Discover our Peacebuilding Model in Nigeria

Building peace from the ground up is not easy. All the hot and cold conflict zones that exist around the world attest to this and, tragically, even today, we know that violence can erupt just about anywhere. In Southern Kaduna, one of the most diverse states in all of Nigeria, the people have experienced immense pain and suffering brought on by senseless killings, reprisals, destruction of property, and fear, anger, and unrest.

But especially in the last decade, people were growing tired of the conflict.

Using the vision of One Family under God and Global Peace Foundation’s approach to peacebuilding, two men—a Muslim and a Christian—worked side by side to transform the community they loved.

Rev. John Joseph Hayab and Sheik Abdulahi Maraya went through a long and arduous process of dialogue with different groups, negotiations, and agreements. The communities began forming a dialogue platform dubbed the “Southern Kaduna Peace and Reconciliation Committee.” This committee is made up of Muslim and Christian representatives, including youth, faith, women, and traditional leaders of different tribes, and has been critical in handling delicate situations that have plagued Southern Kaduna for years.

The GPF approach essentially seeks to create relationships that model the ideal of One Family Under God. Relationships such as the one between Sheik Maraya and Reverend Hayab are key to building peace between groups of different backgrounds and religions. The two different faith leaders call each other "brother" and are affectionately referred to as the "Kaduna Twins" by the community.

Models like this one allow us to test the validity and efficacy of our approach. The GPF model in Nigeria has worked in different contexts to create a shared understanding between groups, even in the aftermath of violent conflict. This same model has and can be applied to other contexts. The focus on universal principles and shared values makes it possible to replicate the GPF peacebuilding and community-building approach in countries as far apart as and as varied as the United States, Mongolia, Indonesia, Korea, Paraguay, Tanzania, and beyond.