A non-governmental organization (NGO), Civil Society Organization for Conflict Resolution in Nigeria (CS-CRIN), has called on the federal government to direct that security agencies put all necessary measures in place to stop politically-motivated violence in the country, as preparations towards the 2023 general elections heighten.
National coordinator of the CS-CRIN, Adeniyi Aremu, made the call during a two-day peace-building workshop organized for leaders of civil society groups operating in Kano state, north-western Nigeria.
According to him, the call is coming on the heels of a wave of alleged politically-related violence in some northern states of the federation in recent times.
“Recent report put together by a Civil Society Situation Room, a platform floated by NGOs in Kano, has observed the rising incidences of politically-related violence and hate speech associated with politicians in states in the northern part of the country.
“These observed trends are currently the major threats that could hamper the coming general election, if not brought under control urgently,” said Aremu.
He equally urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to be equitable in the allocation and distribution of the newly redesigned Naira notes so that no politician or political groups will take advantage of it.
He said the two-day workshop was organized for community-based groups, faith-based groups, and people living with disability. The participants were empowered with the skills and knowledge of peace-building geared towards encouraging people in the state to live a violence-free life during and after the elections.
“This programme was designed to bring the targeted CSOs together to map out strategy that could be deployed to manage the rising incidences of violence which, indicators are suggesting, could threaten the coming election.
“Participants were drawn from all the 44 Local Government Areas of the state: these set of people are major opinion influencers that can help deliver the narrative of a peaceful election,” he said.
He expressed delight at the involvement of the media as partners in the peace-building process:
“We are happy to have you the media people here today to witness the two-day workshop, which our organization organized.
“This particular activity which has the funding support of the European Union, Agents For Citizen-Driven Transformation, and the British Council was conceived for the purpose of strengthening community engagement towards peace-building and confict managment in Kano state,” said the CS-CRIN’s national co-ordinator.