Zissimos Vergos, the Deputy Head of Mission to Nigeria representing the European Union, has demanded the removal of the drivers behind criminal behavior in the Niger Delta, known for its oil wealth.
He reiterated the EU’s stance on promoting inclusive community initiatives to tackle the fundamental drivers of violence in the Niger Delta region.
A recent report from the Partnership Initiative for the Niger Delta highlights the dominant crimes in the region, ranging from clashes associated with militancy and illegal oil bunkering to incidents of kidnapping for ransom, communal disputes, mob violence, clashes between rival cult factions, organized criminal activities, and movements pushing for separatism.
Speaking at the launch of a peace promotion project, tagged ”A Community Centred Approach to Transforming Criminality and Violence in the Niger Delta” in Abuja on Thursday, Vergos called for a paradigm shift in addressing the scourge.
He said, “We all know we cannot address the structural problems of the Niger Delta region directly, but what we can do is highlight the paradigm shift and the theory of change that can convince a lot of people.
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“Out of our interest in seeing Nigeria achieve its status as the giant of Africa, what we can do as a partner is bring resources to the table so that Nigerian partners can work around their challenges. This is very important to highlight.
“Through this process, we are learning because we definitely don’t come around to historical problems pretending that we fully understand the solution. What we know and bring from our societies is that inclusive societies do better.
“The EU supports inclusive community approaches to address systemic drivers of violence in the Niger Delta region.”
Zissimos applauded the cooperative endeavors of consortium partners, including Stakeholders Democracy Network, Academic Associates Peace Works, and the Partnership Initiative for the Niger Delta, for collaborating to propose an alternative narrative aimed at addressing the prevailing violence in the region.
The Minister of Niger Delta, Engineer Abubakar Momoh, represented by his Special Assistant, James Khanoba, expressed optimism that the project would achieve the intended impact.
He said, “We hope that the ‘Community Centred Approach to Transforming Criminality and Violence in the Niger Delta’ project serves as a compass that guides government towards a more holistic understanding of the problem in the region and the potential pathways to sustainable solutions.”
Country Director, Search for Common Ground, Fatima Abubakar, said her organization and the Consortium partners have successfully launched the launch of the project in Bayelsa, Rivers, and Delta States, where the respective state governments demonstrated their commitment to promoting inclusive community security approaches and addressing the root causes of violence and criminality in the region.