Amid Nigeria’s increasing cases of conflicts, including kidnapping and terrorism, the Lux Terra Foundation has brought some community stakeholders from across the country together in Abuja for a three-day workshop covering various topics aimed at addressing specific national challenges.

On the first day of the workshop, the community stakeholders appraised the Nigerian situation with a view to becoming part of the solutions to the national challenges.

The stakeholders comprising of youth leaders, activists, politicians, government officials, religious leaders, among others, who made the appraisal on Tuesday in Abuja, inspired hopes among themselves, expressing readiness to play positive roles in their respective communities and areas of influence.

During the appraisal session, the participants identified cultural and religious differences, poor parenting, lack of people’s constitution, ignorance, lack of social values, and bad leadership as major challenges.

According to the participants at the opening session of the 3-day Workshop for Community Leaders, there is need for individual members of the society, the families, and institutions to play their part at their micro level towards addressing the challenges in the country.

Earlier, in his welcome address, the Executive Director of Lux Terra Foundation, Rev. Father George Ehusani noted that the reason for the gathering of the stakeholders was for the participants to take responsibility for the future of Nigeria.

He added that the intensification of Nigeria’s crises stems primarily from perceived or real injustices, urging leaders to address the issues surrounding social justice in the country, whether perceived or real.

Rev. Father Ehusani, who noted that certain leaders were benefiting from the country’s lingering problems, disclosed that the participants were brought together because of the believe that Nigerians can turn the situation in the country around for the better.

He then urged the participants to network among themselves and with former participants, even after the workshop, to ensure synergy in the pursuit of solutions to the country’s problems.

The appraisal session was anchored by Mr. Henry Ijeoma, an official of Lux Terra Foundation while the event was moderated by the Foundation’s Project Coordinator, Inya Ode.

First day of the training workshop ended with an insightful session on “Skills for Conflict Management
And Crisis Prevention” by Rev. Fr. Robert Achiaga.

The workshop was supported by the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) and the MacArthur Foundation.