Abstract
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 sets ambitious targets for peace, inclusivity, and justice. Achieving these targets in many parts of the world will immensely benefit from significant engagement with religion. This chapter examines the complex interaction of religion, peacebuilding, and development in Nigeria with reference to selected targets of SDG 16. The chapter specifically applies the lens of transformation in conflict and peace to examine religious and interfaith peace mediation and peacebuilding in Nigeria. The active involvement of religious actors and entities in making, building, and sustaining peace and unity in Nigeria is often overlooked for the dramatic role that religion plays in enabling violent conflicts. This chapter critically examines the religious peacebuilding landscape, arguing that while it has been vibrant and significantly used as the tool of interfaith dialogue, it is faced with many challenges and limitations. Some of these challenges are outlined. Using the Interfaith Mediation Centre (IMC) as a case, the chapter further analyses the importance of transformative approaches to interfaith and religious peace mediation, arguing that such approaches are most likely to achieve just, positive, and sustainable peace and development in the country. However, for this to happen, I argue that interventions need to align with local conceptions of peace, which often have significant religious components; be based on a comprehensive understanding of religion and an informed choice of the right analytical models; and be based on a thorough understanding and responsive engagement with the religious landscape of locations targeted for interventions.
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Acknowledgement
The author wishes to acknowledge the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS), South Africa, for its funding and support, through the Centre for Mediation in Africa, University of Pretoria.
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John, S.F. (2023). Developing Transformatively: Religion and Peace Mediation in Nigeria. In: Kilonzo, S.M., Chitando, E., Tarusarira, J. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Religion, Peacebuilding, and Development in Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36829-5_11
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