Neighbours at Lodger Head: A Pragmatic Approach to Peace Building in the Conflict Between Alesi and Ochon Communities of Cross River State (2020-2025)

This paper provides pragmatic approach to peace building between rural communities engaged in conflict with common boundaries. The conflict between Alesi community in Ikom L.G.A and Ochon community of Obubra L.G.A in Cross River State was on land ownership tussle and boundary claims, and this has become a recurrent event in the state during planting seasons. This has often time claim lives and destroyed property worth millions of Naira. The paper objectives are; to identify causes and sources of conflict between rural communities of Cross River State, identify pragmatic peace building approaches to warring communities, examine conflict timeline in the state from 2020 to 2025, and make policy recommendations for management of conflict between warring communities. The paper adopted the human needs theory (HNT) expanded in social conflict by John Burton (1997), this theory revealed that, parties or actors always engaged in conflict whenever their needs are threatened and not met. Methodologically, the descriptive survey research design was adopted involving the collection of data through secondary sources. The pragmatic approaches to peace building identified were; community based initiative, neutrality of third party intervention measure, punitive sanction of perpetrators, empowering affected communities and incorporation of Nigerian Hunters and Forest Security Service (NHFSS). The recommendations were stakeholders in affected areas should collaborate with the government and security agencies and conflict at early warning signs should be given critical attention to advert escalation.