TRUCE MISSIONS, NON-VIOLENT CAMPAIGNS AND PEACEFUL RESOLUTIONS OF CONFLICTS: LESSONS FROM THE ACTIVITIES OF PEACE DIRECT CHARITY ORGANISATION IN NORTHERN NIGERIA

Abstract

Among the major threats halting the wheel of developments in northern Nigeria is the rising spate of insecurity and conflicts that have now assumed various formidable dimensions in all ramifications. The waves of violence and armed conflicts have continued to take toll on the region over the last three decades, claimed over twenty-eight thousand (28,000) lives and got three million (3 million) people displaced. Despite the disheartening statistics, Peace Direct (PD), a charitable organization known for its non-violent and peace building initiatives, and having supported the civil societies in conflict zones for over a decade across the globe, has now come out optimistic that a non-violent and peaceful northern Nigeria is possible. The study examines the various instances and factors giving birth to insecurity and violence in northern Nigeria; and also the activities of Peace Direct Charity Commission (PDCC) towards ensuring truce brokerage missions, non-violent campaigns and peaceful resolutions of conflicts in the region. The study adopts a democratic peace theory to explain the need for war’s absence in peaceful settings as the paper relies on both primary and secondary sources of data with significant reliability index. The study, however, reveals the various factors aiding insecurity and violence in the region to be; a disconnect between the people and government, abject poverty, increased rate of unemployment, weak and poorly funded military establishments, interagency rivalry, low-level of intelligence gathering on the part of security agencies in Nigeria, among others. Therefore, making the region to be non-violent and peaceful; the Nigerian security agencies, social system, public institutions truce brokerage missions, and peace building efforts or initiatives must be adequately strengthened.