USAID Supports 40 Organizations to Promote Nonviolent Conflict Resolution in Northeast Nigeria

By YANGE IKYAA

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has concluded the two-year conflict mitigation activity tagged “Building Community Resilience to Violent Extremism and Conflict in Northeast Nigeria.”

Implemented by Creative Associates, the USAID-supported $10.1 million activity, which is also called the “Northeast Connection,” worked in 90 communities across 15 local government areas in in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe States since 2021.

The Northeast Connection further established 181 peace platforms that supported community organizers to identify and advocate for social priorities. It also trained more than 22,000 people in conflict mitigation and cross-community dialogues and provided trauma-informed psychosocial support to more than 4,300 community members.

Initiated to counter violent conflicts, the USAID activity, has promoted nonviolent conflict resolution from the grassroots to state government levels in the three states under review.

It has also provided over $2.1 million in small grants to almost 40 local organizations to strengthen local civil society capacity and promote local solutions to violence.

“USAID is committed to enduring partnerships with Nigerian government institutions and civil societies to mitigate violent conflict in the country,” said Mukhtari Shitu, Conflict Specialist at USAID/Nigeria during the closeout event.

In Yobe State, the activity worked with the emergency management agency to launch the first-ever two-year Early Recovery Plan, which equipped the agency with the ability to respond to and recover from disasters more effectively.

Violent conflict has devastated social and governance structures and local markets in Northeast Nigeria. The ongoing insurgency by violent extremist groups, such as Boko Haram and ISIS West Africa, has killed over 35,000 and displaced 2.2 million people.

The region also struggles with regular intercommunal clashes between farmers, herders, and other groups over land and water resources.

The Northeast Connection activity is part of USAID’s strategic effort to decrease conflict and instability and promote stability and early recovery in Nigeria.