Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

The Institute of Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) has said that the failure of the government to implement recommendations from ts studies on possible causes of conflicts in the country is responsible for the current crisis in the country.

The Director-General of the Institute, Bakut Bakut, stated this in Abuja on Monday during an oversight visit by the House of Representatives on Cooperation and Integration in Africa.

Bakut told the lawmakers that the Institute had envisaged the current events in. the country and made adequate recommendations to government.

According to him, though the Institute was set up by the government to do a crisis mapping of the country and advice government, successive government have failed to implement recommendations from such mapping carried out by the Institute.

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‘When the agency was set up, one of the mandates was strategic conflict assessment aimed at ensuring that we do a mapping of the country in terms of the various challenges that could result in conflicts. We did the first edition in 2002, the second in 2007, another in 2012 and the latest in 2016.

‘In our mapping in 2002, we saw what has today become the Boko Haram and we advised government that if this thing was not addressed, it would escalate to become the danger it has become today.

‘In 2007, we saw the indicators telling us of what was likely going to happen if we do not address the challenges posed by environmental issues and the movement of cattle by herdsmen to find greener pasture. Again we wrote to government, but unfortunately, it was not followed up the way we expected.

‘I can tell you that in 2016, we were again able to identify things that prevailed today, particularly poverty and youth restiveness. In the 2016 document, if you look at page 70, you will see our recommendations as to what was meant to have been done by government.

‘If some of these things had been done, we would not be experiencing the challenges we are having with the youths today. This Institute was created for good reasons, but unfortunately, the challenges we have revolves around our budgeting,’ Bakut stated.