Utweets
Nigeria and the United States (U.S.) have set up a digitised Early Warning Situation Room (EWSR) for early conflict resolution. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, who disclosed this, yesterday, in Abuja, during the national stakeholders’ engagement and launch of the EWSR by the Institute for Peace and Conflicts Resolution (IPCR) and the Peace Action for Rapid Transformative Nigerian Early Response (PARTNER), consisting of Mercy Corps Nigeria, West African Network for Peace-building among others, said the peace-building strategy developed by IPCR and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) would fast-track the realisation of Federal Government’s eight priority targets. ..ALSO READ FULL FROM SOURCE ↔️
According to him, the situation room will receive, verify and dispatch conflict reports to appropriate response agencies and the Early Warning Monitoring and Reporting Groups (EWMRG), comprising security and non-security personnel.
Tuggar, who was represented at the launch by his Special Adviser, Media, AbdulKadir Alkasim, said the EWMRG is an innovative strategy by the IPCR to deepen non-kinetic response options to promote community cohesion and local solutions to peace-building efforts.
Director-General, IPCR, Dr Joseph Ochogwu, said the EWSR is a digitised facility that enables stakeholders to nip elements of conflicts in the bud before they snowball into conflicts. He noted that the initiative had deepened local ownership of the project, and reduced conflicts among herders and farmers in nine states under the implementation, thereby boosting good security, among others.
Also, Director of Peace and Development, USAID Nigeria, Angela Martin, said that the U.S. was very intentional in choosing to support the project in building conflict resilience and strengthening institutions of government in the area of peace and conflict resolution.
Meanwhile, the Commandant, Martin Luther Agwai International Leadership and Peacekeeping Centre (MLAILPKC), Maj.-Gen. Taiwo Adedoja, has urged governments, civil society and international organisations to collaborate and coordinate efforts to tackle violent extremism. He said that such collaboration would help to address its root causes, share information and engage in capacity-building.
Adedoja, who stated this during the inauguration of the Counter Violent Extremism (CVE) Course 5/2024, held at the Nigerian Army School of Finance and Administration (NASFA), said that the asymmetric nature of modern conflicts had necessitated the training of potential peacekeepers to understand how to effectively counter violent extremism.
In his remarks, Director, Presidential Communications Command and Control, Rear Admiral Robert Obande-Obeya, Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), who was represented by the Deputy Director, Crisis and Peace, NSA, Sunday Ogar, said: “The Conflict Early Warning Situation Room is vital in predicting, preventing and mitigating conflicts by leveraging technology, community engagement and data-driven insights.
Country Director, Mercy Corps, Ndubisi Anyanwu, noted that the launch of the situation room is a testament to the importance of partnership between the states and other local and international entities for goal realisation and nation-building, especially concerning peace building.
On his part, the Defence Attaché to the Nigerian Embassy in Japan, Lt.-Col. Morita Tatsuya said that Japan remained committed to peace and stability in Africa through human resource development and in partnership with United Nations (UN) agencies. ..ALSO READ FULL FROM SOURCE ↔️
