By Joseph Edegbo :
Select journalists have affirmed their commitment to supporting activities that will promote lasting peace in southern Kaduna, North West, NIgeria
They made the commitment in Kafanchan at a one-day capacity building on Peace Reporting, as part of activities towards the implementation of the Network of Nigerian Facilitators’ (NNF) Peace Dialogue project in Kaduna.
The one-day Training was to increase the knowledge of participants on Advocacy Journalism (AJ) as a tool towards achieving sustainable development.
In a paper on Advocacy journalism, Joy Gadani, a Program Officer with Africa Media Development Foundation (AMDF) enjoined participants to be more committed towards promoting peace, as part of their social responsibility to their communities.
According to her, journalism has gone beyond neutrality as a result of evolving trends and the need for sustainable development, “as journalists representing various platforms, you should make it a point of duty to amplify the voices of local peace builders in your communities”.
The Project Facilitator, Sekyen Dadik, states that journalists need to utilize the various platforms they represent to act as bridge that reconciles conflicting communities of Goska and Dangoma in Jema’a Local Government Area of Kaduna state.
She said the role of journalists in peace building can never be overemphasized, hence it is Imperative to highlight the significance of peace through broadcast programs, articles, and direct engagement with members of the community, “oftentimes you will hear a person say, I heard it from on the radio. This goes to show the power within the reach of journalists,” she said.
On their part, the journalists reaffirmed their commitment towards producing contents that will not only promote peaceful co-existence, but also ensure sustainable peace in the area.
Wisdom Adamu, a participant at the meeting stated that peace building has been part of their duties as journalists, “NGOs like yours have operated in Southern Kaduna, they have gotten our support, and we don’t see the reason why we will not support yours for the same purpose, and until peace is established in Southern Kaduna, we will not stop” he said.
The project titled “Community Dialogue to Foster Peaceful Co-Existence Among Goska and Dangoma Communities in Kaninkon Chiefdom, Jema’a Local Government” seeks to involve community members through peace dialogues and non-violent actions to work together towards restoring trust and sustainable peace and stability in their communities.
The project being implemented by Network of Facilitators in Nigeria is funded by United States Institute of Peace (USIP).
