Deji Elumoye in Abuja 

The Presidency on Tuesday declared that 70 per cent of security challenges facing the North-central geo-political zone can be solved through dialogue and not necessarily force.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement (North-central), Dr Abiodun Essiet, who made this disclosure, said nearly 70 per cent of security challenges in the North-central can be tackled via non-kinetic means anchored on the communities.

Speaking at the capacity building training for stakeholders across the North-central states held at the State House, Abuja, the presidential aide posted: “From our analysis, nearly 70 per cent of the security challenges in the North-central can be addressed through dialogue, reconciliation, intelligence sharing and community engagement, rather than through force alone.”

Reminiscing on the June 5, 2025 launch of the Presidential Community Engagement Peace Initiative (PCEPI) in Jos, Plateau State, Essiet stated: “That historic event was a significant step in our collective journey towards fostering unity, strengthening social cohesion and empowering communities to take ownership of their peace processes.”

She announced that in line with Nigeria’s implementation of the United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR) recommendations, her office is partnering the International Communities Organisation (ICO) on a project titled ‘Promoting Community Peace and Strengthening Social Cohesion in North Central Nigeria’.

At the heart of the effort, Essiet said, is a grassroots network that leaves no local government area behind.

According to her, “At the heart of this initiative is the establishment of a peace structure that will cut across all the 110 local governments in the North-central region.

“This structure will not just exist in name; it will be an active platform focusing on gathering and sharing intelligence, facilitating continuous dialogue, and helping us identify underlying issues and root causes of conflict. Ultimately, this peace structure will serve as the backbone of sustainable peacebuilding in our region.”

She stressed that tackling local disputes early is decisive, adding that: “Once we succeed in resolving internal communal conflicts and addressing the root causes of tension, we will already be halfway to overcoming insecurity in the North-central,” while armed criminality remains for security agencies.

The training featured sessions on Peacebuilding & Conflict Resolution, Conflict Dynamics & Community Engagement, and Intelligence Gathering for Peace, alongside state breakout SWOT sessions to map risks, stakeholders and interventions. 

“This training is not just about acquiring knowledge; it is about forging partnerships, building trust, and developing strategies that will directly impact our communities. I urge every participant to be open, interactive and collaborative,” Essiet told participants.

Stakeholders highlighted forests and borders as pressure points. 

On his part, the Commandant-General of the Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS), Ambassador Joshua Osatimehin Wole, said Nigeria has 1,129 forest reserves, with 174 in the North-central.

He called for tighter inter-agency cooperation and effective forest control, identifying Niger, Kwara and Benue States as epicentres requiring enhanced surveillance.

“For sustainable peace in our communities, all our forested regions must be well coordinated and preserved. We need to protect the forests,” the NFSS DG said.

“We must create additional security agencies to conduct continuous security surveillance. Three states border international frontiers—Niger, Kwara and Benue—and they are the epicentres of insecurity.There should be inter-agency cooperation and effective control of our forests.

 “What Nigeria is currently going through goes beyond farmers–herders clashes. We must also consider the post-Gaddafi era,” Wole said, noting that mercenaries scattered across the Sahel after Colonel Muammar Gaddafi of Libya’s fall.

Also speaking, the Director of the MacArthur Foundation, Kole Shettima, underlined the centrality of stability to development, stating that: “Unless there is peace, you cannot do what you want to do, peace is essential and paramount.”

He urged the National Assembly to strengthen traditional institutions, saying:

“We have to look historically at how our elders solved conflicts and learn from it.”

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