Security
THE Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Nigeria, has reiterated its commitment to Transitional Justice (TJ), for communities affected by insurgency in the North East.
Dr Dauda Garuba, CDD’s Executive Director, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on the sidelines of commissioning of the renovated and equipped lecture hall by the Centre at the University of Maiduguri.
The project was handed over to the Centre for Peace, Diplomatic and Development Studies (CPDDS), of the university.
Garuba explained that TJ needed to be practicalised academically, hence the provision of a conducive hall for the university to support its MSc programme in peace studies.
“The TJ programme in this university is to help the process of peace building so that people will learn to accommodate one another and move on with life after conflict,” he explained.
According to him, the CDD is also sponsoring a Hausa radio programme titled; “Sulhu Alheri”, to promote dialogue by providing the platform for affected communities to participate in peace building in the sub-region.
Speaking at the event, Director of the University’s CPDDS, Prof. Abubakar Muazu, lauded CDD over the intervention.
According to Mu:azu, the centre’s aim is to produce graduates that will contribute to peacebuilding in the northeast, and Nigeria in general.
The don noted that the modernisation of the lecture hall by the CDD would provide the needed conducive environment for teaching and learning by postgraduate students of the centre.
“Students now have a conducive environment where they can sit down, conduct lectures, carry out seminars, organise practical sessions, and discuss issues around peace, particularly in the North East, which is suffering from the ravaging attacks of Boko Haram.
“This facility will provide us the opportunity to rub minds with our students and build their capacity on what they can do to bring sustainable peace, not only in the northeast and Nigeria, but the whole Lake Chad region,” Muazu said.
In his contribution, Dr Kole Shettima, the African Director, MacArthur Foundation, who the hall was named after, spoke on the need for good governance to strengthen democracy in Africa, as a major step towards curbing conflicts.
A pioneer graduate of the CPDDS , Ms Jummai Mshelia, who is the Borno Coordinator of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), said the programme had been helpful in further building her capacity in her job.
“I work in NHRC, and you know TJ is about addressing gross human rights violations in areas of conflict.
“I am applying what I learnt to ensure people who are really hurt get the justice they deserve,” Mshelia said. (NAN)
A.I
July 06, 2024 @ 18:28 GMT
Tags: CPDDS Dr Dauda Garuba Dr Kole Shettima Prof. Abubakar Muazu
