Chapter 46: The Blueprint (Action Plan by Stakeholders)

Timeframe: Immediate (0–6 months), Medium (6–24 months), Long-term (24+ months)
Location: Abuja, Umuahia, diaspora capitals, ECOWAS mediation facilities
Key Actors: Federal Government of Nigeria, South-East Governors Forum, IPOB/IPoB-IPOA negotiators, civil society coalitions, ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council, faith leaders

Epigraph:

“A peace process fails when it forgets who must implement every clause.” — CLEEN Foundation Roundtable Communiqué, October 2023 [1]

The Narrative Opening

The Situation Room

After years of litigation, arrests, and counter-raids, every stakeholder now keeps a spreadsheet titled “What Next?” Chapter 46 converts that anxiety into a blueprint. It assigns responsibilities, timelines, and verification metrics so that peace stops being a slogan and becomes a workflow.

Section 1: Federal Government deliverables

1. Immediate (0–6 months):
   • Publish a white paper on extraordinary rendition, acknowledging the Kenya operation and announcing an inquiry with a 90-day deadline.
     
   • Transfer Kanu from DSS custody to the Nigerian Correctional Service with independent medical oversight, in line with the UN WGAD directives.
     
   • Announce a moratorium on offensive military operations in civilian zones of the South East, replacing them with joint patrols that include police, civil defence, and community observers.
     
2. Medium-term (6–24 months):
   • Sponsor amendments to the Terrorism Prevention Act to incorporate safeguards against extraordinary rendition and incommunicado detention.
     
   • Operationalise the Human Rights Desks already budgeted for in the 2024 Ministry of Justice appropriation to fast-track prosecution of security agents accused of abuses.
     
3. Long-term (24+ months):
   • Negotiate a political settlement that includes fiscal devolution benchmarks, representation quotas in federal agencies, and a truth-telling forum on the 2015–2025 conflict period, similar to South Africa’s TRC.

Section 2: South-East governments & civic actors

1. Immediate:
   • Launch a unified incident-reporting portal that logs security operations, extortion complaints, and community mediation outcomes. Data is shared weekly with the National Security Adviser and ECOWAS observers.
     
   • Constitute a joint legal defence fund for detainees arrested under blanket “IPOB” labels to ensure speedy arraignment.
     
2. Medium-term:
   • Pass state-level whistle-blower protection laws covering police officers who testify about extrajudicial killings.
     
   • Convert vigilante outfits into community safety corps trained by CLEEN Foundation and ICRC on human-rights-compliant policing [1].
     
3. Long-term:
   • Integrate peace dividends into state budgets: ring-fenced allocations for road rehabilitation, technical colleges, and trauma counselling, reported quarterly to citizens.

Section 3: IPOB, diaspora, and movement ecosystem

1. Immediate:
   • Issue a code of conduct banning attacks on civilians and critical infrastructure, with a disciplinary council publishing enforcement outcomes.
     
   • Provide the ICC and ECOWAS with updated rosters of commanders to aid accountability mapping.
     
2. Medium-term:
   • Transition Radio Biafra and allied media into a compliance framework that separates advocacy from incitement, backed by independent ombudsmen.
     
   • Reallocate 30% of diaspora fundraising to humanitarian programs jointly run with neutral NGOs, showcasing constructive capacity.
     
3. Long-term:
   • Prepare policy memos on federal restructuring, energy transition, and border management so that whenever dialogue opens, the movement tables actionable proposals rather than slogans.

Section 4: Regional and international guarantors

• ECOWAS Mediation: Deploy the same Mediation and Security Council architecture used in the Gambia transition—co-mediators from Ghana and Sierra Leone, a joint monitoring mission, and an implementation scorecard published monthly [2].
  
• African Union & UN: Encourage the AU Peace and Security Council to adopt a communiqué referencing WGAD Opinion 25/2022, making compliance part of Nigeria’s peer-review obligations. The UN Office for West Africa (UNOWAS) should embed electoral and human-rights advisers in Abuja to ensure reforms survive political transitions.
  
• Faith and traditional institutions: The Catholic Bishops Conference, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, and the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) peace desk can co-chair community reconciliation forums, providing moral legitimacy and local enforcement of agreements.

The “Investigative Evidence” Box

Exhibit AE: Stakeholder Accountability Matrix

• Spreadsheet assigning each action item a responsible institution, deadline, and verification method (parliamentary motion, budget release, independent audit).
  
• Shared with ECOWAS and domestic civil society to track implementation in real time.

The Verdict

Peace is no longer abstract; it is a checklist with names beside every box. If Abuja delays a white paper, citizens will know. If IPOB fails to enforce its code, the diaspora will see the metrics. And if ECOWAS hesitates, its own scorecard will expose the stall. The blueprint makes accountability contagious—and that is the only way the cycle breaks.

Chapter Endnotes / Citations

• [1] CLEEN Foundation. (2023). Community Security & Accountability Roundtable Communiqué.
  
• [2] Economic Community of West African States. (2017 & 2024). Mediation and Security Council Mission Templates (Gambia Transition Lessons Learned).