Insurgency: NSA sets agenda for healing

The Nationsl Security Adviser (NSA), Major-General Babagana Mungono has said that the gradual resettlement and reintegration of affected communities was crucial to win the hearts and minds on the population to achieve sustainable reconciliation, reintegration and healing of wounds in the affected communities.
He added that DDRR efforts especially the non- traditional model could not effectively operate in isolation of Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (PCVE).
According to him, perception of communities and the prevailing narratives about the violence is crucial in the efforts to restore peace.
“Opportunities for reconciliation and reintegration depend on the extent to which the groups and their communities of return are supported to rehabilitate, heal and reconcile.
“Reconciliation efforts should include detecting and analysing the perception of the communities,” he added.
The Director-General of NARC, retired Maj.-Gen. Garba Wahab, said that while talking about rehabilitation and reintegration of repentant terrorists, it was imperative to pay attention to the victims also.
Wahab said that the government should balance its desire to encourage the insurgents to drop their arms and addressing the lights of the victims who had suffered both as individuals and as communities.
He said the seminar was designed to look at the totality of issues bothering on to treat the repentant insurgents and the victims who had suffered and lost loved ones due to the actions of insurgents.
He also said there was need to provide a legal framework that would look at possibly of what to do with people who had committed offence but then needed to be rehabilitated. (NAN)