Violent Plateau

About 23 people were killed in an attack on suspected Muslim commuters in Nigeria\’s hilly Jos, Plateau state, on Saturday 14th August 2021. The attack set the tempo for identity-related unrests in the state. Reports say rioters reacting to the weekend mayhem had attacked some worshippers in churches at Faringada and Terminus areas. Although the state government has imposed a 24-hour curfew to restore normalcy, the latest Jos crisis is a clear testament to severe identity-related conflicts within the state. From farmer-herder crisis to ethnoreligious wars and indigene-settler dichotomy, the state is a hill of identity-based violence. Collated data from the Nextier SPD Violent Conflict Database shows that about 68 people have been killed in 17 incidents in the first half of 2021. The state periodically suffers from deep-seated violent identity and communal clashes.

Every Jos crisis is a reminder of unresolved violent identity-based conflicts that exist in the state. It is also a call to action, dialogue, and proactive peacebuilding measures that will blur ethnic sentiments, end group suspicion and set the tempo of durable peace. On the government side, it indicates reactive security efforts that have come short of preventing attacks and reprisals. Therefore, increased intervention efforts must be centred on community-led approach to building peace and efficient securitisation of crisis-prone locations.

Government must cultivate the will to disincentivise identity crisis in the state. Highly regarded as a miniature Nigeria with about 50 ethnic groups, group-based feuds are likely. An article, Plateau: Where Peace is Murdered, argues that the politicisation of identity markers such as ethnicity and religion adds to the state\’s deep-rooted violence. The publication further posits that identity has been used to launch political ambitions, which sow seeds of division and fierce group competition and discord. Such aggression has moved beyond the political space to virtually all aspects of civilian life; inter-group squabbles have turned violent, and reprisal attacks are always almost inevitable. The weekend mayhem and revenge attacks that followed suit is a clear case in point.

Increased efforts towards promoting justice and peacebuilding in communities will curtail the growing proclivity towards violence. Intervention focus in deeply divided societies such as Plateau state should increase peace education at the grassroots level. To ensure sustainability and local ownership, there is a need to create change champions in communities where peace education is implemented. The imperative of peace education and peace ambassadors is to promote dialogues at the community level and engender durable peace.

Government\’s approach to peace is also key in deeply divided societies. Governance measures must be seen as unbiased and not aligned to any group. This will promote public trust and come in handy in implementing conflict resolution strategies to forestall peace among groups. Additionally, community-based dialogue platforms are essential in triggering locally-led peaceful approaches to conflict and contextualising inherent conflict types and people-led solutions. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), employing dialogue is essential for achieving peace, fostering mutual understanding, self-expression, and reconciliation. The central idea for community dialogues is to counteract the factors that promote rural violence and resort to vengeance.

Lastly, security measures in Nigeria, especially in deeply divided states and violent-prone locations, must be proactive. Security measures must be adequately efficient to protect lives and livelihoods. Also, avoidable violence must be managed to avoid reprisals based on negative group perceptions. Essentially, security agencies must implement early warning measures to prevent attacks and reprisals. The implementation of peace ambassadors will be beneficial to notify security agencies of growing schisms that may degenerate to avoidable deaths and losses. Continuous violence in Plateau state is a clarion call to cultivate good governance, social justice, proactive peacebuilding, and proper securitising of violent vistas.