Climate change and growing competition over dwindling natural resources are major drivers of violent conflicts across Nigeria, stakeholders have said, warning that failure to respond early could allow disputes to escalate into widespread violence and criminality.This formed the focus of discussions at a state-level capacity-building workshop on the National Conflict Early Warning and Early Response System (NCEWERS) held in Kaduna State, which brought together security agencies, government response institutions and civil society actors.Speaking during the workshop, the Lead Consultant and Facilitator, Mr. Steve Agbo, said environmental pressures such as desertification, shrinking water sources and pressure on land have significantly altered Nigeria's conflict landscape."The increasing level of conflict in Nigeria is largely driven by climate change and other factors, coupled with intense competition for resources like land, water and the rest of them," Agbo said.
- CSO seeks Tinubu's intervention in FCT crisis
- Police arrest cattle rustlers, other criminals in Ekiti
He explained that these developments made it necessary for response agencies to understand emerging conflict patterns and dynamics in order to intervene effectively before violence erupts.According to him, the workshop was aimed at strengthening the capacity of the multi-stakeholder Early Warning Response Group, whose members include conventional and non-conventional security agencies, civil society organisations and government civil response agencies."We are here to strengthen the capacity of those responsible for early warning and response under a project funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office through the SPRiNG Programme and implemented by the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution," he said.Agbo noted that the project, implemented in collaboration with the Conflict Research Network West Africa, seeks to promote peace and resilience in the face of rising climate-induced conflicts.He stressed that while early warning signs of conflict are often identified, the major challenge remains the lack of timely response."Lack of identifying early warning signs is not as much the problem as lack of response. In many cases, the early warning reports are there, either formally or informally, but the response does not come at the appropriate time," he said.Agbo said the inclusion of community-level actors such as transport workers, hunters, forest security services and vigilante groups in the Early Warning Response Group was critical to addressing climate-driven conflicts."These are people who are at the community level. They see the conflicts, they understand the root causes and they know what to do," he said.He added that strengthening the group would help shift Nigeria from a traditional early warning system to an integrated model with standby response teams across states, noting that many violent crises could be prevented."A lot of these conflicts and the violence that later turns into kidnapping and other criminality are avoidable if early warning is matched with early response," Agbo said.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
