WANEP, USAID, Mercy Corps Admonish Press To Adopt Skills On Conflict Sensitive Reporting

Rabiu Omaku

The Chief of Party, Peace Action for Rapid and Transformation Nigeria Early Response (PARTNER), Mr. Danjuma Saidu Dawop has admonished media  Practitioners  to adopt conflict analysis skills to provide better perspective on conflict-sensitive reporting

Speaking during the one-day workshop, in Makurdi, Benue State capital says a lot of people will have a better understanding of conflict , The root cause and its dynamics.

He said the workshop  was aimed at helping media practitioners incorporate conflict sensitivity guidance when reporting about conflicts.Emphasizing that Journalists plays a critical role  in conflict resolution, urging them to leverage their professionalism to educate, entertain, and encourage peaceful coexistence through careful  and  care free  use of soft language.

He averred that the media must shun ethnocentrism  as well shun the promotion of  religious vagaries  or political biase to  build a veritable society “.He affirmed that Journalists should serve as a veritable tools to adjudicate on issues of  conflict  as well providing solution for more than superficial efforts and that the participation of the media is essential in bringing communities together for  lasting and enduring  peace.

“The media needs to know the relationship between digital ecosystem which impact upline conflict”

Dawop urged  members of the forth estate of the realm to remained focused by shunning  anything that is inimical to bringing enduring peace in the land, He however  urged the Press  to be factual  and neutral  in their reportage particularly  in conflict situations .

He emphasized on the need for Media practitioners to shun any  vagaries of confusing headlines by choosing  a soft words instead of  adding salt to ann unhealed wounds.

According to him”There is a the need for  Journalists to understand the source of conflict before reporting on it.

Some selected Media practitioners from Nasarawa State Council appreciated the organizers of the event and expressed hope that it will strengthen their capacity on reporting Conflict-Sensitive issues.

Selected Journalists interviewed vowed to put into use the training to enhance their reportage for the interest of the people, Adding that  they will embrace the peaceful  management and resurrection of conflict in their communities.The  One -day-State- level strategic Stakeholders  engagement Workshop for Effective Early  Warning response system in Nigeria  was attended by some selected Media  practitioners in Benue  and Nasarawa States   representatives of their various  news outlets and Online platforms and other development partners.

Mr Dawup hinge on the significance of Conflict Sensitive reporting in fostering a conflict -free society in Nigeria,He  said  that Journalists can make positive contributions towards facilitating peaceful management and resolution  of  conflicts.

The Workshop was organized by Mercy Corps, The West Africa Network for Peace Building  in collaboration with Benue State  Commission For Peace and Reconciliation and the Nasarawa State Peace Committee  have trained  over forty Journalists on Conflict Sensitive Reporting .

Saidu Dawop gave the hint that the project was a five years plan between USAID,Mercy Corps and WANEP  which serves as a support to media practitioners to the concept  of digital peace building  has trained Journalists across in Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Plateau, Benue and  Nasarawa States with the aim of covering Kogi, Kwara and Niger States.

He buttressed that Peace Building and Early Warning is a national agency saddled with the mandate to finding a lasting solution to bring every rumpus to an enviable end as he commended Civil Society  Organization for according a topmost priority on the training on conflict sensitive reporting.

Dawop added that the inclusion of CSO became imperative so as to provides credible  information on conflicts dynamics as well to enhance the understanding of conflict.

He also gave an insight on conflict,context analysis tools which includes Precision,giving instances of  of Onion method of analysis with an example of Herders/ farmers skirmishes with an emphasis on land dispute.

He however hinged on three major causes of conflict to the core reason of an eruption of conflict which has to do with fear of domination and likely interest, Dawop described social media as an ecosystem not regulated and dishing out sensitive information without recourse to the consequences of the information.