Timothy Olanrewaju, Maiduguri
The atmosphere at the Elkanemi Hall, Ramat Polytechnic, Maiduguri, Borno State, was livid as men and women of varied ages held talks on how to cement the cord of unity among people badly divided by nearly a decade of Boko Haram violence.
From early 2009, Boko Haram had launched a sustained Islamic Jihad against the state and against any person who do not share in their belief and doctrine. The group’s campaign had found a place of attraction in the imagination of dozens of youths and men who abandoned their homes, education and public service for religious extremism.
The insurgents also cashed in on the religious differences and heterogeneous nature of the state to cause divisions among people. Such was the lot of the people of Gwoza Local Government, a hilly area situated on the Nigeria-Cameroon border. With over 14 ethnic constituents unit, it was one of the worst hit areas by the terrorist group.
Perhaps, this explained the reason the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), identified the people of the area for a dialogue training with a view to develop strategies that would serve as therapy for post-crisis challenges.
CDD Senior Programme Officer, Jasper Okechukwu explained: “The training was developed to strengthen their local initiative to build peace especially with the impact of the Boko Haram violence on the unity of the communities. Democracy can’t take roots where people are divided,”
He said the centre embarked on some assessment of the situation and realised that Gwoza is one of the most affected areas by the group. He said 40 participants, including community heads, women and youths, were selected for the training after identifying key issues of concentration.
He said youths and sports as well as water were identified as key areas for peace-building and post insurgency therapy for the people: “They have agreed to be doing sporting activities.” He said the target was to strengthen the initiatives of the locals to develop various ways to address challenges that may come their way in efforts to rebuild the communities destroyed and affected by Boko Haram insurgency.
Lead trainer and president, Nigerian University Games Association (NUGA), Prof. Stephen Hamafyelto, said sport is a good vehicle for promoting peace: “That is why nobody remembers religious and tribal differences when we have football matches.” He said the participants were being trained to encourage youths in their localities to embark on sporting activities to unite them.
He also disclosed that participants were reminded about the essential role of water to human existence and how such water can also cause crisis among people. He said with thousands of people will be struggling to have access to water having been displaced from their ancestral homes:
“The competition for water for both human use and farming activities especially in the hilly Gwoza communities may be a big issue. We are preparing the minds of the people to understand the challenges. Now that people have been displaced, they have moved, some with their animals and you now have all sorts of conflict between people over gracing and use of water.”
District Head of Gwoza, Alhaji Idris Timta, who represented other community leaders, lauded the dialogue initiative. He said the training identified the functions and roles of leaders in dealing with communities. He said the communities in Gwoza have been conducting sporting activities:
“We have organised the Gwoza Emirate Cup and Peace-Building Cup in a bid to bring our youths and people together without recourse to religious or ethnic differences.” He said the emirate has also started peace building initiative using sports. He expressed the hope that the outcome and effects of the dialogue training will enhance peace in the area.
CDD Programme Officer for Peace Initiative, Steve Amuda, said the programme was designed to “build peace using youths-for-sports as focal point.” He said the centre might spread the programme to other affected areas in the North East.
Kebbi gov’s wife makes education, healthcare accessible to almajiris, others
From Olanrewaju Lawal,Birnin- Kebbi
Sometimes in 2009, Hajia Aisha Bagudu, wife of Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State, thought of a project that would empower and liberate the children of the poor from the shackles of illiteracy, poverty and health challenges.
After nights of cracking her brain, she decided to establish a foundation that would cater for school drop-outs among girl child as well as for the teeming number of Almajiris. She christened the institution that would drive the initiative as, Mass Literacy for the Less Privileged and the Almajiris Initiative (MALLPAI), and began on a small note.
A very good concept, no doubt! But she never had imagined that it would graduate to what it is today; a citadel of learning and social works, where adults, youth and Fulani in their ruga (hamlets) will pasture for knowledge and advancement.
Determined to extend the boundaries of the concept, Hajia Bagudu has been going round the state to ensure that both rural and urban folks milked from her wealth of experiences and kindness. She has been traversing from one village to another and from one town to another, accessing huts and homes located in difficult unreachable terrains.
She told Daily Sun that she and her team are always on the road, taking risks by trekking through bush paths to reach out to some vulnerable Fulani communities and other rural dwellers, who are in urgent need of humanitarian services such as medical help, economic empowerment, educational enrollment for their school aged children: “We have created an enabling environment in our literacy centers in the state in an effort to make education accessible to children of school age.
“For now, we have over 600 girls, 100 Almajiris sponsored to schools, out of which many are presently in universities and polytechnics. The foundation is basically working to create learning environment for our children to access education and to harness their talents.
«We want to see the children of the less – privileged competing favourably with the children of the well-to-do in tertiary institutions and come back to the society a lot more productive. The foundation is committed to enhancing the quality of life of Nigerians by supporting and empowering initiatives that could improve access to health,education and agriculture opportunities.
“Our vision is to build lives where people have access to quality education, health care, business and equal opportunities to realise their potentials.”
Project coordinator, MALLPAI, Mr. Aminudeen Attairu Nassarawa, said from 2015 to 2016, the foundation graduated 1,005 apprentices from 21 local government areas. The beneficiaries were trained on skill acquisitions in the areas of tailoring, plumber, welder and cosmetic.
They graduated also 878 students on the same skills including catering services in 2017 while in 2018, about 300 students training: “Currently, we have 40 students undergoing tailoring, 36 are learning satalite installation, and 60 are undergoing electrician training.
“Apart from this, this foundation has a school centre that is taking care of dropped out school girls, adult and Almajiri children who are given special education training. We have pre-nursery school up to class one to six. There are also adult classes for both male and female who are given special coaching.
“Hajia Bagudu will buy NECO and WAEC’s registration forms for them to pursue their further education. If they pass, the next step is to collect JAMB forms or A Level forms for them. I can tell you today that, we have many of our students who are studying now in various tertiary institutions across the state.”
Nassarawa explained that anytime they are visiting a Fulani settlement, they always travel along with medical doctors, to treat residents of the settlement, especially women and children.
The state women leader of Mayyetti Allah, Hajia Hadiza Aminu, said the people, especially rural dwellers are praying to Allah to reward her in all her endeavours: “Her efforts have helped to improve the standards of living of our Fulani women and children living inside the bush.
“She has enrolled some of them, trained them on how to extract cow milk and how to make better profit out of the sales of the extract. This is a good legacy that we shall continue to remember.»