From Scholastica Hir, Makurdi
Benue State Government has commenced meetings with stakeholders to set up an agenda for a four year strategic plan to return peace to the state.
Director General, Benue Peace and Reconciliation Commission, Josephine Habba, who spoke to newsmen during a roundtable meeting with women at Government House, Makurdi on Tuesday, explained that the programme is part of 16 days World Peace Activism which the State celebrating begining from 25th November to 10 December, 2023.
She that the essence of the celebration is to bring together women who are the incubators of peace to brainstorm on how the state can achieve peace.
The DG added that the theme for this year’s celebration which is “Unite, Invest To Prevent Violence against Women and Girls” stressed the urgent need for women to unite and invest in all ramifications to ensure that their children are not used as tools for violence.
“We have a peace commission that is relatively new and our driving force is to see that women who are the incubators of peace come together and speak to us on how peace can come back to Benue knowing that conversation with women will go back to the bedroom, to the children and market places.
“When there is no peace, the women are most hurt and development is absent. So we want a critical engagement with the women on what they think is the way forward to get peace back.
“And because this year’s theme for the gender activism is unite and invest in preventing gender based violence, the unity is what we are trying to depict and invest in all ramifications to see that our children are no longer engaged to perpetrate evil.
“You can see that in our distribution of fertilizers two weeks ago with support from United Nations Development Programme, (UNDP), we distributed 1000 fertilizers for dry season farming so that we can engage the youths.
“We want to ensure that our young people become responsible for peace building and we also want to have reconciliation amongst the political class because the difference of politics drive us deep down. They don’t give us development so we want to hear their own perspectives on how we can reconcile and talk as a people to bring back peace. Benue is the biggest interest we have now.
“We are also, going to meet with religious and traditional rulers to get a 4 year strategic plan to implement peace in Benue. We do not want to work from our head, we want a policy blueprint to work with”, she said.
Earlier at the meeting, the Director General Bureau for International Cooperation and Development, (BICD), Leonard-Angelo Viashima, told the women that a lot of peace can be achieved in the state if they all work collaboratively.
“Today, we gather to address a critical issue requesting our immediate attention; the pressing need for a coordinated peace response in Benue state.
“The situation demands urgent action and collaboration is key to effectively address the challenges that communities in Benue state currently face.”
Viashima called on all stakeholders to embrace the establishment of a peace and reconciliation commission and show commitment to a coordinated action to make positive impacts for a brighter and more peaceful future for Benue and Nigeria at large.
Stakeholders who spoke individually called for resuscitation of peace structures, inclusion of women at the peace discussion structures, sensitization and empowerment of women and youths, implementation of peace education and establishment of peace clubs in schools among others action plans to achieve peace in the state.