In the past 5 years, Nigeria has been at war with insurgents attempting to take over the North East of the country. In this non-conventional warfare, thousands had been killed and millions displaced. There is no gain saying that majority of those either prosecuting the warfare on both sides, or affected by it are youths. If youths are the active players in this warfare, we must not forget the fact that, only youths have the capacity to bring the crisis to an ultimate end through appropriate engagement for peace building and post conflict reconstruction.
Beyond the North east crisis, there are other crisis like the Niger Delta militancy, agitation for self determination and other minor ethnic, economic and religious crisis happening in various communities across the country. We need to recognize, encourage and support young peace builders and incorporate their activities into the national agenda of the country. We must also understand that, those with capacity to effectively work for the resolution and eventual peace building are youths. Youths should be encouraged to play its rightful role in shaping its destiny and community. Young people are highly effective at making impact at the grassroots level. Yet, whilst there are so many youths ready to do their part, or several youth-led initiatives operating across the country to bring about sustainable peace, there is a lack of support from authorities.
Youths are often relegated to secondary players in its own primary responsibility, thereby increasing disconnect. The disconnection between those in authorities and youths has been identified as the major barrier leading to policy failure. While government claims to be working for youth, what youth really need is not a government that will works for them, but a government that will work with them.
In December 2015, United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted a ground breaking resolution on Youth, Peace and Security, which for the first time in history, focuses entirely on role of young men and women in peace building and countering violent extremism.
Experts’ opinion concludes that such resolution legitimizes the meaningful involvement of young people in peace and security issues, and that the resolution will accelerate peace consolidation programmes to be embarked upon in post conflict communities. Youth led organizations abound in the country and with incorporation of this resolution into our national frame work, Nigeria shall be on its way to eliminating youth exclusivity with government, especially on issues of peace and security.
Before the adoption of this very important resolution by UN Security Council, dominant policy discourse around youth has traditionally viewed young people as threats to global peace and security, or occasionally as vulnerable groups to be protected. This is a harmful reduction of the role youth play in conflict and post-conflict settings and several organizations around the world called for a third point of view – a point of view which sees youth as peace builders that deserves to have their efforts recognized and supported. It is this third point of view, which is the most appropriate view about youths that eventually got recognized by the UN Security Council.
Having adopted the resolution at the International level, it was observed that, making this landmark resolution a reality and ensuring it goes beyond the UNSC and mere documents require a genuine political will and a strong ownership by governments, young people and youth organizations. This explains why we must keep the issue at the forefront and always remind government of the need to adopt the resolution in Nigeria. Nigeria is a leading nation on the African continent and an active player in the global stage, there is therefore need, to once again, take our leading role in implementing the land mark resolution, as its effective implementation will create more inclusive and credible peace processes while better protecting young men and women from atrocities in the country.
Five key pillars of action are identified in the resolution, they are as follows: participation, protection, prevention, partnerships and disengagement and reintegration. The Security Council also requests the Secretary-General of the United Nations to carry out a study on young people’s positive contribution to peace processes and conflict resolution, and urges Member States to “increase, as appropriate, their political, financial, technical and logistical support, that take account of the needs and participation of youth in peace efforts, in conflict and post-conflict situations, including those undertaken by relevant entities, funds and programmes, and other relevant bodies and actors at regional and international levels.” Incorporating this resolution into our national policies shall translate into creating structures to properly document and recognize the impact of youths and youth led organization in our communities, which in turn shall be used to position Nigerian Youths as leaders in global youth peace initiatives under the leadership of the United Nations.
Our focus should be to guarantee a meaningful role for youth in peace building, conflict prevention and conflict resolution and ensure the adoption and gradual implementation of UN Security Council Resolution on youth, peace and security in Nigeria.
UN Security Council Resolution 2250 is a huge step forward in the right direction, recognizing and supporting young people’s contributions to building peace. However, a UN Security Council resolution is not the end of the road. It was advised that, young peace builders around the world must focus their efforts on ensuring that the resolution gets translated into real policies at regional, national and local levels. It is on this basis that the Foundation for Peace Professionals is proposing the adoption of this important resolution, so that it can be translated into real policies in Nigeria.
Written by Abdulrazaq O Hamzat, the President of Foundation for Peace Professionals. A transformational peace professional, vibrant youth leader, diplomatic human rights advocate, critical policy analyst, liberal author, diligent researcher and a social media enthusiast.
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