Following-up on the National Workshop on Alternative Narratives to Violent Extremism, organized in Abuja on May 23-24, the CdM is conducting a High-Level Mission to Nigeria (July 17-18), led by Club de Madrid Members, President Cassam Uteem (Mauritius) and President Festus Mogae (Bostwana). The most important meeting took part on Monday 17th when Acting President of Nigeria, Yemi Osinbayo received Presidents Uteem and Mogae in an encounter aimed at addressing the current preventing and countering violent national process in Nigeria.
Both CdM Members will hand to the Acting President a report summarizing the conclusions and key messages from the National Workshop to key government and civil society representatives.
Other important meetings to be held during this two days high level mission include John Cardinal Onaiyekan, Archbishop of Abuja, to discuss the role and contribution of religious leaders to address the threat of violent extremism; Major-General Mohammed Babagana Monguno, National Security Advisor of Nigeria and Mr. Richard Young, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation in Nigeria to share views and future steps on how to tackle the violent extremism threat.
In addition, the mission seeks to:
- sharing the findings and recommendation of our focus group study conducted in Nigeria early this year;
- supporting the work of the PAVE Network, as an umbrella of CSOs working on PVE issues;
- supporting ongoing national efforts on developing and implementing the National Policy Framework and Action Plan (NAP) in Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism;
The Club de Madrid is committed to promoting democratic and comprehensive solutions to PVE challenges in Nigeria, and seeks to continue supporting the efforts of the Office of the National Security Adviser in the promotion and implementation of the NAP on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism, with special focused on delivering alternatives narratives to challenge violent extremism.
The High Level Mission is part of the Project Preventing Violent Extremism: Leaders Telling a Different Story (2016-2017, implemented by the Club de Madrid (CdM) and funded by the European Union. One of the main outcomes of the project will be a set of evidence-based recommendations on how to create positive messaging and which tools and strategies are more effective to challenge violent extremism. To that end, a first round of focus groups was held in three targeted countries: Nigeria, Tunisia and Lebanon. The second phase of implementation include national and regional consultations. The participants include relevant stakeholders and practitioners who provided the technical knowledge and Club de Madrid Members who contributed with their political insights and policy counsel.
