The Plateau State Peace Building Agency (PPBA) on Tuesday, September 16, 2025, held a community experience-sharing session in Jos as part of activities to mark Plateau Peace Month 2025. The event, themed “Act Now for a Peaceful Plateau”, brought together community peace structures from Jos North and Jos South alongside a delegation from the newly established Taraba State Bureau for Peace and Conflict Management (TSBPCM).

Welcoming participants, Director General of PPBA, Mrs. Julie Sanda, explained that while the international community dedicates September 21 to the International Day of Peace (IDP), Plateau State has expanded the commemoration into a month-long celebration.

“Peace is too big to be celebrated only in one day. We have dedicated the whole of September to Peace Month to ensure peace is lived daily in our communities,” she said, stressing that communities remain at the heart of PPBA’s interventions.

She highlighted the transition of PARTNER structures — initially introduced under a USAID-Mercy Corps consortium — into the Agency’s Community Peace Architecture Forum (CPAF), a homegrown model designed to strengthen grassroots ownership of peacebuilding.

In their testimonies, peace coordinators from Bible Faith and Rafin Pa in Jos North recalled years of hostility when residents avoided one another’s communities, even for basic services. “We were like cats and dogs,” said Ibrahim Maaji of Rafin Pa. “Today, we not only cross freely but also work together.”

Similarly, Ambassadors Yakubu IC Gam (Gyel) and Isah Abubakar (Bukuru) recounted how persistent dialogue under PARTNER transformed their once-bitter rivalry into a brotherhood. They noted that joint actions by peace committees had successfully prevented violent escalations in their communities.

Women from Bible Faith, Rafin Pa, Gyel, and Bukuru also shared their experiences, emphasizing their role in grassroots peacebuilding. They highlighted initiatives ranging from advocacy and school outreach to a women-led vigilante group that rescued 16 exploited children.

“Before PARTNER, women had no voice in conflict resolution. Today, we are not only participating but also leading actions that save lives,” one participant affirmed.

Chairman of the Plateau Peace Practitioners Network, Mr. Nanmark Bali, commended the agency’s collaboration with civil society and revealed that activities marking this year’s Peace Day include media engagements, interfaith prayers, tree planting, and a women’s novelty football match.

On his part, Bishop Innocent Rubiruka Solomon, Chairman of TSBPCM, praised Plateau State as a model of institutionalized peacebuilding.

“Taraba admires Plateau State. Within just two days, we have learned so much from PPBA’s approaches. These lessons will shape our five-year strategic work plan,” he said, assuring continued partnership between the two states.

The program also featured interactive exchanges, during which participants underscored that peace is community-driven, dialogue-centered, and inclusive of women and youth.

In closing, PPBA’s Director of Programs, Mr. Nantip Joseph Laktam, urged participants to sustain the momentum.

“Peace is not a one-man job. As elections approach, let us maintain the spirit of unity and resilience that has brought us this far,” he said.

The session concluded with the formal alignment of the existing PARTNER structures into the PPBA’s Community Peace Architecture Forum (CPAF), which will serve as a permanent platform for early warning, mediation, and grassroots-led conflict prevention in Plateau State.