The United States Institute for Peace on Wednesday unveiled research on peace-building, `Policy Levers for Peace: Sub-National and Local Peace building Mechanisms in Nigeria’ to stem conflicts in Nigeria.

Country Director of USIP in Nigeria, Dr Chris Kwaja, at the unveiling and dissemination of the research publication in Abuja, said the project was in collaboration with the Conflict Research Network West Africa (CORN-WA).

Mr Kwaja said the research examined the prevalence of violent conflicts and the emergence of peace-building actors and institutions.

This involved peace-builders at the state and local government levels, as well as in Adamawa, Anambra, Bayelsa, Katsina ,Osun and Plateau states.

He said, “USIP, partnered with CORN-WA to undertake a research focused on understanding the policies and the mechanisms of how state and non-state actors have responded to peace issues or conflict. This is by inquiring about the kinds of policies in place and how they resonate with the people. The report showed that at the national level, for instance, we have the Institute of Peace and Conflict Resolution but at the state level, only Kaduna and Plateau have peace institutions out of the 36 states. Inspite of that, the Kaduna and Plateau state institutions function in a way that is appreciable working to connect with communities in advancing peace and building trust.’’

According to Mr Kwaja, peace-building in Nigeria faces numerous challenges, including lack of resources, political interference, poor coordination, weak state support and limited participation of women and youths.

He said the research therefore recommended the activation and strengthening of early warning and response capabilities of states and communities to respond proactively to caution signs of conflicts.

Others include calls for domestication of the Youth Peace and Security and Women, Peace and Security agenda into state policies, to ensure inclusivity in peace and security decision-making.

Mr Kwaja said the research recommended reform of security institutions to include and reflect the roles of women, creating a more inclusive security framework.

“Local actors are very critical to the design of peace building, programming, however, funding for this community level peace actors is the key oxygen for driving the kind of change required.

“The absence of all these creates conditions where communities have to resort to self-help by deploying weapons under the guise of protecting themselves from insecurity,’’ he said

Mr Kwaja said the study urged donors and development partners to provide technical and financial support for developing inclusive peace-building action plans and foster coordination between government and the civil society.

He said the research tasked the Federal Government on developing a national peace policy that integrates efforts at the federal, state and local levels, ensuring all polices are conflict-sensitive.

He said that state and local governments were encouraged to establish or strengthen peace-building agencies and adopt localised peace-building models to improve grassroots operations.

The Operations Officer Nigeria, USIP, Thomas Adamu-Edor, said the research examined the gaps and roles of non-state actors in formal and informal peace processes in Nigeria.

This, according to Adamu-Edor, includes the work and impact of state and or community peace-building institutions in conflict transformation.

He said by strengthening the pillars of peace institutions and implementing the targeted recommendations, Nigeria would enhance her peace-building mechanisms and achieve more sustainable and lasting peace.

(NAN)