The fragile peace returning to parts of Zamfara State could be jeopardised by a premature withdrawal of development support, stakeholders warned on Tuesday as the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) reviewed the gains of its conflict-prevention programme in the state and the wider Northwest.
The warning came against the backdrop of continuing armed banditry, kidnapping, farmer-herder conflicts, displacement, poverty and climate-related pressures that have left communities across the region vulnerable to renewed violence.
At the Project Steering Committee meeting of the Conflict Prevention, Crisis Response and Resilience (CPCRR) Programme in Abuja, Zamfara State Government appealed for sustained international support beyond the programme’s current phase, saying communities that had begun rebuilding their lives still faced significant challenges.
Representing Governor Dauda Lawal, Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Yahya Zakari, said the interventions had helped communities affected by insecurity rebuild livelihoods, strengthen local peace structures and develop mechanisms for preventing conflicts before they escalate.
Zakari, who chairs the CPCRR Project Steering Committee, said restoring peace, securing lives and rebuilding the resilience of residents remained central to the administration’s agenda.
“We made firm commitment under our rescue agenda to restore peace, secure lives, and build the resilience of our people,” he said.
But he warned that the progress achieved could not be taken for granted, urging development partners to maintain their engagement rather than allow the programme to end without a mechanism for consolidating its achievements.
“I wish to make a passionate appeal for sustained engagement, consolidation of the gains, and consideration for additional funding and a follow-on program,” Zakari said.
The appeal reflects the difficult task facing Zamfara and other Northwest states, where military and law-enforcement operations have been accompanied by efforts to address the economic and social conditions that allow violent groups to exploit vulnerable communities.
IOM Acting Deputy Chief of Mission, Taha Amr, said the CPCRR programme had reached almost 70,000 beneficiaries, with interventions spanning peacebuilding, livelihood recovery, climate resilience, protection, mental health and access to essential services.
He said the Northwest continued to experience the combined effects of armed banditry, kidnapping, farmer-herder conflicts and climate shocks, with the resulting displacement and economic vulnerability placing additional pressure on communities and public services.
“To date, we are proud to share that IOM has reached almost 70,000 beneficiaries, strengthening local-led peacebuilding architecture,” Taha said.
According to him, areas covered by the programme had recorded fewer reports of community tensions, conflicts and kidnappings, suggesting that locally driven prevention mechanisms could play an important role alongside conventional security responses.
The European Union Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot, disclosed at the meeting that the EU had invested more than €5 million in the CPCRR project because of the scale of conflict and displacement confronting the Northwest.
The project, he said, was designed around conflict prevention, early warning, dialogue, mediation and resilience-building through existing community and government institutions.
“The project reflects the EU’s conviction that effective conflict prevention must be locally anchored,” Mignot said.
However, he challenged the Zamfara Government and other state authorities to ensure that structures strengthened through international assistance did not collapse once external funding ended.
“I would like very much to also encourage the state government, all of you, to take over, to take full responsibility to build on what has been reinforced by this project,” he said.
Mignot also announced that the EU was working on a broader €25 million programme targeting insecurity in Northwest Nigeria, including Zamfara, which is expected to be adopted by the end of 2026.
The proposed intervention offers a fresh opportunity for the region, but stakeholders at the meeting stressed that sustainable peace would ultimately depend on domestic ownership rather than indefinite dependence on development partners.
The Katsina experience presented at the meeting illustrated what such ownership could mean in practice.
Executive Secretary of the Katsina State Development Management Board, Mustapha Shehu, said the state had trained about 1,700 community members and stakeholders to identify emerging tensions and communicate early warning signals to the appropriate authorities.
“Now they know when to report, who to report… The earlier we know this, the earlier we can act. So, very important that early warning, early signs, then early actions,” he said.
Shehu said Katsina had also mapped 109 transhumance corridors containing water points, livestock markets, grazing areas, veterinary facilities and rest areas, identifying them as potential flashpoints requiring early intervention.
“These are not just corridors. They are flash areas where action must be taken,” he said.
The state has also expanded the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution through a mediation centre established by the High Court and Ministry of Justice, providing communities with a mechanism for resolving disputes before they develop into wider conflicts.
Shehu said such interventions were important because peacebuilding was not simply about ending immediate violence but also rebuilding relationships between communities.
“Peace process can restore confidence, trust and relationship,” he said.
Katsina has equally assumed greater responsibility for its nutrition response, with about 132 state-managed outpatient therapeutic programme centres established, supported by development partners.
The developments point to an emerging shift in the Northwest’s peacebuilding strategy—from responding to violence after it occurs to identifying grievances and flashpoints early, strengthening community institutions and giving vulnerable populations economic alternatives.
For Zamfara, however, the central test will be whether the state can preserve those gains as the current CPCRR funding cycle winds down.
After years of insecurity that have disrupted farming, displaced families, weakened local economies and strained public services, stakeholders say a return to violence would erase not only the security gains but also the investments made in rebuilding communities.
The message from the Abuja meeting was therefore unequivocal: peace in Zamfara cannot be treated as a project with an expiry date.
