By Inusa Ndahi, Maiduguri
FOLLOWING the endless atrocities posed by Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists for over a decade, the Lake Chad Basin Traditional Rulers Forum has declared their total support and cooperation with security agencies and other stakeholders to bring lasting peace in the region.
They include His Royal Highness, the Emir of Bade/Yobe State (Nigeria) as Chairman, while, His Majesty the Sultan of N’Djamena (Chad), His Majesty the Sultan of Kousseri(Cameroon), a representative of Niger (to be appointed) as well as HRH Alh. Dr. Muhammad Ibn Abali Muhammad Idris, CON,CFR, the Emir OF Fika and Chairman of Yobe State Council of Traditional Rulers as members.
In a declaration document made available to our Correspondent in Maiduguri Yesterday after closing their meeting/deliberation which took place at Mohammed Indimi International Learning Centre, University of Maiduguri, the Traditional Rulers revealed that, “conscious of the serious challenges faced by our populations, including inter-community conflicts, the impacts of climate change, youth crime, extreme poverty, the fragility of local institutions and violence against women, there is the urgent need to strengthen cross-border cooperation and to preserve endogenous knowledge.
“Committed to our role as guardians of traditions, peace, and social cohesion within our communities, we solemnly declare as follows: That we are committed to strengthening our role as custodians of the culture and tradition, peace, preventing and managing community conflicts and promoting dialogue and reconciliation between the parties.
“We will develop local frameworks for dialogue to promote peaceful coexistence, including youth, women, and marginalized groups.
“We strongly condemn all forms of violence against women, whether physical, psychological, economic, or cultural. We are committed to raising awareness in our communities about women’s rights and promoting respectful and equal behaviours.
“We will work with local and international institutions to set up mechanisms to protect women victims of violence, including listening and assistance centres.
“We will work to integrate women into mediation and decision-making processes, recognizing their essential role in peacebuilding”. They declared.
Similarly, on Cross-border Cooperation between the Communities, they insisted that: “We commit to promoting cross-border cooperation to strengthen solidarity between communities in the different countries of the Lake Chad Basin. We will work to establish cross-border frameworks for dialogue among traditional rulers to resolve conflicts related to access to natural resources, trade,and people’s mobility.
“We will develop mechanisms for sharing information and best practices to manage common challenges, including security, migration, and resource management.
“We will support joint initiatives for cross-border socio-economic development,such as markets,trade corridors,and joint environmental
programmes.
On Preservation and Promotion of Endogenous Knowledge; We commit to valuing and transmitting traditional knowledge, including
ancestral natural resource management practices, conflict resolution, and ecosystem preservation.
“We will develop educational and cultural programmes to document, safeguard, and transmit this knowledge to the younger generations. We will promote recognizing endogenous knowledge as essential to public policies and development initiatives.
“Advocate with governments to allow acts taken in customary courts by traditional rulers to have legal power,
-Engage youth in local security,
-Facilitate communication between the countries of the Basin, -Guarantee security at the borders, -Restore trust between the army and the civilian population, -Strengthening the capacities of traditional rulers, -Find ways for traditional rulers to travel so that they can better move around the field to respond quickly to specific emergencies, -Create strategic bases along the borders to deploy the defence and security
forces. -Develop the basic instruments for the operation of the platform (LCBC), and -Create a WhatsApp group of traditional rulers of the Lake Chad Basin”. End
