The Plateau State Government has reiterated its commitment to tackling insecurity through community-based peacebuilding and early response mechanisms as international peacebuilding organisation, Search for Common Ground, unveiled a new project aimed at preventing violent conflicts in the state.
The project, known as Rapid Response for Peace (R2ForPeace), was formally presented to stakeholders in Jos, Arewa reports.
Funded by the Spirit of America Foundation and implemented in partnership with the Plateau State Peace Building Agency, the initiative seeks to strengthen early warning systems, improve rapid response mechanisms and enhance collaboration among government institutions, security agencies, civil society organisations and local communities.
Speaking at the event, the Director of Cabinet and Special Services in the Office of the Secretary to the State Government, Nathaniel Michael Bwai, said sustainable peace could only be achieved through trust, collaboration and active community participation.
Bwai, who represented the Secretary to the State Government, commended Search for Common Ground for its longstanding commitment to peacebuilding in Plateau State.
“You know, since the outbreak of crisis on the Plateau in 2001, we’ve had so many NGOs come in, but there are quite a few you can place your hands on and say they’ve been consistent — and Search for Common Ground is one of such NGOs,” he said.
He stressed that peacebuilding efforts must go beyond government interventions and incorporate the perspectives of those directly affected by conflicts.
“It’s not just a top-down approach, it must be a bottom-up approach, because those at the receiving end are the rural communities, and they must be factored into every conversation,” Bwai said.
According to him, government alone cannot guarantee peace unless citizens embrace peaceful coexistence.
“When people decide not to live in peace, there is nothing government can do. At the end, it was the decision made by the people themselves,” he added.
Representing the Director-General of the Plateau State Peace Building Agency, Dr Julie Sanda, the agency’s Team Lead for Coordination and Partnership, Mrs Hope Chuwang, described the project as timely, noting that the nature of conflicts in the state had evolved over the years.
She said the agency had established Community Peace Architectural Forums in all the 17 local government areas of the state to strengthen grassroots conflict prevention and peacebuilding efforts.
Chuwang called for greater inclusion of young people in peace processes, insisting that youths should be at the centre of conflict prevention initiatives.
“It’s important that we look at youth as the centre of the implementation of this project,” she said.
The Country Director of Search for Common Ground, Abou Karno Quattara, praised the Plateau State Government for investing in institutions such as Operation Rainbow and the Peace Building Agency.
He noted that security interventions alone could not guarantee lasting peace.
“The real success of any peacebuilding initiative is not what happens during a project but what remains after the project ends,” Quattara said.
According to him, the R2ForPeace project will strengthen communities’ capacity to identify and respond to conflict risks before they escalate into violence through conflict monitoring, community safety committees and support for the state’s situation room.
“This project is not about creating new parallel systems; it’s about strengthening what already exists,” he added.
The project will be implemented in Plateau, Nasarawa and Taraba states as part of efforts to promote inclusive peacebuilding, strengthen rapid response mechanisms and address the root causes of conflicts in vulnerable communities.
Arewa reports that Plateau State has witnessed recurring communal, ethnic and farmer-herder conflicts for more than two decades, resulting in the loss of thousands of lives and displacement of communities. In recent years, attacks and reprisals have continued in parts of Mangu, Bokkos, Barkin Ladi, Riyom and other local government areas, despite ongoing security operations.
The persistent violence has raised concerns among residents, civil society organisations and development partners, with many advocating stronger community-based conflict prevention measures, improved intelligence gathering and enhanced collaboration between security agencies and local stakeholders.
Observers believe that the success of initiatives such as the R2ForPeace project will depend largely on community ownership, effective coordination among stakeholders and the sustainability of structures established after donor support ends.