Influence Of Interfaith Mediation Centre In The Management Of Conflict In Bauchi State Nigeria: 1960-2015

ABSTRACT

Conflict among social groups is one of the major challenges affecting peaceful coexistence in the world. In Africa, particularly Nigeria, conflicts are associated with religion, ethnicity, and post-election violence which result in adverse effects on people and their livelihood. Nigeria has witnessed conflicts like Kaduna crisis, Jos crisis, and Bauchi State crisis. Bauchi State has experienced conflicts between herdsmen and farmers as compared to other states in Nigeria. The prevalence of conflict in Bauchi State has caused a public outcry. The conflicts have disrupted the local economy in general and agricultural production in particular. The resultant effects are high rate of crime, hunger, poverty and corruption among other sufferings. Therefore, these crises have adversely affected human security and economic development in Bauchi State. In line with that, this study investigated the influence of the Interfaith Mediation Centre in the management of conflict in Bauchi State, Nigeria with specific focus on the factors that led to the establishment of IMC, the activities of IMC in Management of conflict between herdsmen and farmers, and the role of IMC in post electoral conflict management in Bauchi State, Nigeria. The study was guided by the peace building theory by John Paul Lederach. Lederach argues that conflict societies are divided into three levels of actors: the top level, middle level and grass root level of leaderships. He assumed that it is the middle level of actors that influences the other actors in promoting or mediating peace within the conflict zone. This study adopted a descriptive research design based on semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. The researcher used purposive sampling technique to select the respondents from the Interfaith Mediation Centre, Christians Muslims Peace Movement officials operating in Bauchi, stakeholders, community leaders, Imams and Church leaders. Both primary and secondary sources of data were used to extract data. The data obtained from the field was subjected to thematic content analysis through interpretation and transcription in line with the objectives of the study. The study findings revealed that the Interfaith Mediation Centre has demonstrated its readiness towards fostering mediation, reconciliation and dialogue between community members of different faiths in Bauchi State, Nigeria. The findings also indicated that the Interfaith Mediation Centre promotes voter‟s sensitisation as well as media involvement towards managing electoral violence. The study is important as it enriches the historiography of conflict management not only in Bauchi State but also in other states across Nigeria and beyond. Therefore, the study concluded that interfaith mediation centre has been effective in mitigating Violence conflict in Bauchi State. Thus, the study recommends that interfaith mediation centre should be strengthened financially to carry out its functions hitch-free; report on dialogue should be utilized.