Gyang Bere, Jos
The Director-General of Citizenship and Leadership Training Centre, Jonah Bawa, has said that the Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) and hunters in North East Nigeria are the most equipped with indispensable skills to rid fight the Islamist insurgency and other banditry in the region.
Bawa disclosed this on Saturday during the graduation of over 400 members of the Civilian JTF, hunters and vigilantes from Adamawa and Yobe states, sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) at the Citizenship and Leadership Training Centre, Mountain School, Shere Hills, in Jos, Plateau State.
“About 400 members of the civilian JTF, hunters and members of vigilante groups from Adamawa and Yobe states are better equipped with counterterrorism skills to battle insecurity in the North East after the completion of a two-week training on capacity building for youths in the North-East.”
The training was themed ‘Exposing Civilian JTF, Vigilante and Hunters to Leadership Techniques for Conflict Resolution and Peaceful Coexistence in the North-East’.
“It is on record that the UNDP has rendered and is still rendering unequalled and unparalleled support to the Nigerian Government and communities; the UNDP has trained more than 3000 participants since the inception of its partnership with the centre since 2017.”
He said the participants as part of those who had protected their communities from insurgency and provided the needed stabilisation and resilience in the past and were better equipped with more knowledge to do that.
Coordinator of the Mountain School, Abdulmumuni Adamu Maimako appreciated the participants for their role in the various communities in the North East and for their maturity, zeal and determination during the course.
The UNDP Resident Representative, Mohammed Yahya, who was represented by the Chief Technical Advisor, Isaak Otieno, said it will continue to support young Nigerians and work with the state governments to commit to the success of Civilian JTF in the North East.
Presenting the course report, the course officer, Onjefu Audu, said the participants were exposed to the centre’s series of well-planned and coordinated basic activities such as rope obstacle crossing, assault course, wall and beam and parachute jump, all aimed at acquiring self-confidence at height, balance, mental coordination, cooperation among team members as well as organisational and planning abilities which are all needed for effective leadership.