Peace Council holds dialogue in Karaga to address conflicts
For the past years, farmer-herder conflict has become a recurring phenomenon in the Karaga District in the Northern Region.
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A number of people have lost their lives while large tracts of farmlands and property running into thousands of Ghana cedis have been destroyed as a result of the recurring clashes.
There has been fears of the possibility of violent extremist elements taking advantage of the situation to creep into the area.
Stakeholders dialogue
As part of efforts to address the situation and other conflict issues in the district, the Northern Regional Peace Council (NRPC) has held stakeholders dialogue sessions in Karaga to deliberate on ways to promote social cohesion and mutual understanding among community members, security personnel, and Fulbe settlers.
It also sought to explore collaborative efforts between local communities and security personnel to counter the threat of activities of extremist groups to enhance peace and stability in the district and the region at large.
The event formed part of the Preventing Violent Extremism Atlantic Corridor project being implemented by the council with funding support from the Government of Denmark through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Implemented along the border and conflict prone communities, the project also seeks to address underlying issues such as communal violence and stereotyping that had the potential to breed violent extremism in target communities.
Topical among issues discussed at the event were farmer-herder conflicts, stereotyping, communal disputes, misunderstandings and discrimination.
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Peaceful co-existence
The immediate past Northern Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and a member of the NRPC,Abdul Razak Saani, who facilitated the sessions emphasised the need for community members and all stakeholders to peacefully co-exist and chat a common path to promote peace, social cohesion and development.
"Social cohesion comes when we respect and recognise the interest of each other, everyone should try to respect the values and culture of others, you don't use your powers to underrate the minority groups, this will not call for a social cohesion" he noted.
Why admonishing all to be peace ambassadors of their respective communities, he urged the public to cooperate with the security agencies to enable them to discharge their duties effectively.
The Executive Director of Young Peace Ambassadors, Baba Kamaldeen, described the intervention as a novelty as it would go a long way to re-orient the people to champion the course of peace in the area.
He said lessons learnt would be put into practice to ensure that the community and security services worked together for the benefit of the area.
For his part, the District Chief Executive for Karaga, Iddrisu Mohammed Saani, lauded the NRPC for the initiative and urged residents to report suspicious activities in thier respective communities to the security for swift action.
Some of the participants who spoke to Graphic Online pledged their commitment towards maintaining peace in the district.
Writer's email:mohammed. fugu@graphic.com.gh