PIND Celebrates 10 Years Of Peace-Building, Capacity Development In Niger Delta

The Partnership for Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND), a Non-governmental Organisation (NGO) committed to peace-building and capacity development in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region is set to mark its 10 years of operation in the region.

Since its establishment in 2010 with initial funding from Chevron Corporation, PIND has been promoting peace and equitable economic growth in the Niger Delta region by forging multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder partnerships at the regional, national, and international levels.

“The themes of our anniversary celebration align with our programmatic goals and successes since 2010,” said PIND’s Executive Director, Tunji Idowu. 

“They are reducing poverty, powering coastal communities, nurturing employment and exclusivity—especially women and youths, fostering stability and conflict resolution, and enabling market development for local organisations.”

PIND and its operating partner, U.S. based NDPI, have had a major impact on Nigeria’s Niger Delta over the last decade, including over $100 million in additional investments from government entities, the private sector, and donor agencies into the region.

“Our major program areas are the sustainable reduction of poverty and conflict,” said PIND’s immediate past Executive Director, Dr Dara Akala.

“Economic growth, peacebuilding, and stability work together in a clear hierarchy of cause and effect that include enablers, outputs, systemic outcomes, improved institutional performance, and impact.” 

PIND has trained and built the capacity of more than 10,000 peace actors and mitigated nearly 900 emerging conflicts through the Partners for Peace (P4P) program.

In 2019, the Foundation revealed in its Niger Delta Annual Conflict Report, how conflict risk and lethal violence in the region increased compared to the trend in 2018.

The report revealed that violent incidents (including election-related violence) and fatalities increased in 2019 to 416 and 1013 respectively. Whereas, conflict incidents in the Niger Delta increased from 134 in 2017 to 351 in 2018 while fatalities reduced from 636 in 2017 to 546 in 2018. There have been a variety of interrelated and often overlapping conflict risk factors that contributed to the changing conflict and security dynamics in the region. 

PIND Board of Trustees Chairperson, Rick Kennedy, said, “In 2010, PIND was simply an ambitious vision designed to foster peace, create jobs, and raise incomes—with no clarity on how we could actualise it.”

“So, together with partners and collaborators, we co-created, co-designed, co-implemented, and co-owned pioneering programs that tackled multiple problems on multiple fronts.” 

PIND and NDPI will complete their third phase of development in 2024 and are looking ahead into the fourth phase (2025-2029) to surpass programming goals for the residents and communities of the Niger Delta.

The 10th year anniversary is a virtual event and would feature a lot of packages such as #MyNigerDelta Social Media Challenge, asking residents to create a one-minute social media video that highlights progress in their Niger Delta community. The challenge deadline is November 5, 2021, with three prize packages to be awarded to eligible winners. Other events include: A virtual art exhibition featuring stunning photos from the Niger Delta that launches on October 14, 2021.