Peace, Peace-Building and Development Challenges in Nigeria

Abstract

In Nigeria, political actors, especially those in the ruling and opposition political parties, utilize peace and peace building as a rhetorical strategy in which two or more parties in discord agreed to mend their co-existential forces, made possible by the mutual exercise of “live-and-let-live” option.  The aim of this article is to contribute to existing literature on peace and conflict resolution through an investigation of the concept of peace and peace-building as a discursive political dynamic. Data for this study were secondary data. The study revealed amongst other issues, that the forceful amalgamation of the diverse ethnic nationalities into one nationhood by the British colonial imperialist is a major factor that breed conflict.  The study concludes that for national peace and unity, integration, as well as socio-economic development, there is need by the Nigerian- state to sustain and maintain peace and building processes.