The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Tuesday, commenced a two-day multi-Stakeholder Regional Peace Building Dialogue for Nasarawa, Benue and Taraba states as an integrated approach to building peace in Nigeria’s farmers-herder conflict.
The dialogue was hosted by the Nasarawa, Benue and Taraba state governments in Lafia.
Representative of the UNDP, Christian Okafor, said the whole idea was to ensure that UNDP continues to support the governments of Nasarawa, Benue and Taraba states to consolidate on their efforts in peace building.
He said with peace building projects, through the collaborative efforts of both the state and non-state actors, UNDP would continue to support the governments of the these three states geared towards ensuring peace in the region.
Also, the representative of West Africa Network for Peace Building (WANEP), Chief Bridget Osakwe, said UNDP and WANEP recognise the complexity and severity of the unfolding farmers – herder clashes in Nasarawa, Benue and Taraba states and are committed to promoting peace, “as such addressing the conflict between herder and farmers remained a key strategic priority.
She said they would continue to support and complement the efforts of government in enhancing state level peace architectures to support conflict prevention efforts.
“I have argued severally that the current nature of our analogue security structure cannot address the 21st century digital crimes and perceived grievances. The capacity of states to respond adequately to current and emerging issues will therefore depend on its strategic alliance and inclusive approach to conflict prevention,” he said.
Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa state while declaring open the dialogue commended the organisers for chosen Nasarawa state.
He assured that his administration will continue to support any peace building initiative.
