MORE THAN VICTIMS: THE ROLES OF WOMEN IN CONFLICT RESOLUTION AND PEACEBUILDING IN NIGERIA.
Abstract:The paper appraises the activities of Nigerian women in conflict resolution and peace building in the socio-political arena in Nigeria. It traces their roles from pre-colonial through post-colonial eras with emphasis on 1914 to the present dispensation. The paper opines that despite economic, political cultural and religious restrictions, Nigerian women have contributed immensely to conflict resolution and peace building efforts in Nigeria. The research methodology employed in the study is qualitative and quantitative research technique involving the use of interview and questionnaire. The data used for the study includes both primary and secondary sources. The interview was tailored towards eliciting information from key informants, including community chiefs, peace and conflict experts, elders, statesmen and other stakeholders. Secondary data were sourced from textbooks, journals, newspapers, internet materials in relation to the subject studied. This work adopted theories of Conflict Resolution and Peace building Theory. Violent conflict in Nigeria has been responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocents’ people and has contributed significantly to the state of insecurity in the country. The protection of the society from conflict requires not only the government, but women also, who must work together to prevent violent conflicts. However, the contributions of women have not been recognized and encouraged by the various levels of government as women are still poorly represented at all levels of decisions making. This explains why the United Nations insist that member nations should involve women in all processes of peace. With the present consciousness of women’s involvement in post conflict resolution, the paper concludes by urging all the levels of government to adopt equitable gender representation in future commissions.