WHY HAS PEACEBUILDING CONTINUED TO FAIL IN PLATEAU STATE, NIGERIA?

Abstract

Persistent violence that tends to erupt periodically in Plateau State, Nigeria, has been a subject of great concern and has attracted the efforts of government agencies, traditional institutions, civil society actors, and international organisations. However, despite the enormous efforts devoted to addressing the violence, peace remains elusive in the state. This begs the question as to why peacebuilding efforts have not borne fruits. This paper seeks to examine the underlying causes of persistent violence in Plateau State that undermine peacebuilding efforts and explores possible strategies for promoting sustainable peace. The study looks at issues affecting peacebuilding in the state, such as institutional inadequacy, identity politics, indigene-settler tensions, land, and resource conflicts, poor inter-organisational collaboration, lack of community ownership, inadequacy in the security sector, and failure to address governance issues. The paper also highlights the inadequacy of some of the interventions used in responding to violence and attempts to derive lessons from other conflict-affected regions outside Nigeria. The study uses qualitative case study methodology while document analysis was the main data gathering technique. The paper reveals that peacebuilding failure is attributable to structural inadequacy, institutional and governance challenges, and lack of appropriate responses to community grievances. The paper argues that sustainable peace can be achieved through institutional reforms, inclusive governance, security sector reforms, community reconciliation, developmental intervention, and improved early warning systems.