By Ankeli Emmanuel, Sokoto
In their determined effort towards contributing to national peace, a non governmental organization, (NGO) Partnerehip Against Violent Extremism (PAVE) Network said it has trained hundreds of youths, religious and traditional leaders in Sokoto State on preventing violent extremism.
Addressing newsmen on current state of preventing and countering violent extremism, (PCVE), Sokoto State PAVE Chairman, Dr. Mohammed Surajo
said no gain saying the obvious that North West Nigeria is faced with severe security challanges.
Dr Surajo further added however that engaging locals to understand the root causes, drivers and sustaining forces of the challanges will them to collectively participate in the solution.
“In recent years, the North-West region has continued to experience complex security challenges involving extremist groups, banditry, and criminal violence. Analysts have identified groups such as the Lakurawa, which have exploited weak governance and porous borders to carry out violent attacks in parts of Sokoto and Kebbi States.
The broader Nigerian risk landscape shows prolonged insecurity driven by proliferation of armed groups, increasing banditry and kidnapping, economic marginalisation in rural areas, and structural vulnerabilities in community safety and resilience”.
While noting that to effectively tackle these threats, a more comprehensive
approach beyond just military responses is required, Dr Surajo said that informed their decision to aggressively build and strengthen institutional and community capacity in the region.
“These engagements have strengthened understanding of local drivers of extremism and laid the groundwork for inclusive prevention planning.
“We have facilitated dialogues on PCVE co-creation, bringing communities and government actors together to co-design action plans tailored to local realities.
“These forums have helped identify grassroots priorities, such as youth economic empowerment and early warning mechanisms”.
And to ensure sustainability of PAVE/PCVE, Dr Surajo said they have engaged State Governments, Legislatures, and security leadership to secure political ownership and backing for PCVE policy implementation and resource allocation being a critical factor for long-term sustainability and also backed it up with Community Resilience Campaigns
