Search for Common Ground, a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), on Thursday began an intensive training for Journalists covering conflict issues in Plateau.
Mrs. Olutoyin Falade, the NGO’s Senior Programme Manager, in a speech at a ceremony to open the training, said that the three-day activity was to assist the newsmen to acquire requisite knowledge and skills in reporting conflicts, especially the farmer/herder clashes.
“Our overall goal is to contribute our quota to preventing violence and the destruction of lives and properties resulting from protracted violence in the state.
“Part of our organizational goals is the prevention of conflicts between farmers and herders while encouraging healthy cohabitation and promotion of religious tolerance among the people of different faiths in the Middle Belt region of the country,” she added.
She said that the NGO was keen on increasing collaboration between farmer and herder communities to develop joint effective, sustainable local mechanism for early response dispute management, violence prevention and mitigation at the community level.
“We also want to strengthen implementation of the rule of law and accountability measures by the government of focal states to respond to, and prevent violence.
“Our NGO also seeks to enhance public understanding of the farmer-herder conflicts by promoting conflict sensitive contents, countering hate speech, stereotypes, biases and negative that can fuel violence,” she said.
Falade said that the project was being implemented in selected local government areas in three states of Plateau, Nassarawa and Benue, which had experienced escalation in violence.