MICAH NIGERIA NATIONAL CONSULTATION 2021

Workshop Tracks:

1. Peace & Security: Towards a social justice agenda for Nigeria
2. Corruption in Security management
3. Gold, Guns and Graves:  Breaking the nexus of desolation, displacements and deaths in Nigeria
4. COVID, Recession, Climate change and National Security.
5. Demographic dividend versus demographic disaster: Engaging young people   in Transformative processes in Nigeria
6. Faith Communities and Peace: Crossing the dividing line of hostilities
7. Leading in times of Crisis
8. Emergency Preparedness & Response: Community Safety and Security Plan
9. The Local Church & integral Mission Partnerships: Supporting Transition towards justice peaceful societies
10. Theological training & Integral Mission: Contextualizing and connecting Theology of Integral Mission practice.
11. Money & Entrepreneurship: Breaking the twin evil of unemployment & under employment towards productive Industry!
12. Education for Shalom: raising a responsive generation committed to peace & progress of the Nigerian State!

Details of Workshop Tracks:

1. Peace & Security: Towards a social justice agenda for Nigeria. Nigeria has in the last 60years gone through challenging upheavals occasioned by cycles  of  low grade conflicts, ethno-religious conflicts, separatist agitations, banditry to  insurgency and threats  of civil war. The morphing of these conflicts over the last few years has not only created a sense of generalized insecurity and fear across the nation but also resulted in avoidable bloodletting, deaths and underdevelopment. This session among other things does not only look at the linkages between Peace, Security and justice but put forward a coherent social justice agenda  for the nation contributing to  creating conditions for  national development.
2. Corruption in Security management. The Nigeria Military historically has been applauded as one of the most professional militaries globally given the historic feat in Sierra Leone and Liberia as well as in other peacekeeping missions. Similarly, the Nigeria Police Force has also been applauded as a professional force given the several ways officers of the force had distinguished themselves in various United Nations missions. However, in the last few years especially with the emergence of the Boko Haram Insurgency  and current challenges with banditry and kidnappings, the nation’s security forces have seemingly been  caught flat footed and  unable to address  the multidimensional security challenges  which constitute existential threats to the nation. This session among other issues examines the role corruption plays in security management and puts forward approaches that strengthen Nigeria security system transforming it to the path of  transparency not only generating confidence in the citizenry but also playing the statutory roles of securing the nation.
3. Gold, Guns and Graves:  Breaking the nexus of desolation, displacements and deaths in Nigeria. The linkages between Gold and Guns have been identified in gold mining communities of Zamfara and BirninGwari in Kaduna state. Given the state of Nigeria’s porous borders, and several ungoverned spaces around these mining locations, external insurgency movements and their domestic franchises have been shown to be involved in Gold mining with a view to  not only exporting such ‘blood gold’  but also deploy guns as a medium of exchange  through an underground alternative economy.  This alliance between the trade in gold and the adoption of guns as a medium of exchange creates an ‘ecosystem of evil ‘turning the nation into a huge graveyard.This sessions looks at the 3Gs(Gold, Guns and Graves) with a view to putting forth practical pathways that enables the Nigerian nation break this ‘unholy trinity’ addressing fundamentally the current crisis.
4. COVID-19, Recession, Climate change and National Security. The convergence of three waves(COVID-19, recession and Climate Change have spurned tides akin to a ‘Tsunami’ precipitating crisis in Nigeria. Given Nigeria’s near total dependence on crude oil exports, COVID -19 resulted in the collapse in Oil prices, negative economic growth (-5.1% ),recession first in 25 years and contraction of GDP between 6.9% and 8%. The impacts of this has been that the nation has been reeling under a social crisis necessitating urgent interventions. This session examines the linkages between COVID-19, Recession, Climate change and National Security and puts forth clear headed practical proposals that enables Nigeria navigate these murky waters.
5. Demographic dividend versus demographic disaster: Engaging young people in Transformative processes in Nigeria. The Endsars protest drew attention to  one of the nation’s contradictions  that have hitherto been ignored. Nigeria’s 200milion+ population is a Youth population, however many of these youth belong to a category called ‘NEET’(Not Educated, Not unemployed and Not engaged). Given the high level of youth exclusion from the development process, poverty and unemployment which have thrown up a mas of disillusioned youth, it is not surprising that the nation confronted a youth revolt  in October 2020. The question for Nigeria at this historic moment is whether or not the nation will deploy youth energies, creativity and inventiveness towards reaping national dividends or maintaining the current status quo leading to demographic disaster. This session puts forward concrete proposals enabling the nation engage the youth and creating a template for deploying youth in transformation processes in the nation serving to reap huge national dividends.
6. Faith Communities and Peace: Crossing the dividing line of hostilities. Faith serves as an instrument of common societal good, However, given manipulation of faith conditions are created leading to hate and conflicts as categories defined as ‘other’ are created. This session explores approaches going beyond the rhetoric of ‘interfaith dialogues’ to truthful conversations contributing to sustainable peace as faith communities cross the dividing lines of hostilities.
7. Leading in times of Crisis: ‘Everything rises and falls on leadership’(John Maxwell).  Crisis presents unusual context and challenges to leadership. An attempt to ‘switch to autopilot’ in the midst of turbulence thrown up by crisis faced whether at organizational or national level invites disaster. This session puts forth-innovative approaches enabling leaders navigate turbulence during crisis.
8. Emergency Preparedness & Response: Community Safety and Security Plan. Emergency Preparedness & Response skills have been found to be deficient in Churches, Communities, towns and nationally. The implication has been that the onset of Emergencies and disasters results in disproportionately high casualty figures. This session puts forth-practical approaches that enables organizations and in particular communities develop and operationalize their safety and security plans within a challenging external context.
9. The Local Church & integral Mission Partnerships: Supporting transition towards just and peaceful societies. The Local Church given its spiritual, physical and human infrastructure is in a position to drive the nation towards justice, peace and security. In order to achieve this however, it is critical for local churches to pursue integral mission partnerships.  This session enables the local Churches to understand how to access capacity building, resources and Integral mission platforms that puts them on the path of playing their strategic roles at this moment in Nigeria’s national history.
10. Theological training & Integral Mission: Contextualizing and connecting Theology of Integral Mission practice. Theology has been described rightly as the ‘Queen of the sciences’. In order for theology to stay true to this description there is the necessity for it to transition from debates which though needed as part of reflections in interrogating issues to enabling theology  engage the ‘big issues’ in the context.  In other words, given current flux and disruptions within the national and global context and in particular the broad range of multidisciplinary issues that confront individuals and nations, it’s imperative that theology connects with the diversity of issues serving to input into reflections and conversations around contemporary issues. This session makes a robust contribution to understanding how theological training can shape the training of leaders such that the Church not only promotes whole life transformation but also shepherds the nation providing prophetic and focused thought leadership.
11. Money & Entrepreneurship, breaking the twin evil of unemployment and underemployment towards productive industry. Nigeria’s jobless rate currently at 33.3% has more than quadrupled over the last five years .More than 60% of Nigeria’s working-age population is younger than 34. Unemployment for people aged 15 to 24 stood at 53.4% in the fourth quarter, and at 37.2% for people aged 25 to 34. The jobless rate for women was 35.2% compared with 31.8% for men. A third of the 69.7 million-strong labor force are unemployed with 15.9 million are underemployed (Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, March 2021). Breaking the twin evil of unemployment and underemployment requires a shift from the historical paradigm of having the government as the largest employer of Labour. This session does not only look at the current challenges and how unemployment and underemployment creates conditions for social crises but also put forth   perspectives and practical approaches on models that can be adopted to seed the culture of entrepreneurship within a supportive policy framework and access to venture capital enabling  citizens create wealth towards national prosperity.
12. Education in Times of Crisis: Moving towards safer schools. In the last several Nigeria experienced three key challenges, which affected the quality of its Nigeria’s educational systems. These were (a) Maintenance of a  curriculum that is not responsive to the needs of the changing society(b) Infrastructural deficit (c) pedagogical approaches that is anchored on ROTE learning that does not support critical thinking, creativity and innovations. However by far one of the greatest challenges the educational sector has faced is the current challenge of insecurity where schools have become the game for bandits who have been kidnapping for ransom. Beginning  with  the killings of  fifty-nine boys at the Federal Government College Buni Yadi in Yobe State(2014, Nigeria has witnessed abductions of students at Chibok(2018), Dapchi(2018), Kankara(2020), Jengebe(2021), Kaduna school of Forestry Mechanization(2021).  The reality of the crisis is reflected in the closure of 618Schools across Sokoto, Zamfara, Kano, Katsina, Niger and Yobe states.(https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2021/03/15/618). Given the Federal government’s recent call for vigilance by school proprietors and citizens that its unable to secure all schools, it is clear that urgent innovative approaches needs to be developed to keep our schools safe and prevent a collapse of the nation’s educational system.