Nathaniel Msen Awuapila's Page

What motivated you (or your organization) to become involved in peace and conflict resolution?

I've been into development work for over 10 years now, but 3 years ago when I was saddled with responsibility to coordinate an election observation & civic education project for the Health/Justice, Development & Peace Commission (H/JDPC) over a region described by the project as Block 3 (comprising Northern Nigeria) I realized that meaningful development work can be done sustainably only by mainstreaming peacebuilding and building capacity for conflict resolution. The next year (2008) I was at the West Africa Peacebuilding Institute (WAPI) in Accra, Ghana, for the first set of 5 courses I was to take in the field of peacebuilding. Today I am coordinating a 3-year Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation program for H/JDPC in Nigeria.

Please feel free to provide a short bio about yourself or the work of your organization (no more than 3 paragraphs)

Born April 18, 1971. I am Nigerian; have studied in Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana.
I hold qualifications in Philosophy (Pontifical Urban University, '95), Development Planning & Management (CUEA, 2000) and Peacebuilding (WAPI, '07 '08). I started off my career as educator and taught for a number of years.
Apart from my regular employment, I have provided consultative services to several organizations over the past decade in the areas of organizational and service/product development as well as trained community animators, election observers, election data analysts, community health actors, and peacebuilding practitioners. I am also the founder of a grassroots NGO that is currently mobilizing communities and CBOs/CDAs in Gwer-West LGA, Benue State in Nigeria, to ease access of INGOs/national NGOs to the most rural communities in the state as well as strengthen their capacity to efficiently participate in community development initiatives.

Please list the countries and/or regions in which you (or your organization) have direct and significant expertise

I can be consultated on development issues about Nigeria.

What is your current country of residence (or location of your organization)?

Nigeria

What is your current job (and organization) and/or where and what field are you studying?

Program Officer/Quality Manager, Health/Justice, Development & Peace Commission (H/JDPC), Abuja Nigeria

How many years professional experience do you have ?

11-15

What is your personal or organizational website?

http://Under construction

What is one of your favorite websites in the field? (please provide one answer per box)

http://bnet.com

What is one of your favorite websites in the field? (please provide one answer per box)

http://IRINnews.org

Which are your primary sectoral areas of expertise (or the primary sectoral areas of your organization) ?

Civil Society, Dialogue, Education, Facilitation, Natural Resources, Organizational Development

Which are your primary skills areas(or the primary skill areas of your organization)?

Advocacy, Capacity Building, Evaluation, Monitoring, Program Design, Research, Training

What are some of your current areas of research (if any)?

Overcoming obstacles to sustainable peace in North Central Nigeria;
Building community (grassroots) capacity to respond to climate change and environmental degradation

If appropriate feel free to list several of your (or your organization's) publications

Investment in Core Competencies: Secure Strategy for Organisational Growth & Long Range Competitive Advantage (2000);
Understanding Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral (2001);
Between Teacher and Student (in Total Educator, Issue 1.1., 2003);
Establishing Community Structures for Peace in North-Cental Nigeria (2009)