CIPP Winds Up Activities February 2024
From Abdullahi Yusuf
After five years of conflict prevention and peacebuilding in parts of Nigeria, the Community Initiatives To Promote Peace(CIPP), is winding up its activities in February 2024.
Funded by the United States Agency For International Development(USAID), CIPP has been active in six Nigerian states of Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Kogi, Plateau and Benue, mitigating conflicts and promoting peace in various communities since 2019.
The five-year project is being implemented by Mercy Corps and the Interfaith Mediation Center(IMC) in the six states mentioned.
The feat was achieved through such organs as the Conflict Mitigation and Management Regional Council(CMMRC), Community Peace Observers(CPOs), and the Early Warning Early Response(EWER) mechanism.
Rev.James Movel Wuye of the Interfaith Mediation Centre who rolled out the project’s achievements at the CIPP close-out meeting in Kaduna, said the project had, during the five years, improved local capacity and skills among conflicting communities to manage disputes.
Rev.Wuye also outlined other achievements including the fact that the project had deepened the engagement of women in peace-building and preventing violent extremism in the respective communities.
He stated that the project had increased “linkages and collaborations among conflicting/vulnerable communities with Government agencies/Civil Society Organizations(CSOs) and local leaders to address and respond to root causes of conflict.”
In his remarks, the Chief of the Party, CIPP, Sani Suleiman, commended members of the CIPP and Conflict Mitigation and Management Regional Council(CMMRC) structure for their good efforts at conflict prevention and peacebuilding in their respective communities.
Suleiman said the operators had done well in their respective areas in the prevention of conflicts and promotion of peace through the Early Warning and Early Response(EWER) mechanism since the commencement of the project in 2019.
He urged them to take ownership of the structure and continue to work for peace and harmony in their respective communities, even after the project winds up in February 2024.
The meeting which was declared open by Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State, had the theme: “Strengthening Linkage of Established EWER Structures.”
Governor Sani, who was represented by the Administrator of the Kaduna Capital Territory, Samuel Aruwan, commended the Interfaith Mediation Centre(IMC) for its efforts at the promotion of peace in the state.
He said the centre’s initiatives aligned smoothly with the vision of his administration of peacebuilding and improving security mechanisms across the state.
