NGO identifies causes of Kaduna crises
African Initiative for Peace-building Advocacy and Advancement (Afripeace), a non-governmental organization (NGO), has identified a lack of cohabitation among Muslims and Christians as responsible for crises in Kaduna State.
The Initiative said the situation is also responsible for the difficult conflict resolution in the state.
Afripeace made the observation in Kaduna during the training of relevant stakeholders in the state on inclusive community-led reconciliation and conflict recovery.
The NGO said a situation where the faithful of the two religions live in separate settlements because of ethnoreligious differences contributed to rising cases of conflicts in the state.
In a chat with reporters, the organization’s Focal Person in the state, Mr. Odita Luka said: “Kaduna State has been polarised along religious and ethnic lines and the situation has made reconciliation very difficult.
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Assistant Programme Officer, Mr. Rossi Paul, explained at the opening of the event that the training was designed to provide stakeholders with the needed skills to manage conflicts in communities.
Paul said the training was also to identify the roles of Community-based Organisations (CBOs), women, persons with disabilities, traditional and religious leaders, and state institutions among others, on reconciliation and conflict recovery.
He said the training was being conducted with support from the Open Society Initiative for West Africa, under the project tagged, “Community-led Reconciliation and Conflict Recovery.”
He said the project was being implemented in Kaduna, Kano and Plateau state, to build up community-level structures for peace and reconciliation.
The resource person, Rev. Bitrus Dangiwa, said the conflict was inevitable, adding that it could be managed if community members have the capacity to recover from conflict, reconcile and live peacefully with one another.
Reverend Dangiwa said the agitation for the breakup of the country is political, adding that whether the Yoruba goes or Igbo goes their separate ways, there would still, be conflict because it is inevitable.
