Mutually Hurting Political Violence and Peacebuilding in Edda, Nigeria

Abstract

Political violence has remained a fundamental problem of nation building in the African continent. In many African states and communities, it has become a negative cog in the wheel of communal and national development. It manifests before elections, during elections and after elections in different parts of Nigeria. This study focuses on the place of political violence in Edda, southeastern Nigeria. It used primary and secondary sources to develop its content. The primary sources were randomly selected from the research setting. The study revealed that the last case of political violence in Edda was unique, as the actors were of the same political party as against the tradition of political violence been manifested between one political party and members of the opposition parties. The study therefore found that the violence unleashed by the apologists of the All Progressives Congress (APC) members in the community in 2022 undermined the communal peace within Ekoli Edda. This manifested through the shocking destruction of lives and properties. The study concluded by recommending sustainable political peacebuilding strategies that would be communally driven.  These processes will help in healing most of the people that were affected directly and indirectly by the political violence to conquer the traumatic effects of the political violence.

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