CENTRE FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION (CHDST)
PROTECT OUR FUTURE PEACE AND CIVIC EDUCATION PROJECT
REPORT OF TRAINING WORKSHOP & LAUNCH OF PROJECT
DATE: 29TH MARCH – 1ST APRIL 2007
VENUE: TOKI HOTELS, NKPOGU, PORT HARCOURT
Sponsors: United States Institute for Peace (USIP) , Mustard Seed Foundation and Ini & Wolf Von Stauffenberg
Executive Summary
The official launch and training workshop for the ‘Protect our Future’ Peace & Civic Education Project in the Niger Delta Nigeria took place from 29th March – 1st April 2007 at Toki hotels Port Harcourt. The concept of the programme is to build a democratic as well as a culture of peace among the youth of Nigeria by training their teachers and the students. It is believed that when students are aware of their civic responsibilities they will be a powerful voice in sustaining democratic values and a culture of peace.
The objective in the first year, is to train 52 teachers and 120 carefully selected students in the Niger Delta. The Niger Delta is a big area. The project was therefore scaled down for the pilot scheme to five localities. These localities are Batan and Warri in Delta State; and Port Harcourt city, Ummuechem and Bodo, in Rivers States. These localities cut across both rural and urban centres. This report covers the launching in Port Harcourt as well as training workshop for the teachers in Port Harcourt. They were 28 participants who are teachers from 20 schools in Rivers State. These teachers reflected the localities we envisaged to intervene in. There are made up of 11 Public Schools and 9 Private School, these schools are spread across rural and urban areas.[1]
The launch was witnessed by members of civic society organisations and Ministry of Education. The guest of honour was the Director of the National Orientation Agency (NOA) chief Andy Nweye. The training workshop involves two components: civic education and peace education. These were facilitated by resource persons.
The high point of the training workshop was during the strategy session. The participants decided to form a network called: Network of Peace & Civic Education Teachers. The purpose is to serve as a forum for the teachers to share ideas and learn from each others as the peace club is formed. This ensures sustainability of the project.
The next phase in the project is the training of student leaders in peace camp. The peace camp is billed for August / September 2007 based on availability of funds. We hope that funds will be available to continue this project of protecting our future.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive Summary
Introduction
DAY 1: 29th March 2007
Day 2: 30th March 2007
DAY 3: 31st March 2007 – Strategy Day
Opening Ceremony
Principles of mediation
Communication skills for the mediator
Stages of mediation
Closing remarks & Conclusion
APPENDIX 1 - NAMES OF THE PARCIPANTS
NAMES OF THE PRESS
APPENDIX 2- WELCOME ADDRESS
APPENDIX 3 – CASE STUDY
APPENDIX 4: REPORT OF EVALUATION MEETING
Acknowledgement
We express our profound gratitude to the United States Institute for Peace (USIP) for the generous grant that made the training possible. We thank the Mustard Seed Fund and its president Jim Foster for their support.
The facilitators were very creative and made the sessions interactive and interesting. Special thank you to Mr. Austin Onuoha and Barr. Eze Onyekpere.
The staff and management of Toki Hotels and finally to the participants for volunteering to be part of the Protect our Future Peace and Civic Education Project.
Figure 1: Group Photo of Participants
Introduction
The journey for the social transformation of Nigeria got a boost with a grant from the United States Institute of Peace (USIP). The grant was to enable the Centre for Human Development and Social Transformation to continue the ‘Protect our Future’ peace project. This project has become necessary because of the observed tendencies for students to react in a violent way at the least provocation and the institution of ‘might is right’. It was also observed that these tendencies can be attributed to the long years of military rule in the country. The military way of dictating also found its way into the secondary schools where teachers, instead of allowing the students to elect their leaders, selected class leaders for the students.
This project is based on the premise that if students / youths who form a significant majority of the population, know their right and cultivate a culture of democracy and skills of living peacefully (including the ability to elect their leaders themselves), they will be a powerful voice in sustaining democratic values and a culture of peace. It is an invaluable way we can safeguard our future. The strategy is to train teachers in secondary schools, and students in a peace camp. The teachers and students trained will now duplicate the training in schools. Each school will form a peace club and this will serve as a vanguard for further networking and peer mediation. A manual will be published to assist in this regard. The training will be on Rights and obligations of the citizens, elections conducting and monitoring, and peace education (comprising: culture of peace, conflict prevention, transformation and management).The desire is that this peace education project given in schools will have an effect in the wider community. The project has the following component:
1. Training of teachers
2. Training of students
3. Formation of Peace Clubs
4. Manual on Peace Building and Peer Mediation in School
This report covers the official lunch of the programme and the training of teachers in Port Harcourt from 29th March to 1st April 2007.
The selection of the teachers was undertaken in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, school principals and the teachers involved. In each school, we approached the principal who is the head of the school and requested information on which staff would be most appropriate for the training. The principals then identified potential teachers for us, who we now discuss with and sought their commitment to be part of the project. We also had some principals in attendance as you can see from the report.
DAY 1: 29th March 2007
Most of the participants for the training arrived I the evening. An informal meeting was held were participants discussed freely the situation in the Niger Delta viz a viz the country and looking up to the workshop for solutions.
The various situation in the various schools were discussed as a way of understanding the nature of intervention in schools. At this forum the idea for a network of peace and civic education teachers was first mentioned. This was later included in the programme for day 2 of the workshop.
Day 2: 30th March 2007
8:30 Registration9:00 Introduction & Icebreakers
9:30 Expectation & Ground Rules
10:00 Concept of Civic Education, Rights and Obligations of Citizens.
11:00 Tea Break
11.30 Political Development in Nigeria, Nationalism and National Values, Election Conducting and Monitoring
1.30 Lunch Break
2.30 Culture of Peace, Conflict Prevention, Transformation and Management
4.00 Tea Break
4.30 Peace Building and Peace Education
6.30 Closing remarks
Figure 2: The Project Director, Chief Onyia from the Ministry of Education and the Facilitators ( from left- Austin, Colins, Chief Onyia & Eze)
The participants who did not register the previous day completed their registration. The Executive Director of the Centre for Human Development and Social Transformation (CHDST) Mr. Colins Imoh welcomed the participants and introduced the two facilitators for the workshop. The facilitators were Barr Eze Onyekpere for civic education and Mr. Austin Onuoha for peace education. The aim of the workshop was briefly explained by the Executive Director. The participants then introduced themselves after which the Executive Director handed the workshop over to the facilitators.
The ground rules accepted for the workshop were as follows:
- All cell phones to be switched off or in silence mode
- One person to speak at a time
- Punctuality, all should keep to time
- Need for self discipline
- Respect for each others view
The participants have the following expectation:
- Learn strategies for peace
- Understand civic and peace education concept
- Learn and share experiences from their various schools
- Learn how to implement the ideas they have learnt in their schools
The concept of civic education was introduced by Barr. Eze Onyekpere after which tea break was called for at 10:45 am. The participants reconvened at 11:05am. The Commissioner of Education Dr. Mrs Ngozi Odu sent his representative to the occasion. The representative was Chief M.O Onyia who is the Director in charge of inspection at the Ministry. Chief M.O. Onyia was called to present the statement from the commissioner of education. The message centred on the need for peace and stability in the country especially in the Niger Delta. He opined that if all embrace peace and justice then there will be progress in the region and the country. He apologised on behalf of the Commissioner who wished to be part of the workshop but was regrettable absence due to an unexpected meeting with the Governor of the State. The commissioner’s representative was thanked by the Executive Director and did promise to send the report and synthesis of the presentation to him.
Thereafter, Barr Eze Onyekpere continued with the civic education component of the workshop. He explained that civic education is designed to educate people on the political system and the context. It is geared towards empowering people on how political power is exercised.
He further explained that the benefits of Civic Education include an enlightened citizenship willing and able to claim their rights while at the same time performing their obligations to the state, community and their families. It makes the task of governance easier because of cooperation and collaboration between government and the people to achieve societal common goals. The rights and privileges of a citizen has some limitations. He also noted that civil and political rights are the basic rights of Nigerians.
An explanation of the rights was followed by a discussion on the merits and de merits of the quota system in Nigeria. The argument concerns the application of the quota system in Nigeria; it was viewed as an infringement on the right of the people by the government. However, an explanation for the need of quota system is that all aspects of the federation, should feel a sense of belonging. The government therefore gives consideration to these states in employment, education, revenue, etc. The aim is to have a balanced federation where all will feel a sense of belonging.
The inability of Nigerians to exercise their rights can be attributed to the lack of information and poverty. These factors affect different segment of human endeavours. It was generally agreed that people need to be informed about their rights and obligations in order to be good citizens. The information given and the elimination of poverty will enhance the participation of the citizens in their affairs.
The payment of tax is an obligation of the citizen. The payment provides government with the needed revenue to provide the amenities that the citizens require to enjoy a better quality of life. It was noted that in the country lots of citizens evade tax payment. This is a serious crime in every country.
Port Harcourt is the centre of the oil industry in Nigeria. The issue of mismanagement of oil in the country was also introduced and deliberated. It was agreed that the oil states need to pay some percentage to the Government and not the federal government giving them some percentage. This could reflect the true meaning of federalism, which Nigeria is meant to be practising.
To sum up the morning session, participants agreed that Nigerians need not only talk about the issues but should take action to change their lives. he summary of the morning presentation was that Nigerians need to act and not only discussing issues. The participants requested for copies of the morning session which the facilitator promised to make available to them through the CHDST. The session broke for lunch at about 1:45pm.
The house reconvened at 2:25pm. The facilitator, Barrister Eze, asked for questions with regards to the morning session. After the questions and answer session the facilitator was applauded for a job well done.
The session on peace education began at 2.40pm with Mr. Austin Onuoha facilitating. The facilitator divided the participants into 2 groups based on gender: the mens group and the women’s group. A case study was given to both groups for study. The topic of the case study was ‘powerful in collectivity and solidarity’[2]. Copies were given to each group, the story was read before the participants moved to their group. The questions to be answered were:
- What were the causes of the conflict?
- How did men respond to the conflict?
- How do the women respond to the conflict?
- How will you resolve the conflict?
After the group session, the participants reconvened in plenary and gave their comments on the answers to the questions they discussed in their groups. Below is a summary of the findings from the group:
For the men’s group the answers were as follows:
- The selfishness and insensitivity of men; they wanted to fatten their pigs at the expense of the women cassava.
- The men treated the problem with levity
Dialogue was the best method of solving the problem and the pigs needs to be domesticated.
While the women’s questions were as follows:
- The insensitivity of men to the welfare of their families and careless means of livelihood.
- The women embarked on protest also demanded that the pigs were slaughtered or sold. Also they kept their plans secret.
- The women agreed on peaceful demonstration after which there will be dialogue and mutual agreement.
The discussion that followed from the presentation generated a lively debate about men’s insensitivity towards their families.
The house went for break at 4.00pm and reconvened at 4.15pm. The next session was on: ‘culture of peace, conflict prevention, transformation and management’. It was facilitated by Mr. Austin Onuoha, who explained that peace is understood not only as the absence of traditional forms of direct violence, but also as a positive presence. Educating the people about all aspects of peace constituted peace education it’s about developing social responsibility.
He explained that peace education is needed to respond to the multiplicity of violent conflicts around the world and the need to develop long term strategies to transform the culture of violence to a culture of non-violence and peace. The objectives of peace education are to cultivate the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to achieve and sustain a culture of peace. Also it seeks to provide an understanding of conflict and to provide non-violent alternatives to dealing with conflict and transforming violence and helps individuals especially young people. The issue and challenges of youth was discussed under youth bulge.
Young people face an identity crises (a low sense of esteem); marginalization and lack of communication space. Young persons also have problems relating to:
Lack of education
Lack of employment
Lack of access to health care.
Non-participation in decision making
Urbanization, religion and identity crises
He concluded that youth are in transition, and there is need to give students who are youths the support they need. The evening session closed at about 6.20pm with closing remarks by the Imoh Colins Edozie who congratulated the participants for their interactive contribution. He explained to the participants the nature of tomorrow’s programme: the sessions and the opening ceremony in between.
The closing prayer was said at 6:25pm by Mr. Kenneth Kpeden from Bodo city.
Figure 3: In session
DAY 3: 31st March 2007 – Strategy Day
9.00 Conclusion on session on civic education10.00 Opening Ceremony
10.15 Welcome Addresses by Chairman of Board of Trustee & Project Coordinator
10.30 Integrating Peace /Civic Education in Schools Mr Austin Onuoha &Eze Onyekpere
11.00 Official Launch of the Protect our Future Peace & Civic Education programme Centre by the National Orientation Agency Director; Chief Andy Nweye
11.30 Break & end of Opening Ceremony
12.00 Peace Club/Peer Mediation the Role of Teachers
1.00 Launch
2.00 Strategy for Civic Education in Schools Peace Clubs as a Concept
4.00 Tea Break
4.30 Strategy for Peace Club and Formation of Network of Peace/Civic Education Teachers
Day 3 was christened ‘strategy day’. The concept was that the participants should prepare a road map of how they will implement the concepts learnt in the schools. The day’s session began with Barrister. Eze concluding his yesterday session on the concept of National Values and Ethics in nation building. These National values and ethics are discipline, integrity, dignity of labour, social justice, religious tolerance, self-reliance and patriotism. These values need to be shared and commonly agreed as central points for social mobilization. Nationalism is the love for the fatherland, while patriotism is a commitment to the State. These concepts are necessary for social progress and sustainable development. In a democracy, the people are empowered to act in the greater interest of the nation. These include the ability of the people to elect their own leaders. It also assist in the balancing of conflicting interest e.g. VAT, oil revenue, etc.
The session concluded with the requirement needed for a free and fair election and what is expected of all the stakeholders. The role of government was analysed and discussed.
Opening Ceremony
At 10.15 a brief official launch of the ‘protect our future’ peace and civic education project took place. The welcome address was delivered by the Executive Director of the Centre for Human Development and Social Transformation (CHDST) Mr. Imoh Colins Edozie. He enlightened the features, objectives and methodology and also the way forward for the ‘protect our future’ peace and civic education project.[3]