Northern Pulse: Stakeholders seek stronger state-community collaboration to address conflict drivers in Kaduna

By Sani Idris Abdulrahman

Stakeholders in peacebuilding have emphasised the need for stronger collaboration between state institutions and community actors to address the root causes of conflict in Kaduna state and promote sustainable peace.

The call was made on Sartuday in Kaduna, during an Executive Peace Roundtable organised under the Delimi PROSPER Project to generate practical solutions for peace and development in the state.

The dialogue, implemented by Search for Resilience and Development (SRD) with support from the Strengthening Peace and Resilience in Nigeria Programme (SPRiNG) of the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, brought together policymakers, youth representatives and development partners.

Security actors, traditional leaders, civil society organisations and disability inclusion advocates also participated, exploring sustainable approaches to peacebuilding and ways of strengthening cooperation between communities and government institutions.

The Project Officer of the Delimi PROSPER Project in Kaduna, Salim Yunusa, said the initiative was created to strengthen interaction and understanding between citizens and government through a structured platform for dialogue.

Yunusa explained that collaboration between communities and public institutions remains the most reliable pathway to achieving sustainable progress, unity and development across the state.

He noted that the project had organised several engagements with government representatives, youth groups and other stakeholders to deepen dialogue and strengthen public participation in peacebuilding initiatives.

According to him, the executive peace roundtable represents the beginning of deeper conversations aimed at identifying practical solutions capable of improving peace and development outcomes.

Executive Director of the Delimi PROSPER Project, Richard Ali, said many conflicts across Nigeria are often framed along ethnic or religious lines but are frequently rooted in deeper structural issues.

Ali explained that pressures over resources, governance gaps, environmental change and the narratives communities construct around these pressures often play significant roles in fueling conflicts.

He said the project was designed as a non-kinetic intervention that focuses on youth knowledge, storytelling and engagement within policy processes rather than relying solely on security responses.

Ali added that 60 young people from Kaduna and Plateau states were trained under the initiative on environmental conflict dynamics, countering extremist narratives and documenting socio-environmental advocacy.

He said the participants later formed a community of practice through which they produced documentaries, podcasts and digital storytelling content aimed at promoting peaceful coexistence and awareness of resource-related conflicts.

Mr Ahmed Maiyaki, the Kaduna State Commissioner for Information

The Kaduna State Commissioner for Information, Mr Ahmed Maiyaki, said the state government was ready to collaborate with civil society organisations and development partners to curb misinformation and hate speech identified as drivers of conflict.

Maiyaki noted that while youth engagement in peacebuilding was commendable, closer collaboration with relevant government institutions, including the Ministry of Education, was necessary to ensure such initiatives achieve their intended objectives.

He said youth-produced documentaries, podcasts and digital storytelling must be carefully guided to avoid narratives capable of triggering tension or misunderstanding within communities.

According to him, communication strategies must reflect Kaduna State’s complex social dynamics, warning that careless use of language and unverified information on social media could escalate tensions and even lead to violence.

Maiyaki explained that many people, including media practitioners, often fail to distinguish between misinformation, disinformation and malinformation despite their different implications in conflict situations.

He, therefore, called for stronger collaboration among government, media organisations and civil society groups to promote responsible communication and prevent the spread of false narratives.

The commissioner reaffirmed the Kaduna dtate Government’s willingness to work with partners to develop a broader framework that supports responsible communication and sustainable peace in the state.

In a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, participants emphasised the importance of preventive and non-kinetic approaches to complement existing security responses in addressing conflict challenges.

The communiqué also highlighted the growing influence of youth voices and digital narratives in shaping public perception and strengthening early warning mechanisms within communities.

Participants further stressed the need for stronger collaboration between government institutions and community actors to address emerging peace and security concerns across Kaduna State.(NAN)