UniJos, Netherlands find peace model communities for Plateau

CENTRE for Conflict Management and Peace Studies of the University of Jos (UNIJOS) has taken its peace campaign to Dadinkowa community in Jos-South Local Council of Plateau State.

The Centre is in collaboration with the Netherlands Embassy and Peace Building Project in the state.

It had its parley yesterday at the Azi Nyako Youth Centre, Dadinkowa, with Moslems and Christians in attendance from different communities in the state. The theme of the event was “Strengthening Active Peace Communities in Jos Town Towards Conflict Prevention.”

At the parley, which was well attended, the Director, Centre for Conflict Management and Peace Building, University of Jos, Prof. Audu Gambo, stated that they were at the Dadinkowa community to learn how they had been managing peace in the area since the outbreak of crises in the state.

According to Gambo, “when other places are boiling, Dadinkowa has always remained peaceful. So, we believe that this kind of interaction will help us to extract from the people strategies they have employed to promote peaceful co-existence within the community.”

During the interactive session where probing questions and observations were raised, Gambo assured the people of taking their complaints to the appropriate quarters for prompt actions.

He said: “We have taken careful note of all the issues they are raising and at the end of this interaction, we intend to write a comprehensive report, send to the state government and the Federal Government so that these authorities can act on areas that relate to their competence of jurisdiction.”

Also in his remarks, Director of Advancement Office of the university, Prof. Victor Dugga, commended the community for being peaceful, pointing out that the peace message will be taken to other communities. “We chose to come to communities where there have been no conflicts so that we can learn from them and then go back to these communities to continually engage in the peace process. This is a continuous process”, Dugga said.

In his comment, the village head of Dadinkowa, Da Peter Pam, likened the peaceful nature of the community to the understanding among the people, especially the youth.

Representatives of the two religions in the community said their willingness to accept one another’s views informed the relative peace being enjoyed in the area.

The two-day programme ends today with another parley in Rantya community, another violence-free area of the state.