ROLE OF EDUCATION IN PEACE BUILDING, CONFLICT RESOLUTION AND SOCIAL COHESION IN NIGERIA

Nigeria comprises numerous multi-ethnic communities characterized by diverse ethnic groups, cultures, and religions. Ethnicity, culture, and religion significantly influence the behavior of individuals within these communities. Differences in these aspects often render certain actions unacceptable to others, resulting in violence and conflict. Education serves as a key mechanism for promoting understanding and tolerance among individuals in multi-ethnic settings. Accordingly, this article critically examines the role of education in peace building, conflict resolution, and social cohesion in Nigeria. The structure of the paper includes an introduction, a review of the concepts of education, peace building, conflict resolution, and social cohesion, followed by an analysis of education as a means of fostering these outcomes. Subsequently, the challenges facing education in fostering peace building, conflict resolution and social cohesion in contemporary Nigeria were discussed. Education contributes to cultural and religious tolerance, character development, acquisition of critical thinking skills, respect for fundamental rights and freedoms and addressing the root causes of grievances for promoting peace building, conflict resolution, and social cohesion. Challenges to education’s role in fostering peace building, conflict resolution, and social cohesion in contemporary Nigeria include inadequate funding, infrastructural decay, insufficient staffing, corruption, low staff motivation, data shortages, and ethnic, cultural, and religious diversity. Recommendations include increasing budgetary allocations to the education sector and motivating staff through improved salaries and allowances to enhance the implementation of educational programmes that promote peace building, conflict resolution, and social cohesion.