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 The Foundation for Partner­ship Initiatives in the Ni­ger Delta (PIND), in part­nership with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, the Office for Strategic Preparedness and Resilience (OSPRE), and The Fund for Peace (FFP), has conclud­ed a groundbreaking three-day workshop on data-driven resilience planning in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The workshop supported by the ECOWAS Peace, Security and Governance (EPSG) Project, co-fi­nanced by the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Min­istry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), focused on strengthening crisis prepared­ness and resilience across the Niger Delta.

Held under the theme “From Risk to Resilience: Building a Fu­ture-Ready Niger Delta,” the event brought together more than 100 participants drawn from govern­ment institutions, civil society, aca­demia, the private sector, tradition­al authorities, and the media. The aim was to co-create strategies that would help the region anticipate, adapt to, and recover from shocks related to climate change, insecuri­ty, and governance challenges.

Using advanced analytical and forecasting tools, including the Fragile States Index (FSI), the State Resilience Index (SRI), and the Cri­sis Sensitivity Simulator (CSS), par­ticipants leveraged AI-powered risk modeling developed by the Fund for Peace and SAS to identify systemic vulnerabilities and design practical, data-driven response strategies tai­lored to the Niger Delta’s realities.

Speaking at the event, the Exec­utive Director of PIND Foundation, Mr. Sam Ogbemi Daibo, represent­ed by Mr. David Udofia, emphasised the importance of data, foresight, and collaboration in transforming uncertainty into opportunity.

“This workshop demonstrates how data and partnerships can redefine how we respond to crises. Resilience must become a shared responsibility among communities, institutions, and sectors,” he said. “The Niger Delta’s future depends on our collective ability to antici­pate challenges rather than react to them.”

The initiative drew representa­tives from the National Emergen­cy Management Agency (NEMA), State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMA), the Nigerian Me­teorological Agency (NiMet), Hy­drocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), the Nigeria Po­lice Force, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). Ministries of Environment and Agriculture were also represented, alongside civil society groups such as the “Partners for Peace (P4P)” network.

Delegates from Ghana’s “Region­al Peace Council for the Northern and Oti regions” joined the work­shop, providing a valuable platform for cross-border collaboration and knowledge exchange on crisis pre­paredness within West Africa.

Mr. Nate Haken, Senior Advisor for Research and Innovation at The Fund for Peace described the initiative as a powerful example of collaborative problem solving.

“This project shows how part­nerships between government, civil society, and academia can strength­en peace and security,” he said. “By linking data to decision-making, we are laying the groundwork for a re­silient Niger Delta and a safer West Africa.”

Over the three-day session, par­ticipants engaged in contextual analysis, scenario development, and AI-assisted “red teaming” exercises to test assumptions and design integrated resilience plans. The workshop produced key deliv­erables including a Niger Delta Re­silience Strategy, a detailed cenario planning report and a replicable resilience framework adaptable to other regions in Nigeria and across the subregion.

According to Mr. Edkobi An­thony Chukwuemeka of OSPRE, the process strengthened the abil­ity of institutions to connect early warning systems with early action mechanisms.

“This process reinforces our capacity to ensure that prepared­ness becomes an integral part of governance and sustainable devel­opment,” he said.

The workshop’s outcomes will be embedded within existing coor­dination platforms such as the P4P network and state-level emergen­cy management systems, ensur­ing that insights from the sessions translate into concrete, on-the-ground actions.

As Nigeria and the wider West African region continue to grapple with the twin threats of climate change and insecurity, the Niger Delta Scenario Planning Workshop has set a new benchmark for antic­ipatory governance, where fore­sight, innovation, and collaboration are the cornerstones of building a resilient future.