An Assessment of Operation Rainbow as a Mechanism for Peace- building in Plateau State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study assessed Operation Rainbow as a mechanism for Peace- building in Plateau State. Operation Rainbow was created by Plateau State Government which includes civilians to address the perceived harassment by the Federal Government Joint Security Task Force in Plateau State to coil the lingering crises that engulfed the State most especially Jos North and Jos South Local Government Areas. The result shows that resource rivalry, power politics are factors that promote conflict in Plateau state as people struggle for power; there is collaboration between the Operation Rainbow and other security agencies to tackle the crises which leads to significant Peace-building. This study concludes that the lack of sincere conflict resolution efforts in Jos resulted in the transformation of a once-localized confrontation between political elites of different ethnic groups into a protracted communal conflict with a strong religious dimension. The study recommended that there is need to address Constitutional Reforms to political structure in the country.