Amplify voices of victims, US-based journalist tasks media

From Fred Ezeh, Abuja

A Nigerian-born US-based journalist, Chikezie Omeje, has challenged reporters in Nigeria to amplify the voices of victims of communal clashes, herders/farmers clashes and victims of bandit attacks.

Omeje reminded journalists of the enormous powers, constitutionally and otherwise, they have to change narratives in the society and encouraged them to leverage on that to champion a campaign for positive change in the communities.

Omeje who made the call during a virtual workshop as part of his Davis Projects for Peace maintained that besides placing more focus on solution-driven reports, there was the crucial need of amplifying the voices of persons and communities affected through an in-depth reportage.

He believed that such opportunities would attract the attention of policymakers and international organisations to attend to the needs of the affected vulnerable communities.

Omeje was particularly impressed with the interactive approach used by Otukpo, a community in Benue State, to address clashes between Fulani herdsmen and farmers, and urged other troubled communities still experiencing violence to adopt the same approach.

‘The Fulani militias have attacked Benue State at least 303 times since 2005, killing no fewer than 2,539 people, nearly one-third of all the reported killings by the herdsmen in the country, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED),’ he said.

‘The 2017 Benue State Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law requires that livestock owners buy land and establish ranches, thereby prohibiting the open movement of animals within the state. But incessant attacks by the herdsmen have followed the anti-open grazing law. Fulani militia attacked the state 82 times in 2018.

‘In search of lasting peace in Otukpo, herdsmen reached agreements with landowners who allocated plots of land to them for sake of ranching. They have livestock guards attached that leads the herdsmen as they go to the stream.

‘They hold meetings every month where they discuss issues affecting them. The herdsmen serve as security in their settlement and other parts of Otukpo.’

The Davis Projects for Peace empowers students to carry out peace initiatives around the world every summer. The program was the vision of the late Kathryn Davis who launched it in 2007 on her 100th birthday.