THE NEED FOR PEACE-BUILDERS IN THE NIGER DELTA

The dictionary defines a Peacemaker as a person, group, or nation that tries to make peace especially by reconciling parties who disagree, quarrel or fight.

I had the privilege to attend a Conflict Sensitivity and Peace Building workshop organized by the Center for Creative Development Strategies earlier few months back. My whole perspective of how i viewed the concepts of peace and conflict changed.

A peacemaker in all essence recognizes the 8 attributes of good governance (Participation, Transparency, Accountability, Responsiveness, Equity and Inclusiveness, Rule of Law, Consensus orientation and Effectiveness, and Efficiency) as drivers of peace and commits his/herself towards their implementation for the goal of sustainable peace.

We've had peacemakers soliciting for lasting peace in the Niger Delta. The disadvantage of just being a peacemaker alone is that there are no steps taken to stop conflict from escalating. Peacemakers most often appear during the heat of a fight or quarrel.

The Niger Delta has been hit with conflict since 1990's. The crisis between the Urhobo's, Itsekiri's and Ijaw's in Delta state left Warri in rubble. The Niger Deltans began agitating for resource control due to years of neglect and destruction of the environment through oil exploration. In 2003/2004, the agitation went violent. Armed groups sprung up from the creeks of the Niger Delta that waged war against the federal government, blowing up oil facilities and kidnapping Oil expatriates.

The Amnesty program initiated by the Yaradua The amnesty program initiated by the Yaradua administration was to bring peace in the oil rich  region. In my opinion this move was done wrongly, it brought a bit of calm but the underlying issues weren't resolved.- A situation conflict experts call negative peace (absence off direct physical violence, no active organized hostilities yet there is presence of injustice and structural violence).As a matter of fact the root causes weren't addressed it was only matter of time before the conflict grows again.

Since 2013 Rivers State in particular has been in the eye of the storm regarding election related and cult violence. In 2014 the family of Mr. Jude Obi was completely wiped off due to activities of Oil thieves in the Oyigbo/Imo river area. The only surviving son, Stephen Ifeanyi Obi is still unaccounted for. Reports have it that Stephen led local vigilante groups to curtail the activities of the vandals leadin to the attack on his family. The gang swore to hunt him down wherever he goes in the country.

Following the 2015 elections, there was an increase in general insecurity in Rivers State. There was widespread incidences of kidnappings, politically-motivated killings, robberies, cult clashes and shootings and killings. Some communities are more or less ghost-towns due to violent cult clashes leading to the destruction of lives and properties. This year we saw a full scale return to militant activities. Several oil facilities have been destroyed and the cult wars continue.The rising incidents of cultism, kidnapping, ethno-nationalism, and continued agitation by militants may be cause for continued attention by peace actors in the Niger Delta.

What's the way forward?

We need Peacebuilders not just peacemakers to create a lasting solution to the Niger Delta Crisis.

It brings me to the point... What is peace-building? or who is a peace-builder?

Peace-building is the employment of measures to consolidate peaceful relations and create an environment which deters the emergence or escalation of tensions that may lead to violent conflict. Peace-building is about deep, long-term transformations. This requires an integrated approach engaging a diverse range of actors.

This is of two forms

Pre-armed: refers to a strategy which tries to avoid conflict through measures of attitudinal, socio-economic and political nature (emphasis on human security & good governance).

Post-hostilities: refers to the whole aggregate of actions and measures that may be undertaken once the hostilities phase (violent) of a conflict ends. The purpose is to prevent any renewal of the conflict. Disarmament Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR).

Comprehensive post-conflict reintegration- reconciliation, rehabilitation, reconstruction, resettlement, repatriation, reorientation,  and reforms in the political, economic, military, police, education, and legal institutions).

Sustainable peace is built by a critical mass of citizens and leaders who:

• serve the interests of others and not just their own;
• collaborate to transform the structures and systems of society to make them less violent, more just, more inclusive, and more participatory.

We need to act now so we don't have recurring stories like that of the Stephen Obi's family.