P4P Storms Onuimo, Charges Indigenes On Conflict Resolution

By Onyinyechi Nwankwo

Partners for Peace (P4P) in the Niger Delta Region, has charged indigenes of Onuimo not to allow conflict escalate among them, but to be prompt in resolving it for harmony and progress at their various communities.

The charge was made when the group concluded its 2022 tour of multi- stakeholders land dispute prevention, conflict resolution, peace building capacity enhancement training for communities President Generals, Palace Secretaries, Chairmen, Peace and Conflict Resolution Committees, Youth and Women Leaders in the five selected Local Government Areas of Imo State

The exercise which affected Isiala Mbano, Mbaitolu, Okigwe, Ahiazu Mbaize LGAs, was rounded off last week at Onuimo. The workshop witnessed a good turn out of people who went back to their various communities joyfully, having gained new knowledge of peace building through indepth teaching on conflict resolution and mitigation.

Earlier, the team paid a courtesy visit to HRH, Eze Charles N. Iheji, Ekweghi Ariri 11, Nze Duruomenka 1 of Okwelle autonomous community ancient kingdom, Onuimo, thanking him for his warm welcome, stating that since 2013 P4P Network was launched in Imo State, it has one time or the other seen to the restoration of peace in various communities in the state including Agwa, Oguta LGA, Isiala Mbano, Obolo, Osuachara, Okigwe, Okwelle.

Responding, the royal father said he was pleased  with the group and its mission towards conflict resolution and peace building in the Niger Delta Region, expressing worry at the rate of crisis, insecurity the state is facing currently which he decried has even gotten to the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, advising the team never to relent in working for the peace of the society while carrying politicians along to support its movement of conflict mitigation.

While teaching, analysing to the stakeholders the various forms of conflicts, stages, causes and the need for prompt and proper intervention on conflict related issues such as land dispute, ezeship tussle, marital and leadership impasse in order to prevent destruction of life and property, the Imo State Coordinator of P4P, Chilos Godsent, noted that community is the base of every society from where government begins, saying stakeholders are critical peace markers of their communities which was the reason the Network chose to begin the training with them, stressing that conflict is a natural phenomena that produces both negative and positive outcomes depending on how it is handled.

He assessed the entire training as successful, adding that almost all the trainees in the five LGAs indicated interest to be registered members of the group in order to learn more about conflict resolution, harping that the intent of the program was to build community stakeholders on the methods and approaches of handling conflicts, using basic tools of analysis to practice the contemporary and globally accepted standard of resolving conflicts in a win win method.

Godsent advised the state government on the urgent need to call for an all inclusive multi stakeholders dialogue/meeting, a gathering of stakeholders in the state regardless of their political party affiliations so as to look inwards on the issue of insecurity ravaging the state, do an analysis on the issues and set up a team that could move in with the desired prerequisite knowledge to resolve the conflict, thereby save the state from danger.

Contributing, the Onuimo local government Coordinator of P4P, Mr Charles E. Nwosu, commended the team for coming down to his locality to impact more knowledge of peace building into the people, affirming that the training has given them new orientation on how to resolve conflict in their communities for peace and development, assuring that he would put in extra work to promote P4P at the locality.

Expressing joy over the additional knowledge acquired on conflict mitigation they have gotten through the training, some of the participants including Chief Larry Oguike who is a member of the Eze’s cabinet from Okwelle autonomous community, Mr. Magnus C. Alaegbu, Youth Coordinator of Obinikpa Umuokpara Okohaia autonomous community Umuna, Onuimo, Mrs. Antonia Ukaigwe, from Obinulo autonomous community, Okwelle, Onuimo, appreciated organizers of the program which they assessed as quite rewarding, promising to introduce to their people the new and workable ways of resolving conflict they have learnt.

NIGERIA NEWSPOINT

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