TTIX2015

1. A Case Study of Community Engagement
Research to Promote Peace among
Communities in Nigeria’s Niger Delta
By
Andrew G. Onokerhoraye
Centre for Population and Environmental Development (CPED)
Benin City, Nigeria.

2. INTRODUCTION
• Community engagement can take many forms and partners can include
organized groups, agencies, institutions, or individuals.
• Collaborators may be engaged in research, or policy making.
• Community engagement is important to ensure the protection of
participants, for building a trust relationship between researchers and the
community and to address ethical issues arising from research.
• There are several examples of community-based research in Africa on how
communities can be engaged effectively on such an exercise.
• Community engagement can be by means of orgainising community
meetings, consulting community leaders, and working with community
development organizations.
• This presentation is on one such case study of community engagement
research to promote peace among five communities in Nigeria’s Niger
Delta.

3. BACKGROUND
• Niger Delta region has been characterized by violence and conflict over the
years.
• The violence and conflict of the region are visible in different communities.
• These conflicts have negative effects on development at the grassroots level in
Niger Delta.
• Peace building and conflict resolution has been a major challenge to key
stakeholders including policy makers.
• CPED experience shows that sustainable peace can only be achieved with the
participation of the grassroots population in their communities.
• With funding from United State Institute of Peace (USIP) CPED carried out the
project in 2010.
• Five adjacent communities inhabited by Ijaw and Itsekiri ethnic groups in Warri
South Local Government Area of Delta State were involved in the research.
• Each of communities has a population of between 2,000 and 3,000 people and
composed mainly of Ijaw or Itsekiri ethnic groups.

4. METHODOLOGY
• Preliminary assessment by CPED research staff of the challenges facing the
target communities with respect to the need for peace and this prompted the
need to develop a proposal.
• The research proposal was discussed with key stakeholders in the five
communities and they had the opportunity of contributing to the final version
before it was presented to USIP for funding.
• Upon approval by USIP, CPED research team embarked on the mobilization
of the various groups in the five communities.
• A project Steering Committee of 20 members comprising of the research
team and three elected representatives of the various groups in the five
communities was set up to manage its execution.
• The Steering Committee participated in the design and review of the survey
instruments (household questionnaires, community questionnaires, key
informant interviews and focus group discussion guides.
• The field survey staff were recruited from the communities and trained in the
administration of the survey instruments.

5. RESULTS
• The quantitative and qualitative surveys were professionally analyzed by the
research team.
• The findings of the survey show that different types of violent conflicts
characterize the target communities.
• These include intra-community, intercommunity, inter-ethnic, conflict with oil
companies with consequences for the people and socio-economic
development of the communities.
• The findings of the survey were presented and discussed in the first instance
by members of the Steering Committee and later presented to the key
stakeholders in each of the five communities.
• The key recommendation that emerged from the findings which was agreed to
by all stakeholders is that a Peace Committee embracing the representatives of
the communities should be set up and that the chairman should rotate among
the communities.
• Under the auspices of the Peace Committee a Peace Pact was signed which is
still sustainable till today.

6. POLICY LINKAGE
• The model which emerged from this community engagement research was
presented to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the
Delta State Government.
• Some aspects of the model have been integrated into the Delta State
conflict resolution strategy known as Peace and Security.
• Other NGOs working on peace building in the Niger Delta region and some
oil companies have also adopted the community engagement model of
peace building and have used it in other localities in Niger Delta region.

7. ETHICAL CHALLENGES
• The communities were not just used to collect data but participated in its executions
and the results were presented to them.
• Helps to promote policy adoption as community stakeholders become part of
advocacy and dissemination once they become part of the policy
recommendations.
• Achieving effective and respectful partnership in such projects is an inherent
challenge.
• Respect for communities has emerged as a related principle for researchers to
uphold and is especially pertinent in community-based and participatory research.
• In some circumstances, merely “token” partnerships may be instituted or significant
differences of power and privilege may remain unaddressed and result in stunted
collaboration.
• In working with communities and other partners, questions may be raised
regarding the ownership of and control over study results, including the response to
negative research findings.

8. • There are questions about the need to ensure that methodological rigor is
maintained and logistical aspects were addressed.
• While the action component was more broadly shared with the community,
decisions and implementation of the research component of the project remained
more within the control of researcher team.
• Given the multiple groups participating in the project, there were obstacles to
clearly communicating the purpose and methods of the project.
• Steps such as regular meetings with village members and the frequent presence
of project staff in the villages helped improve understanding, however
comprehension remained a challenge.
• Several policy-makers, however, described that the impact on policy, including
scale-up, would have been enhanced with more sustained communication of how
the project was unfolding.
ETHICAL CHALLENGES Cont’d

9. • The project serves to illuminate the distinctive ethical terrain of a
participatory community-based action-research project, including
considerations of vulnerability, respect for communities, collective
risk, equity, power, participation, partnership and social justice.
• The ethical implications of such research exceed traditional
framework of ethical analysis to include community-level and
partnership-oriented considerations.
• Participatory and action-research projects require careful
attention and effort to establish and maintain relationships that
are characterized by mutual respect, and attention to power and
privilege.
• Several approaches may help to support this objective, including
humility and sustainable engagement on the part of researchers
and other actors.
CONCLUSION

10. THANK YOU