Peace: Stakeholders call for Women participation in security resolution

Stakeholders in Nigeria have called for women participation in security resolutions and to use creativity in attracting community interventions.

They made the call at the end of a two-day Train-the-Trainer Localisation Workshop for the implementation of the Women’s Peace and Security Resolution in Nigeria

Gender Expert and Coordinator, National Network for West Africa Network for Peace Building-Nigeria, Mrs Bridget Osakwe said there was a need to re-awaken the strategies to increase women’s involvement in decision-making, by activating existing structures to attain the much-needed peace across Nigeria.

She said the workshop was aimed at enhancing the understanding the UN Resolution 1325 and Nigeria’s National Action Plan on Women’s peace and Security among local government authorities, women activists, leaders, civil society and marginalized groups in local areas.

“To discuss the relevance of the WPS resolutions and Nigeria NAP to the local area and identify concrete actions to implement Them. To promote systemic coordination and greater cross

Sectoral corporations among local government authorities, civil society, local leaders, UN entities, and multilateral institutions in Implementing the WPS resolution in the local area,” said Mrs Osakwe.

According to her, it does not take much to create peace and the needed conducive environment for development to take place, adding that not much money is needed to carry out empowerment programmes for women, especially in communities.

Mrs Osakwe said people should look around for available resources because experiences from around the country showed that some communities are using local resources to solve peculiar challenges.

She used a case study of a community in Edo State, through the project of the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, Norad in Nneme Community of Akoko Edo, Edo State, where they used a platform to begin the Story Telling for Peace.

She said people from within the community, with a flair for storytellers, were discovered and used to creatively tell stories for the sole purpose of enlightening the public on the need for peace.

“We are not buying books to read for the stories. The stories are available, you identify the people that can tell the story and the lessons that they can learn from the story.”

She said it was important for people to find out what should be result oriented, especially around stakeholders that have a positive influence that can impact the work they do in the community.

The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs Pauline K. Tallen, who attributed the issue of insecurity as major crisis that women and girls face in Nigeria, said she was optimistic that, the workshop would equip stakeholders with the needed skills for adequate delivery in the implementation of the United Nations

Security Council Resolution 1325 in Nigeria

The minister, who was represented by the WPS Desk Officer in the ministry, Mrs. Tonia Nlechi, said she did not doubt the relentless commitment by WANEP’s implementation of this Women, Peace and Security Agenda in Nigeria, which had recorded remarkable progress in Nigeria.

“The implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda via the development of the 3rd National Action Plan, I am also optimistic that, the knowledge that all the trainees would

garner from this training would empower them to contribute their quota towards realizing the full objectives of this Agenda in Nigeria,” she added.

PIAK