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Plateau State is situated in the North Central Region of Nigeria with an economy driven predominantly by agriculture and livestock. Its mild weather and appealing climatic conditions made it a choice weekend and holidays attraction for inhabitants of the Federal capital City – Abuja. However the lingering violent crisis of the State has systematically eroded this one time flourishing State of the continuous positive exploitation of these natural endowments for the benefit of its populations. In less than twenty years Plateau State has transformed from the hitherto home of hospitality and peace to become one of the most dreaded places in Nigeria. Today, Plateau State exhibits almost all the facets of the different forms of violent clashes that have been rocking Nigeria for the past twenty years. Inter-religious to interethnic clashes; herdsmen and farmers deadly confrontations and down to outright insinuations of genocidal pursuits have become permanent news in Plateau State.
The exponential spread of the crisis in Plateau State has increasingly made it futile for any one group to extricate itself from the crisis. Similarly, the distribution of casualties emphasizes the fact that there is hardly any group in the State that has not been affected by the consequences of the crisis, because there are victims across board. This gloomy picture of the situation in plateau State compels a package of solution that should involve the leadership of these various composite groups of the state. There is therefore a general outcry for religious and ethnic leaders as well as community development leaders to engage in meaningful campaign to put an end to the senseless killings and return the once flourishing peace and harmony among the populations.
It is within this background that the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung is organizing a one-day High Level Roundtable Meeting on the topic “Strategies for Traditional/Ethnic and Religious Leaders to Effectively Contribute to a Peaceful Co-existence and Sustainable Development in Multi-ethnic and Multi-religious Communities”. The aim of the event is to provide a synergy-building platform for Traditional/Ethnic and Religious Leaders as well the prominent Community Development Associations to consolidate their individual initiatives in achieving a peaceful co-existence in Plateau State. The roundtable is expected to facilitate the creation of a “Moral Leaders Forum for the Sustenance of Peaceful Co-existence Amongst the Multi-ethnic and Multi-religious Populations of Plateau State”. Participants will include fifteen critical and influential Traditional/Ethnic and Religious Leaders; leaders of community development associations as well as socio-political leaders of Plateau State.