by: Rev. Filibus Bakari Auta
The United Methodist Church Nigeria Episcopal Area and mission districts of Cameroon and Senegal held a five-day Strategic Peace and Conflict Transformation Seminar designed to equip frontline church and community leaders with practical skills to prevent conflict, promote reconciliation and build sustainable peace.
The seminar brought together leaders from the Southern Nigeria and South Western Nigeria Annual Conferences alongside monarchs, government officials, media practitioners and civil society organizations and focused on conflict prevention, transformation, reconciliation and peacebuilding, with emphasis on strengthening collaboration between religious and community leaders in responding to conflict.
The Rev. Neal Christie, former Assistant General Secretary of the General Board of Church and Society and currently a consultant with Warpath, welcomed the participation of diverse stakeholders, emphasizing that collective engagement is essential to addressing Nigeria’s complex peace and reconciliation challenges. In his remarks, Christie acknowledged the significant contribution of Rev. Eli Sule Yakku, Dean of the Bishop’s Cabinet, to promoting peace, unity, and stability within the United Methodist Church in Nigeria. He noted that effective church leadership must remain Christ-centered, placing the interests of the Church and the well-being of God’s people above personal ambition or self-promotion. Christie described Rev. Yakku as a respected and widely appreciated leader whose humility, selflessness, and dedicated service have contributed meaningfully to the ministry and witness of the United Methodist Church Nigeria, Cameroon, and Senegal Episcopal Area.
Peace a Shared Responsibility
During the Peace Talk and Media interactive session, Bishop Ande I. Emmanuel, Resident Bishop of the United Methodist Church Nigeria Episcopal Area and mission districts of Cameroon and Senegal, said sustainable peace cannot be achieved by Christians, Muslims, government, the media or any institution acting alone.
He commended the engagement of participants from diverse affiliations, noting that it demonstrated the importance of interfaith cooperation in peacebuilding: “Peace is a shared responsibility, a human responsibility and a national responsibility. And for those of us who are people of faith, peace is also a sacred responsibility.”
The Bishop explained the purpose of the gathering was not merely to discuss peace, but to also challenge participants to examine what they could individually and collectively do to make peace possible.
He acknowledged Islamic teachings that support peace and peaceful coexistence, referencing Qur’an 8:61 and 49:13. He encouraged Christians and Muslims to see one another as partners in peace and to choose dialogue, justice and mutual respect over violence and revenge.
UMC’s Experience Offers Lessons for Nigeria
Bishop Emmanuel said the United Methodist Church had experienced a difficult period of internal conflict involving leadership disputes, damaged relationships, factions, court cases and divisions within congregations and communities.
He said the experience demonstrated the destructive consequences of prolonged conflict, while also providing an opportunity for the church to testify to reconciliation and make it part of its public witness to the Nigerian society.
The Bishop noted that the church has begun moving from division toward reconciliation, from confrontation toward dialogue, from fragmentation toward greater unity and from wounded relationships toward healing.
“If a divided church can begin to find its way back to unity, then divided communities can also find their way back to peace,” he said.
Conflict Transformation Must Address Root Causes
Bishop Emmanuel explained that conflict transformation goes beyond simply stopping violence. While conflict management may seek to stop people from fighting, conflict transformation addresses the underlying conditions that cause conflicts to recur.
Grievances, inequality, mistrust, exclusion, injustice, identity, leadership, relationships, structures and narratives were identified as factors that must be addressed.
“Conflict transformation requires more than an agreement. It requires transformed relationships,” he said, urging stakeholders to ensure that reconciliation reaches individuals, families, congregations and communities rather than remaining at the level of formal agreements.
Media Challenged to Promote Peace
Bishop Emmanuel challenged journalists to use their influence responsibly, noting that the media does more than report events; it also shapes how society understands them.
He encouraged journalists to verify information, investigate claims, cross-check facts, provide context and distinguish facts from allegations and cautioned against allowing social media to turn newsrooms into “forwarding centres” or publishing inflammatory material simply because it attracts attention.
“Please, verify before you amplify,” he urged the media.
The Bishop encouraged journalists to report stories of reconciliation and cooperation, identify early warning signs, expose injustice before it escalates into violence, and provide platforms for communities to be heard.
Stakeholders Urged to Strengthen Peacebuilding
Bishop Emmanuel called on Christian and Muslim leaders to ensure that churches and mosques never become platforms for hatred. He advocated regular Christian-Muslim engagement, interfaith dialogue and joint initiatives involving young people and women.
He also warned against collective blame based on religious identity, stressing that the actions of extremists should not be attributed to entire religious communities.
Traditional rulers, he said, remain important peacebuilding actors because of their knowledge of local histories, relationships and grievances. He called for stronger partnerships with traditional institutions in early warning, mediation, dialogue, reconciliation and community healing.
Government, he added, must strengthen public trust through justice, security, good governance and equal protection under the law. “Good governance, justice, development, education, employment and security is peacebuilding.”
Youth and Women Must Be Included
The Bishop called for a change in how young people are perceived in conflict discussions. He urged stakeholders to empower them through education, skills acquisition, employment, leadership opportunities and meaningful responsibilities.
He noted that young people with hope and opportunities are less vulnerable to recruitment into violence.
He also called for greater participation of women in peacebuilding, saying women should be represented at decision-making tables and recognized for their contributions to mediation, community rebuilding and reconciliation.
Church Called to Lead by Example
Rev. Eli Sule Yakku, Dean of bishop’s Cabinet for the Nigeria, Cameroon and Senegal Episcopal Area, described peacemaking as a Christian responsibility, citing Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 5:9: “Blessed are the peacemakers.”
He urged peacemakers to enter difficult situations, listen to opposing sides, build bridges and pursue reconciliation rather than hatred and revenge. Referencing Romans 12:18, Yakku challenged participants to take personal responsibility for peaceful co-existence, keeping view that the greatest call of a pastor to serve the church and God’s people as an agent of peace.
Participants Commit to Becoming Peace Ambassadors
Participants commended the seminar for strengthening their capacities to respond to conflicts in their churches and communities.
Rev. Hanatu Robinson, District Superintendent of Eugene Wesley, said the training had equipped her with practical conflict transformation skills and would enable her to respond more effectively to conflicts involving church members and pastors in her district.
Similarly, Mr. Joel Gilenya, a Lay Leader from the Southern Nigeria Annual Conference, described peace as essential to meaningful development. He urged participants to return to their communities as ambassadors of peace and agents of conflict transformation.
As part of his closing address, Bishop Emmanuel proposed a seven-point commitment for participants and other stakeholders:
Speak the truth without spreading hatred.
Verify information before amplifying it.
Choose dialogue before escalation.
Protect human dignity.
Build bridges across religious, ethnic, political and social divides.
Pursue justice without revenge.
Make peacebuilding a way of life.
He urged Christians and Muslims to protect the relationships that unite their communities, and encouraged Taraba State to demonstrate that religious diversity can become a source of strength rather than conflict.
Addressing United Methodists, Bishop Emmanuel also urged the church not to take its renewed unity for granted, calling on members to place Christ above personalities, mission above ambition, unity above faction and reconciliation above revenge.
‘Let Every Nigerian Become a Bridge-Builder’
In conclusion, Bishop Emmanuel called on the church, mosque, media, traditional institutions, government and civil society organizations to become bridges connecting divided communities.
“Let us go forward together—not as enemies, not as divided communities, but as fellow human beings, fellow citizens, and builders of peace,” he said.
The seminar ended with a renewed call for frontline church and community leaders to translate the knowledge and skills gained into practical actions in their respective communities and become active builders of peace, reconciliation and peaceful coexistence within their churches, communities and Nigerian society.
