AKWA IBOM STATE UNIVERSITY JOUNAL OF ARTS

Plateau State in Nigeria is one of the flashpoint states that have suffered different kinds of crises leaving many communities in devastations and the people in deep-rooted trauma. The research focused on the Mai’adiko community in Jos who has experienced conflicts and silent killings that grossly affected the people: their relationships impacted the social and economic stability of the community and the state as a whole. Thus, the need for healing and reconciliation in such communities becomes paramount. The hypothetical study examined how the Mai’adiko community was helped in the context of healing and reconciliation towards addressing the devastative and traumatic state of the people. The research determined whether or not the healing and reconciliation have yielded positive results. As a practical theological field, the contextual descriptive-empirical, interpretive, normative, and pragmatic tasks were followed as the research methodology. Semi- structured interviews were conducted with 60 local stakeholders. The research findings reveal the reality of the state of the devastation and deep-rooted trauma; the political and religious tensions trigger the conflicts in the community; the peace gatherings and initiatives in the names of healing and reconciliation were happening; and the people still co-exist in fear, suspicion and with trauma. The creation of institute of healing of trauma was recommended to foster and hermeneutically lead towards effective healing and reconciliation through restorative justice. Similarly, the importance of socio-economic empowerment programs was stressed in the recommendations.

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