Katsina State Governor, Dikko Umaru Radda, has commended the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Climate Security Initiative for the North West, which was officially launched recently at the UN House in Abuja, with funding by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of Norway.
According to the UNDP Resident Representative, Mohamed Yahya, the initiative aims at supporting Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara states in catalysing timely and collaborative state-led prevention efforts, as well as strengthening the security response to insecurity in the region by utilising a climate action and sustainable livelihoods approach to conflict prevention for the front-line states.
The governor’s spokesman, Ibrahim Kaula Mohammed, said that Radda expressed gratitude to the UNDP for its tremendous support, even as he emphasised the importance of development partners in implementing strategic policies efficiently to maximise impact for the people.
He also stressed the significance of regional cooperation, especially in combating insecurity, applauding the UNDP for recognising needs of the Northwest, assuring that all governors were equally committed to using the opportunity to promote peace and prosperity in their respective states.
The governor expressed gratitude for the support from the United Nations Climate Security Mechanism, which seeks to understand and address the linkages among climate change, peace and security, highlighting the global crisis of climate change, where innocent people are affected by forces beyond their control.
He emphasised the government’s commitment to making necessary investments towards sustainable productivity, including improving irrigation systems, providing drought-resistant seeds and fertilizers to farmers and developing the agricultural and livestock value chains for added value and employment creation.
Radda stressed that the effects of climate change are further exacerbated by banditry and other forms of insecurity, leading to a vicious cycle of low productivity and instability in the region, stressing the importance of applying socio-economic justice to bring peace and prosperity to the region, with effective communication and dispute resolution through traditional and religious institutions being crucial for long-term success.
-IJEDIOGORgodwin, (SOUTH-SOUTH BUREAU CHIEF) GUARDIAN newspapers, LAGOS 08033245547, 09153197145 (Also ingodwyn@journalist.com, ingodwyn2007@gmail.com)
