PEACEBUILDING IN THE NIGER DELTA

PROGRAM OVERVIEW:

The strategic thrust of the peace building program is to achieve regional and lasting peace in the Niger Delta. To achieve this, PIND is creating sustainable peace partnerships, encouraging collaboration and cooperation amongst peace actors, providing support for economic development, and strengthening indigenous structures for peace, while also creating and building interfaces with larger state-level or regional peace efforts; thereby creating an enabling environment for sustainable broad-based economic development.

The peace building program consists of two interrelated and interdependent projects: The Integrated Peace and Development Unit (IPDU) and Partners for Peace (P4P) Network. The IPDU focuses on undertaking research and providing training to local and international stakeholders to implement innovative pilot projects that show promise of making a difference on the ground. Responding quickly in a targeted manner to rapidly changing dynamics, IPDU promotes collaboration and synergy amongst existing local, regional, and national efforts of actors in both public and private sectors to develop/deploy early warning and response mechanisms to address conflict, with a focus on gender and youth.

The P4P Network is PIND’s strategy towards establishing social infrastructure and capital across all nine States of the Niger Delta. In the last five years, PIND has established a network of self-identified agents of peace that have deployed the power of grassroots networking towards building peace in the region. Using conflict analyses and early warning as key instruments, P4P identifies, and supports existing initiatives, and creates new ones to address the conflict risk factors. The P4P Network currently has chapters and subchapters in all the 9 States and 119 LGAs of the Niger Delta.

In the current strategic phase, the Peace Network will focus on establishing and strengthening grassroots conflict resolution initiatives that promote a more enabling, integrated, and peaceable environment conducive for economic growth and development in the region.

PROJECTS

OUR RESULTS

Over 11,260

peace actors facilitated through the Partners for Peace (P4P) Network, with their capacities strengthened to tackle conflict in the Niger Delta

2,263

emerging conflicts mitigated by peace actors in their communities to sustain economic activities
MORE RESULTS
RECENT UPDATES

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES: 2020 – 2024

Overaching Aim

Strengthen conflict management systems and capacities for enabling peace & economic growth, utilizing analysis & advocacy to address constraints to peace. Enable active engagement of 5,000 peace actors in conflict mitigation and reduction and positively affect up to 3 million individuals with peace building interventions

Programmatic Objectives

  • Build Capacity of Peacebuilding Actors

  • Improve the understanding of the dynamics, trends and causes of the Niger Delta conflict among national and international stakeholders.

  • Promote synergy and cooperation among actors in the region

  • Catalyze and facilitate the carrying out of interventions by various stakeholders to address conflict and violence in the Niger Delta

Approach

  • Early Warning: Data collection and analysis will inform everything that is done across the program area.

  • Partnership/Business Development: Program will cultivate peace and security ecosystem that creates added value (greater than sum of its parts).

  • Network support & Small Grants: to provide targeted support to the P4P Network where data indicates a priority, emphasize strengthening the institutional capacity of the P4P network and administrative Secretariat to enhance sustainability of the network and use small grants to fill critical gaps that may exist, despite the presence of the P4P Network and the wider collective of peace and security actors in the region

  • Center of Excellence: This will provide technical services and trainings to private and public sector actors in the region for a fee

SUCCESS STORIES

Tina Anya
Member, Central Working Committee, P4P Network, Imo State

While farming, a Mbano woman was beheaded, and her aggrieved relatives accused her husband’s family of killing her. The dispute escalated to the point of threatening the peace within the community. We intervened and visited each warring party to understand their grievances. We then spoke to them about the need for peace and pointed out the toll it took on the entire community. We also explained how sustained conflict could lead to even more deaths without solving the problem or restoring lost life. Our intervention succeeded as the two families agreed to pursue peace and let bygones be bygones.

Apart from mediation, we also carry out peacebuilding training in communities as a conflict prevention and mitigation measure. In 2022, we held this training in about five local governments in Imo state: Mbaitoli, Okigwe, Onuimo, Ahiazu Mbaise, and Isiala Mbano. We maintain relationships with these communities even after the training to get feedback on their progress and to support them when necessary. PIND has also been of great help to the P4P. We can carry out these interventions and step-down training with PIND’s support.

Ayo Okotie
Subchapter Coordinator, P4P Network , Ughelli South LGA Delta State

As a member of the Prevent Committee in my state, I took part in a PIND training on resource mobilization. This training has helped me in managing my NGO, Neserok Development Initiative. I learned how to access and maximize readily available resources, whether cash or kind.

At Nsereok, we are working towards raising a society of young who actively participate in government and governance. We want young people to understand early on that dialogue is better than carrying guns. We are part of the open government partnership (OGP) in Delta State, and we go to schools to teach students the basic principles of OGP.

The goal is for them to understand OGP even as they become leaders. With the 2023 elections approaching, we carried out capacity-building training for youth and women on conflict prevention and resolution. Apart from my work through Neserok, as a P4P member, I also apply my peace-building skills within my community. When there are clashes between farmers and herders, I will mitigate them. In one of these incidents, after mediation, the Fulani herdsman replaced the farmer’s broken cassava stems with fresh ones.