YOUTH INVOLVEMENT IN PEACEBUILDING: A STUDY OF POST-CONFLICT COMMUNITIES IN ADAMAWA STATE, NIGERIA

This study investigated youth involvement in peacebuilding within post-conflict communities of Adamawa State, Nigeria. The persistent effects of insurgency, farmer-herder conflicts and communal clashes have left many communities grappling with displacement, mistrust, and fractured social systems. Despite youth comprising a significant portion of the population, their role in formal peacebuilding efforts remains largely underutilized. This study explored the extent of youth engagement, the strategies they employ, the challenges they encounter, and community perceptions of their contributions to peacebuilding. The study adopted a mixed-method research design involving both quantitative and qualitative approaches. A structured questionnaire was administered to 300 youth respondents selected using stratified and simple random sampling from three post-conflict LGAs (Demsa, Michika, and Madagali), while Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) were conducted with traditional leaders, youth leaders, and community-based organization representatives. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation), while qualitative data from KII were thematically analyzed. Findings revealed that youth are actively involved in various informal peacebuilding initiatives such as dialogue facilitation, community sensitization, and peer mediation. However, their efforts are often hindered by lack of institutional support, limited training, inadequate funding, and exclusion from formal structures. Community perceptions were mixed; while many acknowledged youth contributions, others questioned their experience and sustainability of their initiatives. The study concludes that youth are critical agents of change in peacebuilding, and their potential must be harnessed through deliberate inclusion, capacity-building, and support mechanisms. It recommended the institutionalization of youth roles in peace architecture, provision of skill training, and the creation of sustainable engagement platforms. This research contributes to the growing discourse on youth-led peacebuilding in Africa and highlights the need for policy shifts that recognize young people as active peace actors rather than passive beneficiaries.