Partnership Against Violent Extremism (PAVE), a multi-stakeholder coalition of civil society organizations (CSOs) and government, has held its first General Assembly. The event, held at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Abuja, witnessed the formal inauguration of the network’s newly elected National Steering Committee, which will run the affairs of the group for the next two years.
Worried by the spate of violent extremism in parts of the country, the Society Against Violent Extremism (SAVE), a federal government initiative tasked with undertaking activities to promote counterradicalization, collaborated with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and civil society to found a multi-stakeholder network with a view to collectively reaching out to vulnerable communities at the grassroots level in search of sustainable solutions to the root causes of violent extremism.
During the inauguration of PAVE’s first General Assembly, the Director of Behavioural Analysis and Strategic Communication in the Office of the National Security Adviser, Dr Fatima Akilu, charged members to ensure that the impact of the network was felt, especially in the Northeast, where violent extremism has destroyed many communities and exposed women and children to untold hardship and even greater vulnerability to radicalisation.
Dr Akilu noted that PAVE’s objective was to foster greater awareness of countering violent extremism (CVE) among CSOs, build the capacity of both state and non-state actors in combating the drivers of radicalization and strengthen the links between key stakeholders in order to effectively coordinate CVE action.
In his acceptance speech, Chairman of PAVE Steering Committee, Jaye Gaskia, praised the effort of the Office of the National Security Adviser in enhancing collaboration between key stakeholders and assigning responsibilities to CSOs in Nigeria’s CVE Programme. He recalled that with the support of international development partners, the SAVE Project and ONSA had in October 2014 brought together over 40 CSOs, leading to the establishment of a start-up steering committee which eventually created PAVE.
Mr Gaskia reaffirmed PAVE’s commitment to a sustainable and peaceful society where the rights of the individual to justice would be guaranteed, and where there would be equal opportunities for everyone.
Speaking at the event, the Coordinator of SAVE project, Mrs Hurera Atta, reminded the General Assembly that the goal of PAVE was to build a sustainable platform to prevent, mitigate and eradicate violent extremism in Nigeria through community engagement, awareness campaigns and education-based projects.
She noted that the creation of SAVE was an important step forward, as it would reinforce a close relationship and shared vision between government structures on the one hand, and the civil society on the other.
Some of the dignitaries who witnessed the occasion were representatives of the European UnionDelegation to Nigeria, led by Alan Munday, the Head of Section, Governance and Democracy, as well as EU Project Officer, Alexandra Noll and EUTANS Project Administrator, Jose Luis Suarez Salazar.
The Gaskia-led National Steering Committee has Faisal Wando as its secretary and will direct its affairs till 2017.
The National Steering Committee has members from states that are existing and potential flash points for violent extremism across the country.
