post / 06 September 2022
PAST EVENT: IFIT Middle Belt Brain Trust Holds Grievance Management Trainings for Traditional Rulers
On September 5-6, 2022, the IFIT Middle Belt Brain Trust (MBBT) held a two-day capacity-building training on community grievance management for all the First Class Chiefs of Nasarawa State. The training, which took place at the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in Lafia and was organised in collaboration with the Government of Nasarawa State, is part of the MBBT’s wider work to improve grievance management capacities at the community level in the Middle Belt region.
At the training, State Governor Engr Abdullahi Sule stated that the initiative helped promote a culture of peace and harmonious coexistence not only in the Middle Belt, but in the country at large. MBBT Chairman, General Martin Luther-Agwai (rtd.), said that security challenges in the Middle Belt were enormous but with sustained determination and hard work, peace and security would be achieved. He stressed that the failure of existing institutions to manage grievances had become a major conflict driver, as most community-level conflicts that start out as civil disputes escalated to violence and identity conflicts.
The MBBT’s training on alternative dispute resolution mechanisms for traditional leaders (such as ward heads, village heads, and district heads) aims to make grievance management and timely resolution of disputes accessible to disadvantaged, illiterate, rural and dispersed populations, thereby helping to prevent civil disputes from becoming identity conflicts. This effort also aims to increase civic engagement and foster public processes that over time can facilitate broader social and structural change.
Local Media Coverage
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