The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the Katsina State Government are partnering to curtail violent extremism and building the resilience of communities.
The Director, Directorate of Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism at the National Counter Terrorism Centre, under NSA office, Amb. Mairo Musa-Abbas, stated this at a media advocacy to the state government, on Thursday in Katsina.
She said, “Evidently, Katsina state, along with other states in North-West Nigeria, is currently experiencing increased activities of violent extremist groups.
“The socio-economic situation in Katsina state is equally concerning.
“Statistics according to the Multi-dimensional Poverty Index shows that approximately 72.7% of the population in Katsina state, totalling 6.92 million people, are living in Multi-dimensional poverty.
”That was why, in 2022, the ONSA approved a series of projects aimed at addressing the violent extremism in the North-west Nigeria.
”The initiatives were funded by the Global Community Engagement and Resilient Fund (GCERF) and implemented by three organisations.”
According to her, the organisations were Action Aid (in Kano and Kaduna), North-East Youth Initiative for Development (NEYIF in Sokoto), and Women Environmental Programme (WEP in Katsina).
The director said that WEP, which has also been implemented in partnership with the Murna Foundation for two-and-a-half-years, had the theme: “Strengthening Advocacy Against Violent Extremism (SAVE)”.
This project was being conducted in four local government areas of Funtua, Dutsin-ma, Musawa, and Jibia local government areas of the state.
Musa-Abbas explained that the project has reached more than 30, 000 beneficiaries through 68 activities.
“No fewer than 400 among these beneficiaries are young men and women mentored on having a sense of purpose, trained in entrepreneurship, and equipped with skills and resources to support their livelihoods and build their resilience.
“Women have been engaged through Women Safe Space Initiatives, learning to support community vigilance and receiving revolving loans for their businesses,” she added.
The director said that the purpose of the visit was to seek for the Governor’s support to scale up those initiatives as government support is crucial for sustainability.
“We once again ask for the maximum support of the Katsina government for sustainability of these initiatives to curtail the menace of violent extremism and build the resilience of communities,” Musa-Abbas said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the ONSA, in collaboration with Partnership Against Violent Extremism (PAVE), supported by ActionAid Nigeria, carried out the advocacy visit.
It was aimed at discussing with the government officials about mainstreaming of Preventing/Countering Violent Extremism (PCVE) into State Action Plan, security and development policies.
Responding, the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Abdullahi Garba-Faskari, who represented the acting Governor, Malam Faruk Lawal-Jobe, commended the team for the visit.
He said that no society would prosper without order and security.
The acting governor said, “Peace and security are two important components, the government is eveready to support all efforts aimed at addressing insecurity.
“We will do all what it takes to partner with you to secure lives and property of people in the state,”
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