Conflicts Resolution: Nigerians Harp On Govt, CSOs’ Synergy

Some Nigerians have called for collaboration between Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and government agencies in resolving conflicts in the country.
Making their views known in a national survey conducted by our correspondent, the respondents, mostly stakeholders in conflict resolution, said CSOs played significant roles in   management and resolution of conflicts at the community, state and national levels.
They urged all tiers of government to give the organisations necessary encouragement and support to enable them function optimally. Head of Owerri-based ‘Citizens for Peace and Social Justice’, Mr Allwell Anyanwu  described CSOs as essential contributors to conflict resolution and maintenance of peace in the society. Anyanwu said that CSOs “serve as the voice of the people, often helping to initiate, promote and strengthen dialogue between governments and the people.”
He stressed the need for government at all levels to ensure synergy with NGOs and CSOs, to make the organisations more effective.
Chairman of  Youths Progressive Forum, Abakaliki, Mr John Akpadi, said that the major activity of most CSOs was intervention to resolve conflicts between groups.
Akpadi said that it was wrong for people to believe that crisis management should only be handled by security agencies, traditional rulers and government agencies.
“We tried to intervene in the crisis between Okporojo and OgiriAkpa villages in Idime community of Afikpo South Local Government Area, which claimed several lives.
“We were bluntly told that the crisis would first be reported to the state government officials, who would direct relevant security agencies to handle it,” he said.
Similarly,  the Director of Rural Peace Initiative, Abakaliki, Mr Simon Nwaka, said that the people of the area had a wrong notion about the activities of CSOs in the state.
“My organisation once tried to intervene in a communal crisis in the state but the elders told us that they would settle the matter internally because it did not require big grammar.
“They are aware that CSOs follow laid down procedures to ensure justice but they viewed such steps as cumbersome and capable of favouring one party in the dispute,” he said. However, , a community leader in Ameka, Ezza South Local Local Government Area of Eboyi,Chief  Ndiekpa Nweru described the CSO’s mode of operation as ‘too formal’, hence the stumbling blocks being experienced by them.