The Director-General of National Orientation Agency (NOA), Garba Abari has called on relevant stakeholders to support government’s efforts aimed at sustaining peace and security in the country.
Abari made the call at the Concord Initiative Inaugural Summit and technical workshop organised by the Office for Strategic Preparedness and Resilience (OSPRE) in Abuja.
The workshop was organised in collaboration with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ GmbH), ECOWAS Peace and Security Architecture and Operations (EPSAO) Project.
The D-G, who was represented by the Director, Human Resources Management, Mr Kehinde Ogunkuade said
the promotion of peace was a task for all Nigerians.
“The synergy that national cohesion brings to the table is the sort that modern societies leverage for the development,” he said.
Abari spoke of the need for national self discovery , adding, ”it is incumbent and should be on an ongoing basis.”
He said the summit would provide an opportunity for national introspection which facilitates national rebirth and peace.
The Director-General of the National Boundary Commission (NBC), Mr Adamu Adaji said the commission was the heart of the country’s national security.
He said the delivery of the mandate required effective collaboration and coordination with relevant government agencies and non states actors.
Adaji, who was represented by Mr Farouk Tarfa said the initiative was timely and the commission would provide all the support needed for the institution to succeed.
The Head, Democracy, Governance and Migration section, EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Mr Ruben Alba-Aguilera, said the initiative was a welcome development.
He said that regional peace was hinged on strong political leadership, commitment, a shared vision and strategy amongst national and local stakeholders.
He, however, said Initiative approach would help to enhance and consolidate ownership and inclusion for a strengthen national peace architecture.
The Director-General of OSPRE, Mr Chris Ngwodo said the mission of the centre was to address the nexus between security, peace and development, help both the state and the society at large
He said, ”the centre is an aggregator of early warning and response mechanisms in the country providing necessary support in peace building efforts on sub-national and national levels.
“There are various early warnings, early responses and peace building initiatives ongoing.
” However, they are often conducted in isolation without any organic connection to each other and there are no institutional silos,”Ngwodo said.
He said the the centre was also poised to provide support as a strategic think tank that would provide timely and accurate data and analysis to promote policies and enhance response capacities in organisations.
Ngwodo said the initiative was designed to serve as a community of practice and a fulcrum of a national peace architecture with OSPRE as its coordinating secretariat.
Ngwodo said the technical workshop brought together academics, policy makers, development partners and practitioners of early warning, early response and peace building.
”They came from from the public sector, civil society and relevant stakeholders, among others, to deliberate on issues affecting the sector.
