SDN, in collaboration with Dawn in the Creeks and CCADA, has been running a number of roadshows over the previous months in the Niger Delta to mobilise communities against violence. The latest event was on December 13th in Yenagoa but previous events have been held in Warri and Sagbama. The Roadshows include live music, floats, performers and speeches. Teina Teibowei reports on the roadshow in Sagbama at the end of November.
The mandate of empowering lives and leaving legacies was once again taken up by the ever enthusiastic SDN team and implementing partner CCADI on the 27th of November, 2014 at yet another Roadshow event promoting nonviolence in the Niger Delta. This time around, Sagbama Community in Bayelsa state was the beneficiary of the Dawn in The Creeks Road Show and Chicoco Film Festival. This is part of the work of SDN and the Niger Delta Legacy Engagement in amplifying the messages of peace and increasing the work of conflict stabilization in the Niger Delta region under the auspices of the community and governance line of engagement.
The 27th November road show kicked off at Pere Palace area and through college of education junction, market square, mile 2 junction, mile 1 and finally the town hall.
As with other recent events there was an unbelievable turn-out of community residents including many youths. Over two hundred people were present at the town hall with a demographic spreading across the elderly both male and female, the youths both male and female and young school children.
After the screening of the film, there was an interactive session where community members especially youths gave their various views on why they would embrace peace and not violence, why they would say no to political thuggery and violence. A youth quoted, ‘my vote is my right and I will not be used by any politician, peace is the ultimate and I embrace it’.
The youths of this community who actively participated in the road show shared that participating in the road show and listening to the various sensitization talks, gave them a sense of belonging and belief that peace is achievable. In total satisfaction the community’s CDC chairman gave a vote of thanks expressing immense joy in the activity and asked that the engagement spreads across the Niger Delta.
Generally, the road show can be said to have provided us yet another opportunity to amplify the themes of the DITC engagement and further promote the use of non-violent methods in conflict resolution as a means for citizens and communities reaching their goals and resolving conflict in the Niger Delta.
