A research organisation, Conflict Research Network West Africa (CORN), has advocated national peace policy in Nigeria in order to find a lasting solution to the myriad security challenges and festering conflict ravaging the country.
The peace advocacy body in the 89-page report titled of its studies across the country titled “Policy Levers for Peace, Subnational and Local Peacebuilding Mechanism in Nigeria” edited by Tarila Marclint Ebiede and Chris Kwaja, and presented to the public by Tubodenyefa Zibima, at the Niger Delta University, Amassoma, Bayelsa State, on Tuesday, identified resource constraints, political interference, poor coordination, weak state support, security threats, limited participation of women and youth, and lack of social cohesion in communities as factors militating against effective peacebuilding in Nigeria.
The CORN which commissioned studies across the six geo-political zones in the country, including; Bayelsa for South-South, Anambra (South-East), Osun (South-West), Plateau (North-Central), Katsina (North- West), and Adamawa (North-East), with support from the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), noted that sub-national and local peacebuilding institutions face significant challenges that hinder its efforts at peacebuilding.
According to the report, the peace policy would help to stem the tide of insecurity, contain violent extremism, and manage conflicts in Nigeria.
It stated that for peace institutions to succeed in enhancing peace in the country, they must operate with legitimacy, have the needed resources, and observe neutrality and fairness in their operations.
CORN while pointing out that the federal and state governments are macro actors recommended that the Federal Government adopt a synergy in the peace efforts to project a holistic approach.
The report reads in part; “The Federal Government should design and implement national peace policy that integrates both federal, state, and local institutions. The peace policy should adopt a whole of government approach that ensures that all government policies are conflict sensitive, does not contribute to the conflict, and contributes to peace.
“It should support state and local governments with the infrastructure for the development of effective strategic communications systems that promote peaceful coexistence between and among different communities. This will help counter disinformation and amplify moderate voices of peace and tolerance at the local level, targeting communities that are at -risk.
“Intensify efforts in supporting the state and local governments in curtailing the spread, access, and use of small arms and light weapons by unauthorized persons, which undermines the operations of the levers of peace. By so doing, the structures of peacebuilding will be preserved and protected,” it stated.
As part of its recommendations for the state and local governments, it stated that states that do not have a formal peacebuilding agency should establish and put in place the necessary structures and mechanisms for peace institutions to ensure conflict drivers are detected, prevented, and resolved in a proactive manner.
It also called for the activation and strengthening of warning and early responsive capabilities of states and communities as well as building stronger inter-state relations in conflict management and prevention.
CORN further stated that there should be a plan to design and implement an integrated structure for peacebuilding at the local level.
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