By Rabi’u Sanusi Kano
HOTPEN – The Executive Chairman, Disputes Resolution and Development Initiative formerly known as Democratic Action Group(DAG), Dr. Mustapha Muhammad Yahaya, said creating peace clubs across schools in Kano State has become necessary considering the vast population of the State and major areas of concerned to be tackled effectively.
Dr. Mustapha called on teachers saddled with the task to widen the scope of the programme for the students to to be fully acquinted with what was expected from them during their activities.
In his remark the resilience Programme Coordinator, Actionaid, Mr. Anicetus has described the establishment of students’ peace clubs in schools across some selected 12 communities secondary schools in Kano State as a major catalyst for the promotion of unity and social cohesion not only in Kano in particular, but the country at large.
Speaking to news men at a 2-Day Peace Clubs Training for secondary schools students organized by Actionaid in conjunction with Disputes resolutions and development initiative formerly knowns Democratic Action Group (DAG) funded by Global Community Engagement Resilience Fund(GCERF) at the Afficent Event Centre in Nasarawa Kano on Thursday.
Atakpu said the initiative had been conceived to engender peace that could lead people to coexist peacefully adding that promoting peace couldn’t have come at a better time when the country was facing security challenge.
According to him the entire objective for convening the workshop was to ginger the confidence of students in schools to understand the simple fact that they should see themselves as agents of peace not agents of destabilization at the time the country was in dire need of peace positing that drawing participant from 24 secondary schools as pioneers of the programme would be the best way of achieving the goals desired.
He pointed out that where such clubs were established a spectacular result had been achieved and that the mantra of catch them young has been made to be accorded high priority, considering the need for moulding the character and behaviour of the younger ones to detest violent extreme which could pose a threat to the local communities and beyond.
He said” starting from Kano State, we have planned to conduct a similar exercise in Kafuna and Kogi States being the last lap of this programme. We have made every preparation to ensure that the schools we have selected for the exercise live up to expectation. what we want from them is greater result.”