By Tarkaa David
Copyright leadership
An international non-governmental organisation, Search for Common Ground (SCG), has advocated the adoption of dialogue as a non-kinetic approach to end terrorism and banditry in the country.
It said a non-kinetic approach, such as dialogue, remains a cornerstone of achieving lasting peace not only in Nigeria but worldwide.
The country director of Search for Common Ground, Nigeria, Outtara About Karno on Monday speaking during a Health Walk organized in collaboration with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), to mark the 2025 International Peace Day said since the period of World Wars (1914-1945), the world has focused on kinetic/coercive approaches in solving conflicts.
He said it is now time that more attention be put on other approaches, such as dialogue.
He said, “There is one way to achieve peace, and that way is to talk to each other.
“No one in the world wants to live in a place where there is no peace. But, of course, you can have some challenges, these challenges can be resolved only by the way you are treated. There are many ways of dealing with our problems. Some can use violence, but some can use collaboration. But we advocate dialogue.
“Nigeria is a country that is struggling for peace. Peace is the first thing in the heart of everyone. How we work together to go about achieving that peace is now the challenge.”
He said the organisation is working with security agencies, like the NSCDC, because they are one of the frontline agencies that are used to achieve peace.
He said, “The NSDC is one of the partners we are working with in Nigeria. They are in the frontline in ensuring peace and security. But there is no security without talking with people. There is no security without information. But people have to understand that security starts by themselves. Security starts with information. Security starts with intelligence. But to have this information, the NSCDC needs the people to talk with them.
“You cannot live in peace with your neighbour if you don’t know him. If you don’t talk with him. So I think that this is the only way to get peace.”
He said that since 1982, the SCG has been working to help people and communities find solutions to their conflicts through collaboration instead of violence to solve their problems.
The commandant NSCDC, FCT Command, Dr Olushola Odumusu, said every country in the world is faced with one conflict or another, but the solution lies in the approach adopted by each country.
He said Nigeria adopts both kinetic and non-kinetic approaches to solve the ongoing security challenges, which he said are yielding results.
He said, “There is no where in the world where you don’t have conflicts. It depends on how we handle them. But rather than engage in confrontation, I think it’s best we engage in mediation. And for us in the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, we have a unit that does that.
“The essence of this is to stand in the gap, you know, between the people, and ensure that we are able to mediate through the alternative dispute resolution, which is one of the global approaches to resolving conflicts.”
