EU invest £1m in two years to end communal crisis in Nigeria
A Non-governmental organization under the auspices of Search for Common Ground has said the European Union (EU), invested £1 million in mediating in the communal conflict that engulfed Plateau and some part of Kaduna State in two years.
Speaking during a stakeholders meeting at the weekend, to officially handover the project that was ran for two years by the NGO and sponsored by EU, to the Peace Building Agency in Plateau, the senior program Manager, Search for Common Ground, Mr. Sani Suleiman, said the project Peace Architectural Dialogu (PAD), which mediated peaceful coexistence between conflict communities, is constrained from receiving funding from EU as it has fulfilled its mandate budgeting.
Suleiman said the NGO is engaging with different government agencies for the sustainability and local ownership of the project aimed at discontinuing the violent conflict being experienced, especially between farmers and herdsmen as well as the current hate speech currently being experienced in the country.
According to him, “Search for Common Ground implemented a two years program on building architecture peace and security in Plateau state and some part of Kaduna State, which engages with community stakeholders, civil society groups, government agencies, traditional and religious leaders through peaceful mediation in resolving conflict issues from preventing them from becoming violent.
“The Program has achieved its own success and at this point we are handing over to the various peace agencies established in the two states for sustainability and local ownership of the project”, he said.
In his part, the deputy country director, Mr. Maxwell Saungweme, said the objective merged with the activity of handing over the project is aimed at sharing the success story of the project with stakeholders and to create a platform for beneficiaries to share the impact of the program on their life and communities.
Saungweme said the aim is also to officially inform the public about the closure of the project and to discuss ways the communities can own and sustain It.
