Designing a Community Theatre Initiative for Addressing Farmer-Herder Conflict in Nasarawa State

Farmer-herder conflict in Nasarawa State has caused significant loss of life and displacement, and community theatre offers structured dialogue and shared narrative creation as non-violent conflict transformation mechanisms. This study designed a community theatre initiative for addressing farmer-herder conflict in Lafia, Doma, and Nassarawa-Eggon Local Government Areas, Nasarawa State, North Central Nigeria. A professional programme design methodology was employed, drawing on conflict mapping consultations with 30 community members from both farmer and herder communities, structured interviews with 12 conflict resolution specialists and 10 community theatre practitioners, and review of the International Alert and Search for Common Ground theatre-based peacebuilding frameworks. Conflict mapping confirmed that mutual dehumanisation, land tenure disputes, and absence of dialogue platforms were the primary conflict drivers that theatre could address. The initiative designed comprises four phases: community co-creation workshops, joint rehearsal, collaborative performance creation and presentation, and community dialogue extension facilitated by local mediators. Cross-community casting provisions ensure both groups perform each other's perspectives. Expert review by nine peacebuilding and theatre specialists confirmed the initiative's design quality. The study recommends implementing the initiative through a partnership between NSAP, International Alert Nigeria, and Nasarawa State Ministry of Internal Affairs, with multi-year funding to allow trust building, and a concurrent conflict incident monitoring framework.

Keywords: community theatre, farmer-herder conflict, Nasarawa State, peacebuilding, conflict resolution