By Victor Akaa
In a proactive move to ensure a successful farming season, Operation SAFE HAVEN (OPSH) on Tuesday organized a seminar for critical stakeholders across its Joint Operations Area (JOA) covering Plateau State, five LGAs of Southern Kaduna, and two LGAs of Bauchi State.
The event, themed “Peaceful Coexistence: Panacea for a Successful Farming Season,” took place at the 3 Division Auditorium, Maxwell Khobe Cantonment, Jos, Plateau State.
According to Major Samson Nantip Zhakom, Media Information Officer OPSH the seminar, part of OPSH’s non-kinetic approach to promoting peaceful coexistence, brought together stakeholders from diverse backgrounds to facilitate a hitch-free farming season.
In his remarks, the Commander OPSH and General Officer Commanding (GOC) 3 Division Nigerian Army, Major General AE Abubakar, emphasized the significance of the seminar, highlighting the crucial role of the agricultural sector in national development and the nexus between food security and national security. He urged stakeholders to create an enabling environment to enhance better understanding between the farmers and herders to carry out their activities without violence and rancour.
The Commander condemned the spate of unwanted attacks on farming and cattle in recent times and warned those fomenting trouble in the area to desist forthwith or face the full force of security operatives.
On his part, the Governors of Plateau and Kaduna States, represented by their special advisers, commended OPSH’s efforts in promoting peace in the JOA and pledged to support security agencies with critical resources.
Also speaking, the resource persons stressed the need for tolerance, forgiveness, and respect for human life, emphasizing that a successful farming season requires an atmosphere of peace and coexistence.
They endorsed OPSH’s Bottom-Top Crisis Resolution Mechanism and urged participants to create an enabling environment for farming and herding activities to thrive.
The seminar featured an interactive session, where participants lauded OPSH’s initiative and promised to ensure peaceful coexistence for a successful farming season. The event concluded with the presentation of patrol motorcycles to Neighborhood Watches for anti-farm destruction patrols in areas with high incidents of farm destruction.
Present at the seminar were top government officials, heads of security agencies, traditional rulers, farmers/herders, youth and women leaders, and civil society organizations.
