Cross section of participants at the Search for Common Ground Nigeria Youth CARE Project close out event in Bauchi.
By Abubakar Baba Ahmad
Beneficiaries of Search for Common Ground’s Nigeria Youth Care Project say the Peace and Interfaith initiatives of the programme have brought about sustained tolerance, harmony and peaceful coexistence among diverse residents, groups and communities.
They stated while giving positive testimonies on the impact of the Nigerian Youth Collective Action for Religious Engagement, Nigeria Youth CARE Project’s Closeout and Knowledge sharing event co-implemented by the Young Leaders Network YLN in Bauchi.
Search for Common Ground, or simply Search is an international non-governmental organisation working to end violent conflict and build healthy, safe, and just societies.
One of them and Community Head of Gudun Hausawa in Bauchi metropolis Malam Umar Tukur said the intervention of the project in 2024 following the 2022 Gudum crisis through interfaith dialogue and other engagements with youth, women and community leaders helped a lot in peace building processes and de-escalation of tensions among the warring parties.
Umar Tukur who appreciated the effort of government, CSOs, FBOs and other actors in bringing lasting peace to the communities, called for permanent actionable solutions such as employment opportunities and development of collective action plan for the communities.
“The coming of Search for Common Ground through the Nigeria Youth Care Project has really impacted positively on the lives of people at Gudum because it has reached an extent that we no longer have these ethnic or religious differences. We feel like the community should be known as Gudum, not Gudum Hausa, Gudum Sayawa or even Gudum Fulani because the effort really impacted positively on our lives and the only problem now we’re having is the issue of youth restiveness.”
“We hope that government and other organizations will come in to provide job opportunities for our teaming youth to guarantee peace in the area”, Gudum Hausawa Community Leader says.
Some of the Youth engaged under the project, Khalid Ibrahim Angale and Doris Ali narrated how the project shaped their mindset about the issues of religion and peace, leading to them engaging a lot communities on peace building and religious tolerance.
In their separate goodwill messages, the representatives of the Commissioner of Police and State NDLEA Commander, ACP Yahaya Abdulkadir and DC Hussain Umar, as well as Ministries of Religious Affairs, Women Affairs, Justice, FOMWAN, and WOWICAN acknowledged the impact of the project in changing people’s perception and promised to ensure sustainability.
The Director Programmes Search for Common Ground Gift Omoniwa said the organisation resolved to empower youth with skills and tools needed to change the negative narratives of insecurity and religious crisis bedevilling the society, argued that youth have never been the problem but rather the missing link in achieving such goals.
“We have also witnessed a transformative change on ground, particularly in Yelwa and Gudum community, where mistrust was major factor, we’ve been able to facilitate interfaith dialogues, we had sport events, tournaments, community theatre activities, and all of this for us was about bringing people together, promoting collaborative approaches, and finding common grounds to resolve long-lasting conflicts”, She explains.
Reflecting on their experiences and Success Stories, the Project Manager Nigeria Youth CARE Hajiya Munira Askira and the Executive Director YLN, Seun Justin Onarinde, said the initiative has established structures like the Bauchi Youth Religious Advocacy Network BYRAN, Micro-Influencers, and Online Community Stewards to dish out social media contents, strengthen interfaith harmony and promote freedom of religion in the digital space.
Search in collaboration with Young Leaders Network implemented the 24-month Nigerian Youth CARE Project which seeks to empower and promote collaboration among diverse youths in Bauchi, Plateau, and Gombe states.
Leave a Reply