of the lead facilitators Mr Emmanuel shall, Mercy Corps Program Specialist, charged community members to always apply Mediation in resolving their disputes because it had the potential of helping both parties to improve their relationship as Mediation is largely future focused.

He emphasized the need for leaders to always think outside the box in handling sensitive disputes that might be difficult to resolve adding that leaders should ask the right questions to understand the dynamics of the conflict instead of dwelling on assumptions.

“Mediators should be neutral as neutrality helps parties in a conflict to build trust and confidence in him”, Shall said.

Buhari Abubakar one of the pastoralist leaders appreciated the efforts of CIPP for their support in providing the needed support for the community.

“We promise to use the tools acquired from the training in our daily activities because we believe in peace and development of every community because, without peace grazing activities will not be possible for us, we all need peace and development in our community”, he said.

Also speaking, Tahirudeen Yunusa Abdullahi, Community Leader from Ajaka, commended the CIPP for its efforts and particularly, for opportunity saying that with the training, the community could now resolve their disputes without resorting to jungle justice.

Abdullahi said the community members would no longer take laws into their hands or report disputes to the police station as the leaders now have full capacity of resolving disputes within the communities.

The programme, aside enhancing local leaders skills in resolving disputes, Women and Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) were also given opportunity to contribute their quota to promotion of peace and development in the community.

It is believed that peaceful coexistence and tranquility would reign in the communities as the training is expected to also improve synergy among various farmers and pastoralist communities. (Ends)