The Centre for Gender, Youth and Child Development (CGYCD), Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike (MOUAU), Abia state has advocated for peaceful resolution of conflicts at homes, communities and national levels with a view to achieving progress and sustainable development across all sectors.
Declaring the workshop open, MOUAU Sixth Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof. Maduebibisi Ofo Iwe disclosed that women play crucial roles in promoting community peace and development through various initiatives.
MOUAUWA President, Dr. Nkechi Nkem Iwe (1st Right), MOUAU DVC, Prof. Elechi Asawalam (Middle), and Director, CGYCD MOUAU, Prof. Mabel Ifeoma Onwuka (1st Left) at the event recently.
Represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Administration, Prof. Elechi Asawalam, the Abia-born food scientist, applauded the Centre for their proactive steps towards sustainable peace and development within the university and its host communities.
The university helmsman who revealed that the institution would continue to engage their host communities actively, urged participants to utilize the skills gained towards fostering community peace and development.
In her remark, the Director, CGYCD, Prof. Mabel Ifeoma Onwuka revealed that most conflicts are avoidable, noting that conflicts hinder rural development, entrenches widespread poverty in communities among others.
She identified causes of conflicts to include: political differences, fake news, religious intolerance, diverse cultural beliefs, among others, urging women to respect, tolerate and accommodate each other.
Onwuka enjoined women organizations to collaborate with other groups for periodic trainings, build capacities of other members, engage their youths in profitable ventures and take advantage of the university for modern skills and supports among others.
The Centre Director, noted that peaceful societies offer fertile ground for economic activities, attracting investment and fostering innovation, hence, the need for the workshop to train women from the university’s host communities.
In her words: “Women are natural managers, and I urge them to sacrifice their comforts for peace in their communities, as women and children are most vulnerable in the wake of conflict”.
Meanwhile, the President, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike Women Association (MOUAUWA), Dr. Nkechi Nkem Iwe described workshop and the theme as apt, lauding the proactive steps taken by the Centre maintain peaceful collaboration within host communities.
Dr. Iwe who also described women as peace builders, enjoined them to take the lead, insisting that there is no sustainable development without peace.
In his lecture entitled: “Leading women organization: Strategies for fostering community peace and development”, the keynote speaker, Dr. Obochi Charles, described community peace as a state of positive and constructive social order, where individuals, groups and societies do not dominate or exploit one another and live in cooperation and mutual aid.
Obochi who noted that leadership dysfunction is the bane of peace and development in the societies, maintained that quality leadership can be learnt or innate in some individuals.
This, he said redefined leadership as service, influence, and innovation, pointing out that good leaders inspire others positively to do more.
Contributing, the Deputy Director of the Centre, Dr. Nkechi Kalu Achi, implored women to take advantage of the knowledge gained from the workshop to enhance peace and development in their communities.
In her vote of thanks, the Oloko woman leader, Madam Louisa Ogu, thanked the MOUAU Vice Chancellor, Prof. Iwe and the Director, CGYCD, Prof. Onwuka for the training, promising that they would make use of the knowledge gained to ensure sustainable peace in their various communities.
In a related development, a member of the Centre, Mr. Chibueze Onyejuruwa thanked participants for attending, noting that the Centre is making efforts to sustain the training.
About 50 women who participated in the workshop were drawn from university host communities while the workshop was aimed at empowering the women and make them feel the impact of the institution among others.
