Plateau Peace Agency harps media on deescalation of violence

By Kingsley Chukwuka

The Plateau Peace Building Agency, (PPBA), has tasked the media to continue to play a major role in the deescalation of violence in the State, saying that as critical stakeholders, the media cannot afford not to be partners in the process of peace building.

The Agency which appreciate the media for effective reportage over the years, noted that more work needs to be done to sustain the relative peace currently being enjoyed in the State

Speaking with Journalists on a round table discussion days before Christmas, the Director General of the Agency, Mr. Joseph Lengmang said for the deepening of peace, journalists should seek to enhance their understanding of early warning signs that lead to violent conflicts and help to de-escalate them.

Lengmang who fingered the proliferation of Non Governmental Organisation (NGOs), as conflict merchants in the State, said their aim is to only profit from recurring conflicts.

He said their lack of accountability and refusal to align with the PPBA gave credence to their motive that all they want is to use the NGO as their means of survival.

“Some peace stakeholders are not truly peace makers, they will tell a different thing during meetings, and act on the contrary while away. Their actions have negative implications on the search for peace in the State”, he said.

Lengmang however said that the agency is running a project tagged “peace scope project” which is aimed at strengthening harmonious understanding between farmers and herders.

He further explained that the agency has set up a local committee which has been trained on how to identify early warning signs to enable the community to respond swiftly to emerging situations.

Our correspondent reports that the ‘Peace Scopes’ project is being sponsored by German Corporation (GIZ), whose aim is to strengthen the capacity of the rural communities for the transformation of famers/herders in the State.

The Agency however, did not forget to laud the Governor, Simon Lalong for supporting the peace process in the State, but pointed out that the Agency’s funding needed to be more flexible and robust, so as to meet the challenges of prompt response to early warning signs.