Project Description
CCAPAD implemented an 18-month pilot project entitled "Countering violent radicalization in youths and the Farmers/Herders conflicts through the concept of Peace Club for violent Muslim and Christian communities in Plateau State, Nigeria" with support from Bread for the World Germany.
The project was designed to address the rate of violent radicalization of youths and the degeneration of trust and peaceful coexistence between the various tribes as occasioned by Hate Speech and the Farmers/Herders Conflicts that are fast swaying the Northern States of Nigeria.
CCAPAD believes that if the leadership of the farmers/herders and other key critical community actors come together as partners with shared skills and knowledge regarding the implications of current responses to farmer-herder conflicts, then they will learn about each other's culture, issues and interests, engage in a dialogue and participate in joint activities, then negative stereotypes and hate speech will be challenged, leading to a better understanding between the groups at the grassroots level.
Project Objectives
Overall Objective: The local collaboration between community stakeholders in conflict response and security management is strengthened.
Expected Results
- Result 1.1: Improved conflict and security management by the stakeholders in the project locations.
- Result 1.2: Farmer and herder communities improved engagement and collaboration through the implementation of joint projects to prevent and address the causes, drivers, and consequences of violent farmer-herder conflicts.
Key Activities Implemented
1. Project Design and Start-up
CCAPAD held series of strategic meetings within the 1 month start-up period with key project staff to clearly define roles and responsibilities, planning with selected partners and locals to ensure local inputs in planning and long-term ownership of the project by the benefitting communities.
2. Baseline Study Review and Validation
A participatory baseline study was conducted in the 2 target LGAs involving 100 participants (68 males and 32 females) from each LGA. The study provided insights to define the G4A project's priority areas and understand the project's potential impact.
3. Peace Club Establishment
20 project participants were selected from the 2 target LGAs of Bassa and Jos East. Each implementing community has 10 active participants, selected by community-based committees working in collaboration with CCAPAD staff.
4. Advocacy Visits
46 actors (34 males, 12 females) from various government, security, civil society, leadership of farmers/herders groups, religious groups and traditional institutions were visited to secure their support and buy-in for project activities.
5. Capacity Building Workshops
Three 3-day Trust and Capacity building trainings were conducted from December 2020 to August 2021, bringing together all 20 selected participants (11 males, 9 females). The training covered topics including:
- Understanding conflict, peace, and stereotypes
- Perspective and intergroup communication
- Communication in conflict
- Tolerance and collaborative problem-solving
- Early warning signs identification
6. Monthly Consultative Forums
The peace club consultative forums brought together community stakeholders, the leadership of farmers and herders for monthly meetings in each target LGA. Eight monthly meetings were held in each LGA from inception to date, engaging all project beneficiaries.
7. Exchange Visits
A 2-day exchange visit between the peace clubs from Jos East and Bassa LGAs allowed participants to share ideas, experiences, lessons learnt and plans for future activities.
Joint Initiatives by Peace Clubs
Joint Christmas Feast with Security Agencies
The activity was conducted on December 26th, 2020, bringing together state and non-state security operatives including the Divisional Police Officers, Department of State Security, Nigerian Immigration Service, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Boys Brigade, Local Hunters Corps, Vigilante Group of Nigeria, and National Orientation Agency.
Peace Awareness Campaign
Campaigns were conducted to propagate peace and peaceful coexistence between farmers and herders, and create awareness on early warning signs and early response among community members.
Joint Community Work (Bush Clearing)
On May 8th, 2021, the peace club mobilized youths, women, men, and ward heads to clear bushes and small trees along a route in Dogon Daji, Bassa LGA, which was perceived as a hideout for criminals. A sign post was mounted to signify the route's safety.
Advocacy Visits to Communities
The peace club conducted advocacy visits from April 4th to 7th, 2021, to key stakeholders in farmers-dominant and herders-dominant communities, including:
- Condolence visit to a herder family in Bassa LGA
- Advocacy visit to Raffiki, a herder community (Rugga) in Bassa LGA
- Advocacy visit to Dutsen Kura community
- Advocacy visit to Agingi community (predominantly farmers)
- Advocacy visit to Marraban Dare community
Lessons Learnt
- Involving stakeholders and project beneficiaries in project design and implementation brings about more trust, confidence and guarantees sustainability of the project in the communities beyond the project's life cycle.
- Continuous advocacy to all authorities and local decision makers helps in winning more goodwill and support for the project.
- The consultative process in planning and implementation can generate local ownership and ensure activities take into consideration the local context.
- Comprehensive Peacebuilding training with emphasis on conflict handling skills is needed for traditional rulers to modify their approaches for proper local conflict interventions.
- Involving women in leadership positions has proven valuable, as communities are now appreciating their roles in decision-making.
- The conflict parties are getting exhausted with recurring conflicts, making the project highly acceptable and promising.
- There is a serious need for government support to compensate those who sustain losses and casualties, and to resettle Internally Displaced Persons.
Sustainability
CCAPAD's ability to build the capacities of farmers and herders with the concept of peacebuilding has contributed to the various groups learning about each other's culture and interests, engaging in dialogues and participating in joint activities leading to better understanding at community level.
The G4A project deliberately involved religious, traditional and social/opinion leaders and community members at every stage of implementation, responding to relevant needs from the beneficiaries' perspective and strengthening capacity building consistent with other initiatives.
By engaging local actors and stakeholders directly, building relationships between them and increasing their capacity to address conflict issues, CCAPAD's project impact will be sustained by participants as they continue to take ownership of this approach and the platforms used to foster collaboration.
The commitment of project beneficiaries to the peace club consultative forum demonstrates their interest in sustaining the forum beyond the scope of the "G4A" project intervention. The support of local authorities has been evidenced by their participation in monthly meetings, with prominent leaders personally attending rather than sending representatives.