Communal Disputes: EU, SDN Hold Dialogue With Bayelsa Community Leaders on Dispute Resolution

Julius Osahon, Yenagoa

European Union ((EU) funded Non Governmental Organization (NGO), Stakeholder Democratic Network (SDN), has advocated peaceful dialogue as the best option to resolve disputes between communities in Bayelsa State.

At a three day training for communities leaders and opinion drivers in Bayelsa communities which ended at the weekend, participants drawn from seven communities converged at the Ebitari hotel, Yenagoa, to dialogue on ways to foster peace in the communities.

Funded by the European Union and implement by the SDN in partnership with the Search for Common Ground Nigeria (SCGN) and the Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND), the program is part of efforts by the EU and it’s implementing partners to end the incessant communal crisis in the Niger Delta.

Speaking on project with the theme ‘Intra Communal Transformative Dialogue’ the Deputy Program Manager, SDN, Mrs. Ifeoma Ndekwu, says the objective of program was to see how the project can help foster peace amongst communities in the Niger Delta

She said, at the end, the communities are able to resolve underlining issues that if not addressed could lead to conflict or violence.

“On this project we are able to address issues, support the communities in addressing issues that if not properly handled could lead to violence and conflict among these communities and for communities that don’t have issues of conflict or violence, let’s see how we can foster greater peace with their neighboring communities.

“The way this activity is designed in such a way that they would be the ones to identify the issues and also identify the solutions.
Our job is to facilitate and help them articulate this issues properly.

She said for this phase of the project, they have Imirigi and Otuasega in Ogbia Local Government Area, Sagbama and Agbere in Sagbama Local Government Area and Nedugo, Agbia and Gbarantoru in Yenagoa Local Government Area.

She added that though most communities in the Niger Delta region always have issues but the benefiting communities were selected based on the conflicts between them but were selected using other criteria within the project.

One of the participant, the Paramount Ruler of Gbarantoru community, Chief Igonia Dakolo, praised the EU and it’s implementing partners for the project.

He said the project has improved their sense of thinking especially in the issues of dialogue and resolution in any conflict situation in order to avoid violence.

He said, “The kind of ideas that some of us use to think is not really nice in a modern society, so we need to be fair, we need to be just, we need to try as much as we can to accommodate each other in a common ground so that there will will be peace in our community.”

“If that is not done with the present trend there’s a possibility that most communities may end up having serious issues even like mine, there are issues in my community but I try as much as I can to manage those processes so that the community will not be on fire.”

“The world is just a stage, we are merely players, so the best thing we can do as an individual is to make sure we live in peace among ourselves and they (SDN) have been enable to impact on us the knowledge on how we can tackle this fight and we give them kudos.”