Value Conflict Resolution through Peace Education: A Panacea for Sustaiable Development in Nigeria

The intent of this paper is to explore the concepts of value conflict and peace education; and also to discuss how peace education can be used to resolve value conflicts and engender sustainable development in Nigeria. The paper which is based on the review of extant literature identified that value conflicts arise between parties as a result of differing world views and ethno-religious dispositions. The paper posits that peace education is a veritable instrument for inculcating in individuals and groups, the worth of peace and harmony and the cost of conflict and violence; peace education is proffered as a mechanism for reducing the spate of value conflicts and also a way of equipping individuals and groups with the necessary competence to forestall value conflicts and/or to manage them when they occur. The paper concluded that peace education is the way out of the unending problem of value conflict in Nigeria, as it is capable of promoting peaceful coexistence among the various ethnic groups in the country and recommends that activities focused on fostering cooperation and peaceful co-existence among the various ethnic and religious groups should be increased, it is the considered view of the paper that peace education is the tool with which individuals and groups can acquire the skills and dispositions required to engender peace, and also prevent, management and resolve conflict.