Youth and Peacebuilding in West Africa

Abstract

The study is concerned with the experiences of the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) in youth peacebuilding. Given West Africa’s burgeoning young population and institutional ineptitude, either youth are utilized by violent extremist groups, organized crime networks, and insurgent movements as a commodity for the perpetration of unlawful acts, or they are victims of violence in conflicts and other illicit exploits. Despite the utility of youth in peace in the region, state and regional attention to young people and peacebuilding has been minimal relative to responses to insecurity acts which have dominated the policy agenda. In recognition of youth agency in fostering social cohesion, WANEP, through its peacebuilding interventions, engages the youth as key agents in building sustainable peace as part of its long-term strategies to enhance the resilience of communities and states. This study contends that harnessing youth agency to actively participate in peace and decision-making processes is catalytic to the dividends of peacebuilding efforts in West Africa. It thus calls for the need to bridge the chasm between young people and peacebuilding interventions to effectively assuage the myriad threats to security in the subregion.