The West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP-Nigeria) currently implementing the Research and Action for Peace (RECAP) Project has trained over 23 relevant stakeholders on peace building and conflict Management in Ilorin, Kwara State.
The capacity building on Conflict Prevention, Violent Extremism, Crisis Management and Peace building was done in partner with the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) with funding from the European Union (EU)
Speaking at end of the 3 day training, WANEP, National Coordinator, Dr. Bridget Osakwe explained that the training aims to equipped stakeholders in Kwara State with skills and strategies to wade into conflict and ensure peaceful resolution.
She said the participants were drawn from Civil Society Organizations, religious organisations, women groups, youth group leaders and journalists, among others that works on peacebuilding in the state
Dr. Osakwe who spoke through the organization Head of Programs, Mrs Patience Ikpeh Obaulo said the workshop is to build the capacity of stakeholders on the research and action for peace in the community where they work.
She said the training aims to equipping stakeholders with skills to monitor indicators of extremism and conflicts mechanism that can prevent violent among Kwarans.
She underscored the need for increased capacity building of women in peace processes and decision making processes, for the development of conflict resolution mechanisms and conflict prevention.
According to her, WANEP- Nigeria was established to provide an organized platform for collaborative peace building in Nigeria by indigenous organizations working in the area of conflicts prevention, transformation and Peace building.
She urge the participants to live up to expectations and used the knowledge gained from the training to prevent conflicts in the state.
In his presentation on conflicts strategies,, the organization Monitor, Evaluation and Learning Specialist, Emmanuel Ami – Okhani said the actors need to know the root causes of any conflict before wading in to resolve it.
The WANEP-, state Coordinator, Tosin Apiriola Ajayi appreciated the organizer of the training saying the the training will go a long way to address escalation of violent conflicts in the state.
According to her, WANEP is working immensely to minimize conflicts in the country through capacity building and awareness creation using Non Violence strategies.
Professor Bashir Adeniyi of Ansar- un- deen Youth Association (ADYAN) was of the opinion that the training has equipped the participants with the needed skills in conflict transformation and peacebuilding.
Also in her remarks, the state Chairperson of Federalism of Female Lawyer Association (FIDA ) Barr Funke Balogun appreciated WANEP for impactIng useful knowledge that will assist in managing conflicts in the state.
