In search of peace in Kaduna accord
The mission of this team of initiators, sponsors and facilitators was to try out a novel approach to conflict resolution, peace-building and consolidation and the immediate trigger for this idea that can be described as ‘an experiment in the seeking of peace and the provision of succour for a people traumatised by violent conflicts; was […]
The mission of this team of initiators, sponsors and facilitators was to try out a novel approach to conflict resolution, peace-building and consolidation and the immediate trigger for this idea that can be described as ‘an experiment in the seeking of peace and the provision of succour for a people traumatised by violent conflicts; was the post-election violence that engulfed several parts of the northern states of the federation in April.
Explaining the philosophy of the peace adventure in Kaduna to this reporter, the consultant, Dr. Adebayo, said that basically, the programme is meant to establish an enduring structure to enable identified communities address their challenges of poverty and under development which are usually the root causes of most of our conflicts. The aim of the structures or platforms which the programme helps the communities to form as its main executing instrument, he said further, are also to help promote partnership, foster the spirit of collaboration and friendship among specifically identified groups from diverse backgrounds.
Explaining further the new approach to community participation in peace restoration, promotion and sustenance, Dr Adebayo said that the approach consists of first identifying groups that have a long history of communal antagonism. Once such groups are identified, the next approach is advocacy, making the various groups realise the importance of peace for, “without peace, no community can actually witness any progress’’. He said in Kaduna State, the following groups were so identified: in the state capital, Kaduna, the peoples of Kaduna North and Kaduna South torn by ethnic and religious differences were identified; in Jema’a LGC, it was the Kataf and the Hausa communities; in Zaria, peoples with ruptured relationships based on differences in ethnic origins and religious beliefs were also identified.
The thinking behind this new initiative is that our usual approach to peace-building has mainly been too academic and too indifferent, which explains why the nation has not been achieving any enduring peace among communities that have either been harbouring mutual suspicions against each other or have actually engaged in some conflicts or war against each other at one time or another. The brains behind Community Dialogue and Peace Building Programme therefore decided that what can do the trick is to take conflict resolution and peace building to the people, as it were. As the name of the programme implies, the initiative is based on the belief that it is when the people are made to have a platform for sustained dialogue among them and at their own level, that peace can be built to last and to become a veritable tool for community progress and development. This thinking believes that the community is the foundation for addressing not only the very critical issue, for us, of violent conflicts, but also the issues of poverty and under-development in our country.
In line with that new paradigm shift, the organisers of this new approach to peace drew up a set of objectives that are aimed at not only looking for peace but more importantly seeking to bring about development which is a major enhancer or sustainer of peace. The following objectives encapsulate the vision behind the programme:
1 Create an opportunity to address ruptured relationships and deal with the immediate post-election violence and the trauma it caused those communities
2. Establish a self-sustaining mechanism for participatory community governance and development
3. Establish a sustainable peace-building framework in the communities for mutual support, early warning and early response
4 Provide a forum for State institutions to collaborate and interact with communities on issues of peace and community governance
5. Identify remote and immediate causes of the post election violence and previous conflict incidents in the communities and proffer remedial measures
6. Reduce the likelihood of further conflicts
What was actually new or experimental in the approach adopted by this team of peace seekers and builders of which we are talking about here? Well, before the programme took off effectively on September 1, a team had, in August, been sent to the field to engage in what was designated as the advocacy phase of the programme. Under this phase, the goals were to work with and work on already identified community groups that have a well-known history of mutual antagonism to ensure their buy-in to the efforts of reconciliation in the aftermath of the post-election violence and to chart a new way forward for mutual co-existence. It is after the people were made to appreciate the importance of peace that the next stage was set for them to form and own a structure that would endure to pursue peace.
The advocacy team was also to assist the target communities to establish community based organisations (CBOs) that will be inclusive of communities with whom they have conflicts or disagreements; help them to develop and approve a constitution to guide their inclusive CBO structure; assist the CBOs formed to develop a social charter for participatory community development and peace building. Their remit was to also help develop the confidence and participation of the suspicious communities in the programme and also help to identify the causes and consequences of conflicts.
In a sense, the new approach is scientific. It does not treat the issue of conflict resolution and peace restoration with levity. It regards it as a serious matter that requires painstaking measures to identify communities with issues of conflict, the nature of the conflict, how the conflict can be resolved and sustained, key actors who can bring that about, structures that can be in place to build new confidence and consolidate on it and many more things related to conflict management.
What this reporter finds particularly innovative and worth copying from this new thinking by others desirous to bring peace to other war or conflict torn communities in Nigeria, is the idea of first trying to break the walls of mutual suspicion or antagonism that prevents people of different ethnic groups and beliefs from realising that they have a common humanity and therefore, need to work together to achieve development. Previous approaches to peace often ignored this vital element.
The walls separating people over the years should not be left intact. Any so-called peace achieved when those walls are not broken would be nothing but artificial. For any peace to really work, a people must be coaxed and taught to internalise the imperatives of working together to bring it about for their own feeling of safety and security which would lead to their individual and collective progress of their communities.
From what I saw in Kaduna and its potentials to become a model for achieving lasting peace in a country ravaged by communal eruptions, I wish to recommend that the federal government should encourage programme executors to explore more into how this model can be mainstreamed as a policy approach to conflict management.
Seeing much promise in this new approach, on October 6, when the Kaduna State governor, Sir Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa, formally declared open the orientation conference for the selected community groups, he was full of praises for the idea and gave his commitment to support such worthy efforts to restore peace and ensure harmonious existence among the peoples of the state. He thanked everyone involved and pledged to work with just about anyone who is interested in partnering with the state government in the pursuit of peace and progress.