By Omolola Pedro
Pastoral Resolve, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has trained 256 farmers and herders in Plateau State on sustainable peacebuilding.
The training, which lasted for four days, had over 40 communities in four Local Government Areas of the state including Riyom, Bassa, Barking Ladi and Bokkos in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Mercy Corps.
A Senior Project Officer (Field Operations) of Pastoral Resolve, Jemila Abdul, while speaking with journalists in Barkin Ladi, said that the programme was aimed at deepening the peace process in the state. According to her, the training also aimed at stemming the tide of communal clashes and other forms of violence that had claimed many lives and destroyed property in the affected communities.
She said, “If you look at participating communities, they are from areas that have had one issue of herder/farmer conflict or another. And Plateau cannot afford to continue on the path of endless violence, which has caused so much pain, destruction, suffering, and untold hardship to the people, and we have been trying to work out modalities for them to live in peace in the affected communities. And because of the ongoing electioneering process leading to the coming elections, if they allow forces to come in between them, it could destroy the peacebuilding progress already made. That is why we have organised these training activities for communities in Barkin Ladi, Bokkos, Riyom, and Bassa local government areas (LGAs) to ensure that there is sustainable peace before, during, and after the elections”.
Abdul further noted that the organisation would continue to give priority to issues aggravating herders-farmers conflict and ensure partnerships with stakeholders to achieve lasting peace in Plateau State and other parts of the country.
She, however, charged participants to make judicious use of the knowledge gained and step down the training to their communities and villages for enhanced cordial relationships in their dealings with one another.
