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Regional News of Sunday, 22 November 2020

Source: thenationonlineng.net

Kano mothers trained on preaching peace

Worried by the spate of insecurity in the country, the Mercy Corps, a peace organisation known globally in 40 countries, is training women on how to preach the message of peace in volatile areas of Kano State and Nigeria in general.

Mercy Corps is sponsored by the United States Agency International Development (USAID) in Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Plateau, Benue and Kogi states.

In Kano, a three-day training for the women community, with the theme; ‘Parenting for Peace,’ took place at Tahir Hotel, drawing 45 participants from different communities and organisations, including the women wings of the Muslim Council of Nigeria, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Hisbah and some government agencies.

Participants were trained on how to identify key drivers and signs of radicalisation; understand motivations behind violent extremism; how to prevent and counter violent extremism and the role of the family in preventing violent extremism in the community.

Fielding questions from newsmen, Deputy Chief of Party of Mercy Corps, Sani Suleiman, asked the federal government to channel resources to rural communities and focus attention on empowering poor villagers if it must surmount Nigeria’s security challenge.

Suleiman said the women trained are to regroup and further step down the training for those who will create a platform for engaging parents directly.

He said, “Government must address the push and pull factors that attract young men into violence.

“Attention and resources must be focused on the community level to build the capacity of rural people and strengthen the resilience of the community people and to raise their confidence and trust for the people in government.

“To tackle Nigeria’s security challenge, the government must provide basic amenities and improve on healthcare delivery, education and infrastructure, especially in the rural communities,” Suleiman said.