Unity in Diversity: Bridging intercultural and interreligious divides in Plateau State, Nigeria

Communities in the Middle Belt of Nigeria have been locked in a worsening cycle of violence between largely Christian farming communities and predominantly Muslim pastoralists, most of whom are ethnic Fulani. Killing and destruction have reached unprecedented levels in the major flashpoint centers in the Middle Belt states of Plateau, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Benue, Taraba, Niger and Adamawa. In 2017, farmer-pastoralist-related violence was responsible for killing more people in Nigeria than Boko Haram. Indeed, the Global Terrorism Index has declared Fulani herdsman to be the fourth most deadly armed group in the world. Whilst the categorisation of Fulani herdsman as a single homogenous group and the apparent apportioning of blame for the majority of violence on pastoralists are not particularly helpful, it does underline the devastating scale of the violence. Over recent years, the spread of violence beyond the Middle Belt to the north-east, south-east, and south-south and the apparently continual escalation in frequency and intensity of violence has seen the improvement of farmer-pastoralist relations become a national priority for Nigeria. If the ongoing bloodshed remains unaddressed or improperly dealt with, farmer-pastoralist violence has the potential to destabilise the entire country. For generations, farmers and pastoralists throughout West Africa have lived in relative harmony, benefiting from symbiotic partnerships that kept cropland fertile, leading to high yields and well-nourished cattle. However, in many parts of Nigeria coexistence between these two essential components of rural society is now strained or has broken down all together. Core to CR’s approach is a belief that inclusive and locally driven initiatives are key to achieving sustainable peace. To date, responses to the escalating pastoralist-farmer violence have been ineffective and inappropriate in nature because they fail to reflect the true underlying drivers of insecurity in Middle Belt communities. Responses have been dominated by high-level discussions amongst security, government and political elites who have limited connection to the communities most affected by the violence and, as such, do not fully understand the complex and fluid nature of the conflict dynamics. This top-down and highly politicised approach has limited the effectiveness of response mechanisms. At its heart, this intervention will support and empower ten communities in Plateau State that have been particularly vulnerable to violent pastoralist-farmer clashes to have the confidence, skills and space to find solutions to their own challenges. At present, pejorative stereotypes, fears and suspicions of the ‘other’ serve as a barrier to constructive non-violent engagement between the conflicting parties. The project will engage with largely Christian ‘indigene’ communities who have traditionally engaged in farming activities, sedentary and nomadic pastoralist communities who are predominately Fulani Muslims, and other Muslim groups (whether from ‘settler’ or ‘indigene’ ethnic groups) in Plateau State whose religion has seen them inevitably associated with pastoralist groups over the course of the conflict. Through sensitisation, capacity building and the gradual introduction of multiple spaces for non-violent engagement between divided groups that emphasise commonalities, the project will begin to challenge the deeply entrenched misconceptions, suspicions and attitudes that the conflicting parties have towards one another. This will provide a platform for greater intercultural tolerance and mutual understanding. The improving relationships and erosion of intercultural divides along ethnic and religious lines at the local level will provide opportunities for all sides to mutually discuss and agree solutions to their respective challenges. This will enable the collaborative development and implementation of strategies to resolve existing conflict and mitigate the emergence of new conflict. Responses that are inclusively agreed and sensitive to the needs and concerns of all affected parties are likely to be more appropriate and effective in nature and, as such, enhances the prospect for a durable peace. As attitudes and behaviours change, parties uphold their commitments to the mutually agreed solutions and violence declines, societal divisions will be further eroded and lay the foundation for an environment of ethnic and religious co-existence. The sustained and intensive engagement required to achieve a significant transformation as described above limits the scope of this stream of work to ten hotspot communities that have been selected because they are particularly prone to experiencing pastoralist-farmer clashes. To widen the impact beyond the project’s ten focal-point communities, the intervention will undertake reach through multiple channels to wider society. The pervasive and seemingly relentless increase in intensity of violence and its concomitant politicisation has served to dishearten people about the prospects of ever finding a non-violent solution to the violence. However, pastoralists and farmers have had a symbiotic relationship in Nigeria and beyond for centuries and even now there are examples of mutual collaboration and peaceful coexistence, as outlined in CR’s research report. Through this intervention, examples of local responses that have effectively managed pastoralist-farmer relations will be documented, drawing on experience from the project’s focus communities and engaging with other actors involved in other prominent examples of community response mechanisms in Plateau State, Nigeria and beyond. This catalogue of best practice will be innovatively disseminated through multiple channels – including community screenings of a documentary film, graphic representations on community noticeboards and through presentations to existing forums. This will increase awareness of practical and real examples of community-level initiatives to a wider audience that challenge dominant narratives and offers hope, inspiration and ideas that can be applied in other contexts. By offering multiple different possible pathways to peace, it will enable local stakeholders to determine themselves which approaches would be most appropriate in their context and, as such, does not dictate a pre-determined vision for peace but instead encourages local ownership of their own solutions. The project will empower local actors so that they have the confidence and capacity to better articulate their grievances and needs. This means that, when given the opportunity, local community actors will be able to clearly and succinctly engage with the relevant duty bearers. CR and our local civil society partner - the Centre for Peace Advancement in Nigeria (CEPAN) - will leverage upon our pre-existing strong relationships with power holders in Plateau State to secure high-level buy-in to the initiative and commitment to openly engaging with local actors. As part of this approach, CR and CEPAN engage with power holders throughout the project and build in beneficiary feedback mechanisms so that they have a sense of collective ownership for the initiative. Using these relationships, the project will facilitate a range of spaces for affected communities to engage with security actors, government representatives and their political leadership. In this way, the project will provide multiple pathways to communicate the experiences of affected communities to these power holders. The commitment of the power holders to the initiative through CR and CEPAN’s engagement means they will be more open to listening to and responding to the perspectives of local communities. This process will enable power holders involved in the design and implementation of formal response mechanisms to have a more accurate and nuanced understanding of the realities of the violence at the community level. This improved understanding will lay the groundwork for responses that are more reflective of the needs, grievances and concerns of the communities most affected by the violence. This will enhance the effectiveness and appropriateness of response mechanisms, which will address the underlying drivers of the conflict and the issues of priority for the local communities. More effective and appropriate State and Federal-level responses will contribute to the mitigation of emerging conflicts and begin to restore trust in governance systems. As violence declines and trust towards State and Federal institutions increases, formal response mechanisms can shift towards repairing broken relationships, tackling segregation along ethnic and religious lines and promoting community cohesion.