De Maio
Women and Conflict Management in West Africa
18
and continues to be a country that is burdened with a soaring crime rate, massive unemployment,
and overpopulation.
The widespread ethno - cultural and religious conflicts in Nigeria have brought into focus
the need to integrate and coordinate the initiatives and actors involved in the peacebuilding
process. In response to the need for integrated national development, the Nigerian government
has been a signatory to several international declarations on women’s issues and rights.
Women’s involvement in peace building, conflict and conflict management in Nigeria has,
however, not received coordinated attention. In a society where women’s roles have been
primarily governed by regional and ethnic differences, the position of women has been subsumed
and unrecognized by policy makers. Women, however, remain an active force in conflict
management in Nigeria.
One organization that has been particularly involved in the reconstruction of Nigeria
society has been the National Women Peace Group (NAWOPEG). NAWOPEG was founded in
2002 as a grassroots civil society initiative and a peace movement formed to facilitate the
transformation of conflict in Nigeria and to bring together women from all over the country to
help maintain peace and unity. The organization, which was formed through a partnership
between the Africa Leadership Forum and the Shell Petroleum Development Company, has
condemned the violence which has destabilized the country and is aimed at promoting a stable,
secure and progressive society by advocating a culture of peace and social justice through the
initiative of women. As Dr. Ayebaemi Spiff, the southern technical coordinator for NAWOPEG
stated, “women who have often times fallen victims in times of conflicts have taken up the
challenge and galvanized themselves to ensure the enthronement of sustainable peace… and
Convention