The engagement of local actors to promote peaceful coexistence among farmers and header has yielded positive result in Taraba state.
The project was implemented in four Local Government Areas – Wukari, Gassol, Gashaka and Bali – with 10 beneficiary communities that have been diststabilised by conflicts over the years.
The intervention projects was implemented to work with the Taraba State Emergency Management Agency (TSEMA), LGAs and the state government, local organisations and community leaders to address the main drivers of conflict.
The state governor, Dairus Ishaku said the project implemented in 2019 in the four pilot council areas in 10 communities appealed for its replication in other LGAs due to the peace that have been restored to those Communities.
Ishaku was represented by the commissioner, Ministry of Special Duties and Humanitarian Affairs, Taninga Binga at the dissemination/close out event on the gain of, “Engaging Local Actors to Promote Peaceful Co-existence Among Farmers and Herders in Taraba State, Nigeria (ELAPC Project)”.
He said project has brought peaceful coexistence among farmers/herders in the state in the last two adding that it has really impacted positively on the economic activities of the State by ensuring that a peaceful means of resolving crisis among farmers and herders has been established in the four Local Government Areas of intervention.
“The USAID funded project ELAPC implemented by PACT has really succeeded in strengthening Local Governments and the institutional capacity of the pilots LGAs respectively in addressing land issues and effectively promoting peaceful coexistence in those communities.
“We are calling of USAID to extend the project to other LGAs and other states in the country where there are crisis because the strategy that worked in these four LGAs can work in any crisis situation mid adopted.”
The Co-Executive Director, Interfaith Mediation Centre, Kaduna, Dr. Muhammad Ashaga urged the Federal Government of Nigeria has to adopt the traditional mechanisms for addressing farmers herders conflict in the country adding that the farmers and herders conflict has been as old as man on the face of the earth but there are traditional mechanisms to resolve this crisis amicably.
“All we need is political will for our governance to remove politics out of key important elements that is, the issue of security, health, education and the issue of judicial system should be removed. If we remove politics our issue will go on the line trap and we will be able to succeed as a nation.
The Chairman, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) Taraba chapter, Mr. Bala Tahwa said before this project, communities were divided and there have been apathy in terms of engaging the security structures, apathy in term of engaging the legislative, the legal system of our own state and that is why people decided to move into using their own hands, helping themselves by putting law into their own hand in some part of the state.
The representative, Federation of Moslem Women Association of Nigeria (FOMWAN), Sa’adatu Ngenbon also said from the training received from PACT, they have learnt how to resolve issues related positively with each other for peace to reign in their communities.
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