The persistent recurrence of conflicts in Plateau State over the last decades has left both human and material losses of an unfathomable scale. On 7th September 2001, the old and beautiful city of Jos, which was hitherto loved for its resplendent weather and beautiful scenery dotted with undulating hills, majestic rock formations and breathtaking cultural heritage, became a theater of the absurd. Lives and livelihoods were destroyed and entire communities uprooted in brutal circumstances as a result of the conflict which quickly spread across other parts of the state like wildfire.
What started as a ‘sectarian crisis would snowball into full blown conflict that assumed ethno-religious dimensions and characterized by nightly offensive and retaliatory raids on sleepy communities. The ensuing carnage would go on to such limits that defy human logic. the situation was so dire that even the federal government in 2004 declared a state of emergency in the state for six months and deployed the Nigerian military, all to no avail.
The new trend of farmer/herder conflicts in the middle belt of the country also served in many ways to escalate tension between predominantly christian farming and predominantly Muslim pastoralist communities in the state. These tensions have also often escalated to violent conflicts leaving in its wake countless loss of lives of mostly women and children.
The economic, social and political consequences of this conflict has been very profound and has affected negatively every facet of the lives of plateau people. The twin evils of mutual etho-religious hate and suspicion, segregated communities and markets, and our broken social fabric is instructive in this regard.
while we appreciate and often commend some of the Peace building policies of past administrations and the intervention activities of NGOs, INGOs , foreign donor agencies, CSOs and other non-state actors in the plateau peace building process, we must point out that these interventions often did little or nothing to address the root and underlying causes of the conflict in plateau state. This is because there was no governmental institution with the expertise and gravitas to address, albeit in a strategic manner or facilitate the process of addressing the issues that were, and still are at the heart of the conflicts in a manner that will be acceptable to all the parties involved.
The present administration of RT. Hon Simon Bako Lalong upon assumption of office, thus decided to make a departure from the reactionary methods of addressing issues of conflict in the past, to a more proactive approach that will ensure that conflicts are resolved through alternative means other than violence.
To this end, the government of plateau state in 2016, created through legislation, the Plateau Peace Building Agency (PPBA) to fill the institutional gap and serve as a frame work for conflict resolution, conflict prevention and Peace building. The Agency which is the first of its kind in Nigeria, has in the last two years, worked tirelessly with communities, groups, NGOs and even foreign missions through multi-level and multi-stakeholder partnerships to resolve subsisting conflicts and to prevent new ones from happening in the State.
The PPBA has been quite successful in that endeavor, so much that the PPBA’s approach to issues of conflict, especially the farmer/herder conflict has gained them the endorsement of the Presidency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and other states like Kaduna has already replicated the same kind of agency to address the increasingly ravaging Farmer /Herder conflicts.
There is no surprise therefore, that the President of the federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, will personally launch the ‘Plateau Road map to Peace: A conflict transformation framework 2018-2022’, a five year Peace building and conflict resolution strategic plan of the Plateau Peace Building Agency, during his visit to Plateau State on Thursday, 8th March 2018.
The five year strategic plan which was developed with the partnership and support of Tearfund, UNWOMEN, The German Agency For international cooperation (GIZ)and the US Institute of Peace (USIP), is a product of rigorous research and consultations, with input from peace building experts from across the world. It covers five thematic areas which include: Research, coordination and partnership; Natural resource management; peace education; gender and youth; and Post conflict Rehabilitation respectively.
When launched, the ‘Plateau road map to peace’ will be another first. However, beyond being the first conflict transformation and peace building strategy by any government in the country, it will serve as a guiding document for peace building and conflict prevention activities of not only the Plateau peace Building Agency, but for all organizations (both state and non-state) who work in and around the issues of peace building and conflict prevention.
We thank His Excellency Rt. HON. Simon Bako Lalong, the people’s Governor for his unwavering support.
#PLSRoadmaptopeace !!!