By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan
The Conflict Research Network West Africa (CORN West Africa) Director, Dr. Tarila Marclint Ebiede yesterday, hinted that proper management of social protection policies will contribute to peace building and reduce insecurity in Nigeria
Dr Ebiede who dropped this hint in a statement made available to journalists, disclosed that towards this, CORN West Africa will hold a conference on, “Social Protection in Fragile and Conflict Affected Societies in Nigeria”.
He stressed that special guests at the conference include, Hon. Abdulaziz Danladi, National Coordinator for the National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO), Cristian Munduate, UNICEF Country Representative Nigeria and Chris Pycroft, Development Director, British High Commission, Nigeria
According to Dr. Ebiede, the Conference which will take place on 8 and 9th of November, 2023, at the Conference Hall of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), Abuja, Nigeria will serve as the first intellectual forum for Nigerian scholars to critically interrogate the practice of social protection in Nigeria.
The Director CORN West Africa hinted that the body has mobilised researchers to critically review the practise of social protection policies such as conditional cash transfers, support for internally displaced persons, and school feeding among others
He maintained that the maiden conference which is organised in partnership with the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), focuses on “Social Protection in Fragile and Conflict Affected Societies in Nigeria”.
Dr Ebiede pointed out that Professor Remi Aiyede, the Research and Policy Uptake Lead at the Partnership for Social and Governance Research in Africa (PASGR), Kenya, will deliver key note with addresses from Hon. Abdulaziz Danladi, National Coordinator for the National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO), Cristian Munduate, UNICEF Country Representative Nigeria and Chris Pycroft, Development Director, British High Commission, Nigeria.
” The conference is coming at a time when the Government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu have rolled out different social protection programmes designed to help citizens cope with the prevailing difficult economic situation in the country”, he said
Dr Ebiede added, ” Papers at the conference will examine how these social protection programmes, such as conditional cash transfers, school feeding programmes, COVID-19 palliatives, support for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPS) in Nigeria, youth empowerment programmes, have fared in practice.”
“The conference will also examine the links between social protection programmes and efforts of peacebuilding, conflict management, and reduction of insecurity in Nigeria”.
He noted, ” A special session at the conference will focus on the politics of Nigeria’s social register, with the aim of unpacking the implications for poverty alleviation”.
” This conference is urgent because it creates an opportunity for policy makers to receive feedback on ongoing programmes and policies with the aim of improving the outcomes of these programmes and policies.
” The conference will attract scholars, researchers, and policy analysts from universities, think tanks, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones and abroad.”
