Some stakeholders in agriculture have called for good governance, proper engagement of the people in land utilization and the use of modern technology, to reduce conflicts often associated with land acquisition in the Niger Delta.
They made the call on Wednesday 7th May, at a Roundtable on “Mitigating the Impact of Communal Conflicts on Agricultural Investments in the Niger Delta”, organized by a non-governmental organization; Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta PIND.
The stakeholders including a traditional ruler, Eze Gbaka-Gbaka, Eze Lesley Eke and a former State Director of National Orientation Agency in Rivers State, Mr. Young Ayo-tamuno, lamented that communal conflicts are affecting investments in agriculture within the Niger Delta region, and recommended among others, a review of the land use Act.
The traditional ruler said, “When people are better informed, there is no room for conflict because it is a lack of understanding and greed that creates some of these abnormal situations and sometimes bad politics”.
While Mr. Ayo-tamuno stated “land use act needs to be reviewed we can also use technology in making sure we are able to follow up trending issues”.
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On his part, the Peace Building Project Manager of PIND Foundation, Dr. David Udofia, identified good governance and proper engagement of the people, as very crucial in addressing communal conflicts in the Niger Delta region, and noted that PIND has adopted several measures and trained individuals on conflict resolution in the region.
He said “It’s one of the critical aspect we need to address and outside that it is also good for us to look at good governance which is the key because some of this issue that leads to communal violence if we look at it, it’s not only herdsmen or farmers crisis it is about land ownership as well as land acquisition, so if that the government look into it will reduce communal crisis”.
Dr. Udofia further said that the Media have a crucial role to play in dousing conflicts in the Niger Delta region through their reportage.
