By Roland Ike
The Permanent Secretary of the Ebonyi state ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy Affairs and Rural Development, Mrs Mojibade Ekuma has said that the United States Agency for International Developments (USAID) State2State workshop on conflict resolution and social inclusivity, which took place in February 2023, is apt for Nigeria’s current situation.
Ekuma made the assertion while assessing the three-day workshop organised by USAID State2State for staff of selected LGAs of the state and other selected stakeholders.
“There is no better time to organise such training considering the prevailing situation in the country.
“The main essence of the workshop is to assess the institutional capacity for conflict sensitivity as one can’t solve a problem without assessing the institutional capacity” she said.
She noted that four LGAs of the state were selected for the pilot phase of the State2State activity and they include: Ohaozara, Ikwo, Abakaliki and Ebonyi.
“The workshop hopes to build the instutional capacity of relevant organs of government and develop tools that can be used for conflict analysis.
“Transparency and accountability are the focal points propagated by the USAID State2State and together with efficient feedback mechanism, conflict insensitivity will be drastically checked.
A participant at the programme, Emeka Okpara said that the knowledge gained from the workshop will impact positively in his attitude and conflict resolution abilities.
He noted that participants were well educated on how to understand issues that can lead to conflicts, realising that when such issues are not well managed, they could lead to violence.
The State2State Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Specialist, Ejiro Okotie highlighted the issue of gender inclusivity, noting that it involves the inclusion of persons from all strata in the scheme of things.
She said that it is the inclusion of all stakeholders or people whether or not they are from one’s political party, or groups in critical decision making processes, that affect everyone’s well-being.
“This is whether one likes or dislikes such people, there should be no segregation or discrimination.
“You don’t expect one not to participate or contribute in processes where his or her future would be discussed because you don’t like his or her face or shape.
“There should be no discrimination of any sort based on age, colour or clan as any attempt to do so will lead to violence among others”.
