An NGO, Pastoral Resolve, has trained 256 pastoralists and farmers in sustainable peacekeeping in Plateau State.
Over the past 10 years, the state has experienced violent clashes in different communities, especially between herdsmen and farmers, which led to loss of life and destruction of property.
PUNCH reported that the organization conducted the training in four Local Government Areas of the state Bassa, Riyom, Bokkos and Barkin Ladi, in collaboration with USAID and Mercy Corps.
More than forty communities participated in the four-day training.
Jemila Abdul, a senior project manager of Pastoral Resolve, said Sunday in Barkin Ladin that the program aimed to deepen the peace process in the state.
According to him, the training was also aimed at stemming the tide of communal clashes and other forms of violence that destroyed several lives and properties in the affected communities.
Abdul said: “If you look at the communities involved, they are from areas that have had one herdsman/farmer conflict or the other. And Plateau cannot continue on the path of endless violence that has caused so much pain, destruction, suffering and distress to the people, and peace in the affected communities. we are trying to work on ways of living.
“And because of the electoral process leading up to the upcoming elections, if forces are allowed to come between them, the peace building progress already made could be destroyed. That is why we have organized this training activity for the communities in Barkin Ladi, Bokkos, Riyom and Bassa LGAs, before, during and after the elections. after that there will be lasting peace”.
Abdul further stated that the organization will continue to prioritize issues fueling herdsmen/farmers conflicts and work with stakeholders to achieve sustainable peace in Plateau State and other parts of the country.
He charged the participants to use the knowledge wisely and pass on the training to their communities and villages to improve cordial relations in their relations with each other.
A participant and former chairman of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore in Barkin Ladi, Alhaji Shua’ibu Bayanna, commended the organization for its intercommunal training intervention in the state, describing it as timely.
He called on politicians to play by the rules of the game during the election period for the sake of peace and development in Plateau State.
