Managing Fault Lines in Nigeria’s Protracted Conflicts

Abstract

The protracted crisis in Plateau State keeps worsening in terms of casualties and tenor. This is despite the continued intervention of the Nigerian State through measures such as military deployment and constitution of commissions of inquiry; which constitute Track-One approaches. Although, not without a history, recent manifestations of the conflict since 1999 when the fourthrepublic commenced have been characterised by the use of more lethal weapons, poisoning of wells in the rural areas, mob attacks, reprisal attacks in and around Jos, bombings of religious gatherings and centres, house-to-house attacks, ambush laying for vehicles during which commuters are ordered down for identification as indigenes and settlers before getting mauled; demarcation of areas along ethno-religious lines; all of these point to erupting contours of fault lines while portending a rehash of the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. These happenings indicate a worsening of the conflict which calls to question the efficacy of the approaches so far adopted by both the federal and state governments in effectively managing the crisis thereby necessitating an urgent change in approaches. In particular, the continued presence of the military seems not to be yielding the desired effects. Sequel to this, this paper proposes the combination of Tracks 1 (state) and Track 2 (NGOs and Professionals) of the Multi-Track-Diplomacy concept as a step forward. Based on secondary data, this article envisages that the provision of militaristic and nonmilitaristic infrastructure for peace by a combination of Track 1 and Track 2 in the conflict-ridden has potentials for sustainable peace and security.