DRM PROJECT

CENTRE FOR COMMUNITY ACTIONS FOR PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT, (CCAPAD)

 

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT

APRIL 2017 – MARCH 2018

SUPPORTED BY:

MENNONITE CENTRAL COMMITTEE, (MCC)

Acknowledgment

CCAPAD would like to acknowledge inputs and efforts of various institutions, organizations, and people who have had significant contribution in successful completion of DRMP.

First of all CCAPAD would like to express its sincere gratitude to The Mennonite Central Committee, MCC for granting a project for a genuine cause in Jos North. The enthusiasm and positive feelings towards the local communities of Jos North shown explicitly by the team of MCC is commendable.

CCAPAD expresses deep appreciation to MCC for its role in promoting the issues of radicalization in Jos North and Plateau state at large.

CCAPAD would like to express its sincere gratitude to the community development associations, youth forums and the entire people in for making the project. Having played a significant role from the very onset of this enterprising initiative and have provided active support to materialize this project. The same CDAs have been very active at the  local level during DRMP implementation. Without such an active role in implementation, the envisaged objectives of this project would not have been achieved.

The project expresses its gratitude towards the project team for providing excellent technical and management expertise throughout the project duration. The CCAPAD team has given this project a shape by developing the strategies and implementing effective interventions and worked as a watch body to ensure the quality of implementation. The effects of sound technical advice provided by executive directors and board of directors will resound at the national and local levels for long time to come.

The project would like to thank all those institutions, organizations, and individuals who have contributed in one way or another towards its successful completion.

The DRMP team and staff members deserve special credit for their tireless efforts in making the project a success. All the project staff have put in their best efforts in various operational as well as policy level functions throughout the duration of the project and even beyond. Awwal Ahmad Salihu, the executive director, CCAPAD has a lead role in overall project management including financial control; and especially in designing and implementing the Community Enabling Programmes. The project thanks the Programme manager, Programme Officer, Community leaders, Administrators, and all project staff members for their professional efforts and commitment.

Finally the direct beneficiaries, people of the Jos North, have actively supported the idea, expressed their notion, and showed their commitment in working towards a better future. The communities fully supported the project staff, treated them like their family, and contributed to a large extent in creating a conducive environment only under which this initiative was meaningful. The initiative was conceptualized to cater to the needs of the community and their cooperation and great efforts have been valuable not only in realizing the project objectives, but also in giving the whole movement a right direction.

Yusuf Ayuba

Programme Manager,

CCAPAD

Acronyms

CCAPD	Centre for Community actions for Peace
DRMP	Deradicalization of the Radicalized Minds Project
MCC	Mennonite Central Committee
CDAs	Community Development Association

Progress Reports

The project has submitted regular quarterly reports to MCC. The quarterly reports included

1. Financial statement for the quarter
2. Activity plan
3. Activity Report

4. Quarterly Fund request

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

• This is a pilot peace building intervention, geared towards deconstructing religious extremism among men, women and youths in Jos North and empowering them with entrepreneurial skills.
•  The project selected 15 beneficiaries and deradicalized them by way of training and empowerment with skills and resources towards self-reliance, transformation and resilience to crime.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES:

•  To bring to the direct and indirect beneficiaries, knowledge of personal and social ills of religious Fanatism and extremism and provide them with better perspectives and alternatives of peaceful and harmonious coexistence.
•  To empower beneficiaries with requisite technical skills and materials/equipment for economic independence and multiplier effect of retraining  and empowering more people through the mentorship component of the project with the view to ensuring resilience to crime.

PROJECT PURPOSE

As designed in the original project document, the project selected 15 beneficiaries to be deradicalized by a way of training and empowered with skills and resources towards self-resilience, transformation and resilience to crime. This is because of the inseparable relationship that exists between idleness, unemployment and conflict which ultimately lead to violent, extreme and radicalized behaviors which the project has to address.

PROJECT OUTCOME

• Fifteen religious extremists and fundamentalists are constructive ( by way of persuasion and education) deradicalized and provided with peaceful alternatives to violence and extremism.
• Fifteen direct beneficiaries and one hundred and fifty indirect beneficiaries (family dependents ) are economically empowered with entrepreneurial skills and resources to independently start their own business to avoid further financial inducement to crime.

PROJECT OUTPUTS

The two outcomes were critically analyzed and it was agreed that the project would have the following three outputs:

Output 1: 15 direct beneficiaries and 150 indirect beneficiaries are transformed and made agents of peace and coexistence.

Output 2: 15 beneficiaries are trained and empowered in their chosen skills and provided with working tools and equipment as start – up capital to stand on their own.

Output 3: 150 indirect beneficiaries also benefit from the mentees, mentored by the 15 direct beneficiaries.

PARTICIPANTS SELECTION

The beneficiaries comprised of jobless youths, less privileged, school dropouts and out – casted members of the society with criminal records or fanatical tendencies. The beneficiaries were identified and recommended by the local leadership structures ( CDAs) of CCAPAD.

The 15 beneficieies  which were originally envisaged and cited in the original project document included:

10 young men    (Ages 13 – 35)

  5 Young Women   (Ages 13 – 30)

DERADICALIZATION PROJECT

This Project Completion Report is prepared taking into account references from all the previous quarterly reports. This report also describes the progress made in implementing the deradicalization project in the communities. The report provides the account of training and empowerment taken place at the community level programmes and is followed by conclusion and recommendations.

ACTIVITIES AND STRATEGIES

• Selection of 15-beneficiaries from target communities
•     Project start-up meeting
•    1-week Intensive capacity building workshop on Deradicalization
•    2-weeks mentorship Programme on mentees
•    2- Months  (Now 3-months) intensive Training on skills Acquisition
•  Weekly monitoring and supervision of beneficiaries
•  Graduation Ceremony
•   Monitoring and Evaluation

SELECTION OF 15-BENEFICIARIES FROM TARGET COMMUNITIES

Group photo of endorsed participants

                         Worried over the rising level of social decadence in and religious extremism and radicalism as aspectof terrorism, CCAPAD in collaboration with the community development associations and youth forums with support from the Mennonite Central Committee, MCC organized a deradicalization programme to reconstruct the minds of the vulnerable Muslim and Christian youths that were identified by the local communities.

CCAPADas organization operates through its community development associations that are scattered all around the local communities which comprises of all community stake holders, thereby allowing for bottom – top approach to issues.In a bit to combat this  menace, CCAPAD is working with Community Development Associations (CDAs) in a pilot project which intends to select and train 15 extremist, fundamentalist or their sympathizers comprising of men, women and especially youths in the art and process of de-radicalization and peace building with the aim of reconstructing their minds against violent extremism and fanatism.

The stakeholders in the local communities identified, selected and nominated the radicalized youths as participants/beneficiaries of the project. CCAPAD screened and endorsed the participants.

Cumulative project participant:

Participants Population	Number of Women	Number of Men
Political Thugs	–	4
Drug Addicts	–	5
Less Privileged	–	3
School Dropout	–	3
Total	–	15

PROJECT START-UP MEETING/ LUNCH

          The center for Community Action for Peace and Development, (CCAPAD) organized a one day event on the 16^th September, 2017 at the multi-purpose Centre Ministry of Women Affairs off Tafawa Balewa Street Jos, to formally lunch the pilot project in fourteen wards in Jos North local government area of Plateau state titled “De-radicalization of radical minds” with the aim of engaging radicalized young people in this respective communities on peacebuilding and skills acquisition trainings. And also nomination forms for the beneficiaries were distributed to the stakeholders representing the various wards.

Some stakeholders receiving their beneficiary nomination forms from the executive director of CCAPAD

Cross section of stakeholder at the project lunch

 1-WEEK INTENSIVE CAPACITY BUILDING WORKSHOP ON DERADICALIZATION

Group photograph of the 15 beneficiaries at the workshop

                    A one week intensive training workshop was given to the fifteen (15) beneficiaries on Islamic perspective to extremism, Fanatism, and radicalism, peaceful coexistence, human rights, drug abuse and business managements in other to build their capacities.

The training workshop on Capacity Development for the 15 radicalized youths in Jos North was a 1 week training that took place at the lifesaving skills centre in plateau specialist hospital, Jos Plateau State. The participants were encouraged to take the training seriously with the aim of changing their lives and that of others. The topics included introduction to radicalization, deradicalization, civic right, drug abuse and mentorship.

The workshop aimed at building the capacity of beneficiaries on deradicalization and how to be free from drug abuse.

A participant-centered approach was used because the target youths were in a better position to identify their existing weaknesses, strengths and need for change.

A number of group work followed by plenary sessions; individual exercises using stick notes, learning visits and practical sessions were held at the workshop.

At the end of the training each beneficiary agreed to mentor at least three other people in his community in other to implement training for change.

One of the facilitators during the capacity development training

Beneficiaries in one of the training sessions

A beneficiary granting an interview to the voice of Nigeria

Cross section of beneficiaries

2-WEEKS MENTORSHIP PROGRAMME ON MENTEES

Beneficiaries with their mentees

After the capacity development training, the beneficiaries were equipped with basic skills on the concept of radicalization, deradicalization and drug abuse and were saddled with the responsibility of going back into the community to mentor at least two people who are also having tendency of radicalism and to step down what they have learnt during the capacity development training so as to have a multiplier effect of the programme. This process was achieved as the selected mentees give mini presentations on what they have learnt from their mentors and said they will be will be grateful if CCAPAD/MCC would also absorb them in another phase of the programme.

2- MONTHS (NOW 3-MONTHS) INTENSIVE TRAINING ON SKILLS ACQUISITION

As option to religious radicalism, joblessness and social menace, CCAPAD provides alternatives in skill acquisition for the youths. The interfaith youth selected by their community development associations endorsed by all stakeholders, monitored and coordinated by CCAPAD, selected skills of their choice and were trained by seasoned trainers as service providers.

The fifteen (15) beneficiaries were trained in the following skills; tailoring, shoe and bag making and bag making for a period of two (2) to three (3) months, this was done so that they become masters of the skills.

This has empowered the beneficiaries with the requisite skills and material equipment for economic independence and multiplier effect of retraining and empowering more people with a view to ensuring and improving resilience of communities against extremism and negative influence.The 15 beneficiaries were empowered on their chosenskills and were provided with working tools and equipment as start- up capital to stand on their own.

A cross section of some the beneficiaries during their training at the various skill learning centre

   

WEEKLY MONITORING AND SUPERVISION OF BENEFICIARIES

                         The project team on weekly base went round each of the skill acquisition centre to monitor the activities and progress each of the beneficiaries beneficiary is making within the time frame. The MCC team also had their share of supervision as the also went round to ascertain the progress made by the project team, and the beneficiaries in the respective learning centres.

Most of the beneficiaries had made tremendous progress in the shortest possible time while others because of their cordial relationship with their bosses requested for elongation of time to learn more of the skills so that they can stand on their own. During the period of their learning at their respective centres, each beneficiary had a customized log book which was used to monitor the progress of their learning for the inception of the project to the completion stage.

The following weekly supervision plan was used the project team during project.

week	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
November, 2017
1				9/11/17
2		14/11/17
3			23/11/17
4				30/12/17/
December, 2018
4			6/12/17
6		12/12/17
7				21/12/17
8					29/12/17

 GRADUATION CEREMONY

At the end of the three months technical training on skills acquisition training for the fifteen beneficiaries, each of the beneficiary was given a certificates to acknowledge that he participated in the DRM project and were also given tools and equipment in their respective trades to see that they start up the business of their own.

At the graduation ceremony an MOU document was signed between the each beneficiary, the CDAs who nominated him and CCAPAD in a bid for maintaining sustainable structures in the communities.

Certificate and equipment being presented to a beneficiary in the tailoring section

Certificate and equipment being presented to a beneficiary in the shoe and bag section

Certificate and equipment being presented to a beneficiary in the barbing section

RESULTS AND OUTCOMES

• Wide consultations among local stakeholders and high level advocacies to relevant decision makers has been made and the need for collaboration has been agreed
•  Massive data bank of all the Community Development Associations has been created
• 15-direct beneficiaries have been identified and trained on the arts of deradicalization and equipped as mentors
• 30-indirect beneficiaries have been identified and trained on the arts of deradicalization as mentees by their mentors
• 15-direct beneficiaries have been trained in their various chosen skills and financially empowered to establish to start up 
• Served as a model of possibility for reformation of misguided youths and for non-violence as an option to conflict resolution
• The direct beneficiaries have so far been certified to be free of drug abuse following the rigors of the trainings and the strict monitoring of the project beneficiaries.
• As a sign of personal responsibility and commitment to succeed, all the beneficiaries eventually struggled and secured one extra month of apprenticeship with their service providers …

CHALLENGES

• The demand for the project is exceedingly higher than     what is available even as a pilot
• The selection of the beneficiaries was most competitive and almost rancorous
• The originally stipulated two months skills acquisition  programme is inadequate
• Start up capital for the beneficiaries are inadequate.

LESSONS LEARNT

• The fisrt step to trust and confidence on peacebuilding processes is effective engagement with the project beneficiaries and stakeholders. This project intervention was overwhelmingly accepted and made successful owing to its ability to engage with the critical stakeholders (Community Development Association) in the identification and selection of beneficiaries.
• In a series of surveys and research conducted, CCAPAD comprehended that radicalism, extremism and joblessness especially in young people are some of the most challenging problems facing Jos North and to a large extent Plateau State, and hence, the choice of the project theme is apt and timely.
• In order to allow for more participation of girls and young women, there will be a need to scale up on the number of the beneficiaries as against the one from each community to three, so that at least, one of them can be a woman.
• The none inclusion of the proposed five young women beneficiaries as designed in the project did not reflect the gender inclusivity in the project. This is because the Community Development Association that transparently made the nominations and recommendations of the beneficiaries, identified men as more in need than women. However, the project team had taken note and will improve the visibility of women in the next phase.
• While intensive deradicalization training is to be reviewed into peace club model to run for weeks and allow for more assimilation , deep reflection, team bonding and drug free therapy, the two months skills acquisition training is to be extended by one month to allow for more comprehensive delivery.
• In the start up package for the beneficiaries it has been discovered that the absence of funds for shop rent is a serious challenge that needs to be addressed in next programming, to disallow possibilities for abuse or misuse of training equipment given to the beneficiaries as well as well as avoid undue delays take offs in set ups.

SUCCESS STORIES

Some success stories collated from some of our beneficiaries.

Name: Agwom Yakub

Sax: Male

Age: 31

Religion: Christian

Community: Tudun Wada

“My whole life was all about drugs, alcohol, sex and living life to the fullest! I was brought up by a single parent and my predicament started when I was about thirteen years old. My friends would give me shots and smoke bowls when my mother was away for work. Unknown to my mother, I was skipping school all the time, until I dropped out at primary five standard, due to the peer group influence I had in the same community.

 Convinced that I was on top of my world, I recklessly continued to drink, smoke and followed women regularly and by the time I was nineteen years old, I had pregnant three under aged girls, two of them conceived and gave birth to three children for me out of wedlock!

Agwom was sharing this story with lots of emotions, borne out of his feelings of betrayal, rejection and ridicule by the same community, he believe had allowed him to so unjustly degenerate.  “Continuously, I become hopeless until one day I woke up from my blackout saying “ I need help” (even when obviously, he did not really know what he need help now). This was to be the beginning of my turning point in life! Then I started looking for opportunities to salvage the remaining part of my life. It was exactly at this time that my community development association (CDA) invited me for a meeting on an opportunity they said had come and that they were thinking i was the best guy to benefit.

At first, i could not believe that the same community that neglected me will eventually see any good in me to the point of considering me! And honestly, i had never felt so honored” without any hesitation, i accepted the offer and was immediately referred to CCAPAD. Immediately afterwards, CCAPAD took charge of my journey to transformation and self discovery. By the 16^th September, 2017 be precisely. I commenced the deradicalization programme.

“Agwom attended the training with lots of reservations and not even sure if it was total waste of time. The training facilitators noticed his timidity and were almost withdrawing and absconding until he was specifically engaged and persuaded to talk.

Amazingly, my self-change began the very first day I attended the training on deradicalization. I felt like the presentations were all centered on my life and I realize how foolish stupid I was! But I later felt very confident when I realized that I was not alone on that journey. Infect, by the end of the first week. I was convinced that it was a golden opportunity that might never come again and that if you believe in the programmed, it will work out for you!

One month down into the programme, I felt very empty and incomplete because I was missing my life in the jungle (an obscene location where drug addicts gather in a circle to abuse drugs, have sex with their fellow female addicts, usually in the open!) as the programme was so engaging that I simply had no time to visit my guys let alone be in the jungle. It was really very difficult for me, and that was when I realized that one does not just talk about changing, but working it and living it, which is a lot easier said than done! But, for my conviction, I moved on until my graduation, 3 months later!’’

‘’Now as a CCAPAD/MCC Deradicalization project benefiary that is equipped with economic self-reliant skills in shoe and Bag Making, empowered with a start-up capital, I had never felt fulfill led and responsible enough to pursue my dream, work hard like any responsible person and achieve my goals in life like I do now. Without doubts, I am a shining example of responsibility to many delinquent youths who feel there is no way out!

Name: ANAS Musa Usman

 Sex:  Male

Age: 26 years

Religion: Islam

Community: Abba Na Shehu

Anas Story

Anas, aka Crazy is from an extended family infamous for their notoriety and recklessness. Located in central flash point area of Jos North. The Anas family compound is always a theatre for serious fights amongst family members, unwanted pregnancies, and all kinds of social misconducts. Though naturally intelligent, he got expelled out of school just when he was in junior Secondary School class 2. He is an active member of a ferocious thug gang locally known as sara-suka boys that are always ready available for political thuggery and Religious Conflicts.

“We cause public nuisance, sometimes we make unbearable for young boys and girls and even the old in our community for no just reason. We carry sticks, machetes and jack knives and other local weapons to attack other rival communities we perceive we have gangs’ enmity with. Once we are out on a mission, nothing is spared. We simply anything that comes our way.

And so, life continued until when I got the invitation from CDA to come for a meeting. Of course, I confidently went thinking that it was one of the summos I attend whenever I got into trouble. But to my surprise, I was offered the opportunity to partake in the Deracalizationa programme.

At first I thought it was a set up by mu community to get rid of me, hence I showed up at the training venue, prepared for any eventuality. However, the caliber of my likeminded friends I saw there, comforted me and I stayed.

In just days in the programmed, I felt something happening to me, and drawing me closer to God. God the first time in a long time, I had some quite time to teflect on my life. And God, it was awfully divine to realize how destructive I had been and how constructive I can be if I decided!

Like the others, during the 3 months intensive training he got off drugs and learnt barbing saloon at a Skill Acquisition Center in Jos Plateau State. As part of the communities appreciation that Anas is no longer a threat. The Community Development Association (CDA) also Abba Na Shehu, contributed half of the money required for rent of shop for him to start his journey to self-reliance. The CDA also made it mandatory that as a means of sustainability and a way of demonstrating possibility for positive transformation, to his oil friends that are skeptical about the project, two other jobless youths should be working in the shop as apprentices to Anas as the business grows.

The task ahead of me I know, is very difficult because even my oil friends feel that I betray them and might want to get at me in anyway. But I am dauntless. Because of this intervention on me. Now I am beginning to have big dream and I hope to be that shining star of possibility for youths in my area!’’

Name: Ezekiel John Atsen

Sex: Male

Age: 39 years

Religion: Christian

Community: Angwan Rukuba

Ezekiel’s story, 2017

Ezekiel is a beficiary of the deracalization project of MCCAPAD, and he shared amazing story with the MCC and the Meeting House Media Team from Canada, in his shop, at Anguwan Rukuba.

‘’I was opportune to be nominated by my community and eventually selected in this deracalization project by the Centre for Community Actions for Peace and Development CCAPAD titled the project ‘’deracalization of the radicalized minds’’ meaning, to deradicalize our minds from the people we were before for the better. All my life I had lived in Angwan Rukuba, one of the most dangerous communities In Jos North where lots of hoodlums and radicals like me take over the possession and ruler ship of the community. I was the father of the area because they call me father! (Area Father is a special title usually given to gang leaders in the slums). I have the power to do and undo, not even the security personnel can talk to me except if I wanted, nobody comes to father’s territory except he permits you’’.

Ezekiel does not move around alone. He is always seen in company of retinue of goons that serve as his security guards. A symbols of his illegal authority he uses to intimidate and subject his opponents including forceful summon.

‘’Educationally, I am okay because I self-sponsored myself to school and obtained a National Diploma. But I disrespected my father, I showered him I had my ways and can survive on my own, afterall, I was responsible for my upkeep as far back as I can remember, and this was the greatest mistake I made. Gangsterism simply became my life style.

Some5 months ago, me and my boys were responsible for completely demolishing the Police Station in Angwan Rukuba over a minor disagreement with the security. In fact, my commencement and engagement into CCAPAD/MCC deradilization programme was one of the things that paved way for the security personnel to come into the community to address the issue successfully.

The moment I joined the deradicalization programme, things began to positive change for me. After the participatory theoretical trainings, I was asked to choose a skill that I will like to be compressively trained on. I did, and I choose Barbing Saloon.

Unbelievably, this project took me, a Christian, into the Muslim dominated areas to learn my chosen skills. Though very uncomfortable, I accepted and gave it a benefit of the doubts. And today, it is all history, because I share this anywhere I am, that I was impressed with the way I was accommodated and allowed to under study the Muslims. Truly have better perceptions of things and how see that we are human beings first and we can live with dignity and can join forces to make Jos, Plateau State and Nigeria better for all of us.

There is nothing better that leaving with dignity and self-reliance! Thanks to MCC and CCAPAD, this shop is something I can legitimately call my own’’.

                    Presently some of the project beneficiaries in collaboration with stakeholders in their respective communities have functional shops where they have kick started the trade earning some little money and also training one or two persons in their trade with the community stakeholders serving as watch dogs to make sure that the business is sustained and to ensure that none of the beneficiaries goes back to his old ways.

RECOMMENDATIONS

• In view of the growing demand of the project by the beneficiaries, the intervention should be scaled up to allow for 2- graduations in 1-year
• In other to allow for thorough study and deeper personal trainings by the trainees, the skills acquisition training duration should be extended to 4-months
• In other to allow for more holistic support to the beneficiaries, the MCC should review the project proposal to accommodate other compelling demands…