Category: News/Stories

On Wednesday 20th September 2023, in Yola, Adamawa state, Northeast Nigeria, Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development continued its Regional Consultative Forum under the 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞 (𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐃) project funded by the MacArthur Foundation, under it’s “Enhancing Citizens Engagement of Accountability and Social Inclusion Issues around Election’

The meeting X-rayed the theme: 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐀 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐋E𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐁𝐄𝐘𝐎𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋 𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐕𝐒. 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐎𝐅 𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐔𝐄𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐂𝐎𝐇𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍, 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐃𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐋𝐎𝐏𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓.

𝐀𝐦𝐛. 𝐀𝐛𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐡𝐢 𝐎𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢, nooc, fsma, a seasoned diplomat and former SSA to the President Mohammadu Buhari on International Affairs, brought to the fore universal perspectives on the  𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. He emphasised that the advancement of Nigeria is the collective responsibility of both the leaders and the led.

Ms. Halima Oiza Sadiq, Executive Director, Chachavivi Women and Girl Child Development Foundation (CCWGDF) also shared perspectives on 𝐄𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢al 𝐂𝐨𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧��𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲.

The participants from different structures of the Northeast alluded to the need for collective effort in bringing to reality the nation that all desire. The Centre deeply appreciates the MacArthur Foundation for its continuous funding and support towards attaining social cohesion in Nigeria.

On the 13^th and 14^th September Mercy Corps Nigeria in collaboration with Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development and Plateau State Ministry of Youths and Sports, officially commenced the process of domesticating the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security Agenda (2015).

This particular round of engagements is to amongst other things gain the buy-in and full commitment of the critical State and non-state actors vis-a-vis youth structures in the State. Watch out for more exciting developments as this journey of YPS in Plateau unfolds.

The Honorable Commissioner of Youth and Sport, the Director of the Ministry of Youth and Sport as well as the Plateau State Government House Director on Research, Policy, and Documentation demonstrated unusual warm reception.

Yesterday, 12th September 2023, the Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development under the USAID-funded Community Initiative to Promote Peace (CIPP) project, led a Policy Influencing and Advocacy Engagement to the Kano State House of Assembly to re-introduce the “𝐊𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐃𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥” to the 10th Kano State House of Assembly (KSHA).

The team was received by the 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞, represented by the 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫, 𝐑𝐭. 𝐇𝐨𝐧. 𝐌𝐮𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐝 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨 𝐁𝐮𝐭𝐮 𝐁𝐮𝐭𝐮 and six other members of the House, which includes; the 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧, 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡, 𝐑𝐭. 𝐇𝐨𝐧. 𝐙𝐚𝐤𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐲𝐲𝐚 𝐀𝐥𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐧 𝐈𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐪 and his counterpart in the Youth and Sport as well as the Assembly Chief Whip. 

The strategic visit was for the fact that the “Kano State Drugs and Substance Abuse Management Bill” was one of the crucial pieces of legislation that SCDDD was pursuing before the end of the last Assembly which unfortunately couldn’t attract the former Governor of Kano State, H.E Abdullahi Ganduje’s assent despite its successive passage in the Assembly.

This time around, we are starting early with the new Assembly and the reception and commitment by the Assembly can simply be described as a phenomenon. Meanwhile, some of the major takeaways from the meeting include;

• 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐚𝐢𝐝𝐬 (𝐀𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲) 𝐭𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬, 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐒𝐂𝐃𝐃𝐃/𝐂𝐈𝐏𝐏𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞-𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐲𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
• 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐲𝐭𝐨𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐊𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝
• 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐦𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐊𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐨𝐟𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐲.

On 31st August 2023, Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development through its 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞 (𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐃) Project supported by the MacArthur Foundation held another edition of the 𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐑𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐨 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐧 𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 with a focus on 𝐊𝐄𝐘 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐁𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐓 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐯𝐬 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐆𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄, 𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐎𝐌𝐘 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐘 at the Centre’s Conference Hall in Abuja.

The meeting had in attendance stakeholders and issues around current realities in the country were discussed as well as key indicators the President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR should consider for the cabinet Ministers towards achieving the government’s set objectives.

Among these is the need for Ministers to collaborate with Civil Society Organizations when implementing policies to ensure optimal utilisation of resources, especially at the local level. Also, conduct regular and impartial evaluations to ensure that ministers’ performances are continuously monitored and improvements are acknowledged.

To contribute to solutions being proffered to the current state of the nation, Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development through its Leadership Effectiveness and Accountability Dialogue (LEAD) Project supported by the MacArthur Foundation conveyed experts meeting for CONTEXT ANALYSIS ON THE STATE OF THE NATION on15th& 16^th August 2023.

The meeting which was held in Jos, Plateau State helped the Centre to get the perspectives of Nigerians in a microcosm on how Nigerians at different levels can assist in surmounting the challenges confronting the nation.

The meeting also provided the Centre the insight into how to consolidate the successes the LEAD project has achieved as we engage different stakeholders in the country in the coming weeks.

On the 31st of July and 1st of August 2023, Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development in collaboration with Mercy Corps – Nigeria under the Community Initiatives to Promote Peace (CIPP) project, engaged with the pioneer board members and management staff of the Benue State Commission for Peace and Reconciliation (BSCPR) as they officially commenced operation with Two (2) – Day Capacity Building Workshop.

The event which took place at the Benue Metropolitan Hotel had in attendance the Benue State Governor, H.E Fr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia represented by Dr. Emmanuel Chenge, Principal Private Secretary to the Governor; Dr. Moses Tule, Committee Chairman, His Excellency Rev. Fr. Dr Hyacinth Alia hundred days in office and the board members and staff of the Commission. At the event, the governor pledged his commitment to welcoming any initiative that can promote peace in the state.

On the 5^th July Yesterday, we hosted the Ambassador of Ireland to Nigeria, Peter Ryan visited Savannah Centre. Key issues were discussed and ideas exchanged to further strengthen the existing relationship between the Centre and the Irish Embassy

On the 20th June 2023, Savannah Centre hosted relevant stakeholders at a round-table engagement towards the implementation of the Climate Change Act, 2021.

The stakeholders included representatives from the Ministries of Environment, Water Resources, Agriculture and Rural Development, Organised Private Sector (OPS), and relevant Civil Society Organisations.

The meeting availed the Centre the opportunity to launch the Climate Change Act, 2021 policy factsheetand to discuss the best and possible approaches to be adopted on the implementation of the policy.

On the 13th and 14th of June 2023, Savannah Centre in Collaboration with Mercy Corps Nigeria conducted a capacity-building workshop on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and Interest-Based Negotiation Mechanism (IBNM)  for the staff of the Kogi State Public Defenders and Citizens Rights Commission (PDCRC) in Lokoja, Kogi State capital.

The capacity-building workshop was a follow-up to the recently implemented Capacity Building Workshop on Kogi State Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law, 2022 for Kogi State Office of the Public Defender and Citizens’ Rights Commission Structures.

On the 8th of June 2023, Savannah Centre and Mercy Corps Nigeria kickstarted the process to the adoption and domestication of the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR2250) on “Youth Peace and Security” in Plateau State. The process commenced with a meeting with the top officials of the Plateau State Ministry of Youth and Sports Development to discuss on the possible approaches that could be adopted to fast-track the domestication of the Youth Peace and Security Resolution in the State.