From Leo Nzwanke, Lafia
The Middle Belt Brain Trust (MBBT) in collaboration with Nasarawa State Forum and the Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT) has said it will develop a framework on how to solve the insecurity challenges in the state.
The inaugural meeting of the Nasarawa State Forum, organised in collaboration with the MBBT and IFIT had the former Chief of Defence Staff, General Martin Luther Agwai (retd), as chairman.
Speaking during the opening ceremony yesterday in Lafia, General Agwai said that the meeting will be focused on the key medium-term structural and architectural challenges that have an outsized impact on state violence and prospects.
Adding that it will also leverage a deep understanding of the local context and access to international best practices.
‘Our vision for Nasarawa State is to support leaders from the state develop frameworks for developing a new security architecture as well as improve on state institutions dispute resolution mechanism and entrepreneurship
‘We at the MBBT aim to combine a top-down and bottom-up approach that can simultaneously address the state’s challenges from multiple directions
‘Our goal is to promote social cohesion in Nasarawa State through community participation in decision making bringing divided people together, and addressing community needs.
‘We are also working on frameworks for state-level and community-driven development by improving inclusion, participation and representation,’ he said
Governor Abdullahi Alhaji Sule, while declaring the inaugural meeting open, explained that the state under his leadership has put in place measures towards the peacebuilding process.
‘Some of the measures includes the signing of kidnapping act prohibition law, community volunteer guards, recruitment of 504 special constabulary force to enhance community participation in the security architecture of the state among others, the governor said