Guardian Nigeria
A public policy think-tank, Nextier, has made a strong case for the setting up of Peace Commissions in the five states of the South East with a mandate to promote proactive peace-building through early warning identification, mediation and cooperative relations promotion.
In its latest report on the state of the nation, Nextier advised that the Peace Commissions in each state should be a people-driven quasi-governmental institution with the power to convene meetings and provide credible intelligence to the state government and security institutions.
The report titled, ‘Towards a Paradigm Shift in Conflict Management in South East Nigeria: The Case for Peace Commissions,’ was authored by Dr Ben Nwosu, an Associate Consultant at Nextier, a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Development Studies, University of Nigeria, and Dr Ndu Nwokolo, a partner at Nextier and Honourary Fellow at the School of Government at the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom (UK).
The duo further recommended that the Peace Commission should be staffed by citizens and civil servants who are paid sitting allowances, not salaries, thereby reducing the cost of governance, while striving to provide sustainable peace.
They said: “There should be an increased focus on early warning systems for early prevention. Early warning systems should be tied to the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to spread information to all stakeholders and support rapid response in the event of any outbreak of violence.
“Each state should cascade the peace committees to every local council and electoral ward to give them a broad-based grassroots character. Consideration should be given to a tripartite funding model, part of which should come from the government, citizens and international development agencies to secure their independence.”
