Prof. Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, a human rights lawyer, has said the insecurity in the Southeast must be tackled through a package of concerted measures and partnerships to de-escalate tension in the region and build inclusion with youths and communities.
Odinkalu, who is the Chairman of the Truth Justice and Peace Commission, said this in Awka on Friday
He said a 2–day technical workshop themed “Concord Initiative Zonal Workshop ” had been scheduled for May 16 and May 17 in Awka.
The Don said the workshop was being organised in collaboration with the Office for Strategic Preparedness and Resilience (OSPRE) in the Presidency and the Nigerian Army Resource Cente among other stakeholders.
According to Odinkalu, the initiative will explore non-kinetic measures to foster durable peacebuilding and coexistence among the people of the states of the Southeast.
The former Chairman of Nigeria Human Rights Commission said the region needed to regain its reputation as the enterprise centre of Nigeria adding that enterprise did not thrive in the midst of violence or conflict.
Odinkalu said The Truth Justice and Peace Commission in its extensive work on insecurity in Anambra had established that though the Armed forces engaged in kinetic solutions to the crisis in the Southeast, there was a need for complementary, non-kinetic measures of de-escalation.
He said this was necessary in order to sustain gains of kinetic efforts and win the hearts of the affected population.
According to Odinkalu, the Concord Initiative is a forum of actors and stakeholders in peace building, early warning, early response and development.
“The programme is designed to develop and strengthen regional and national capacity to forestall, make ready for, respond to and recover from risks and exposure to violence and restiveness in the states of South-East Nigeria.
“Parts of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo, have become an axis of deadly violence revolving around land use and ownership, boundaries and insecurity occasioned by mostly criminal activities,” he said.
Odinkalu said the workshop would attract experts from within and outside the region as well as representatives of various groups including women, youths, market associations and traditional rulers.
He said sessions would include Reconciliation and Healing. Cultural Recovery/Values/Education, Enterprise/Industry/Investment Promotion, and Youth Empowerment.
Others are Transitional /Restorative Justice, Disarmament/Demobilisation/Reintegration and Women Empowerment.
