As part of J4A’s goal to ensure access to justice for all espe-cially poor and vulnerable members of the society, the pro-gramme established an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) facility for members of various artisan groups. Beneficiaries included hairdressers/cosmetologists, motor spare parts deal-ers, building materials dealers, automobile technicians, cham-bers of commerce, drivers, welders and fabricators, etc.
In order to achieve this the J4A programme organized media-tion skills courses for artisans in Anambra, Enugu, FCT, Kano and Lagos States in April and May 2014 respectively. Five dif-ferent artisan groups from each of the states were trained. Mentoring visits were also provided through ADR experts over a one year period.
The leader of the Enugu State Branch of the Nigerian Automobile Technicians and Allied Workers Association, Comrade Sunday Nnaji, praised the initiative for equipping his members with mediation skills. He said, “It has created a peaceful en-vironment within our association. Before now, our association believed that taxing or placing fines on offenders and leaving the other party or person was the best option but they have now discovered that mediation is the best be-cause it results in a win win for all and not the former all give and all take where the winner takes all”. He stated that the mediation skills acquired from the J4A training have been used in settling disputes in Taraba and Ebonyi States and between members of the association. The association has also made a conscious effort to mentor other members who did not participate in the training.
Due to its success in Enugu State members of the association in other states have visited the team in order to understudy and replicate its ADR system. Plans are also underway at the national level to establish a Department of Mediation using the Enugu Team as the pioneer.
Artisan Groups Lauds the Establishment of Alternative Dispute Resolution
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