Crises, Conflict and Cooperation: The Two-Sided Impact of COVID-19 on Peace in Nigeria

How do public health crises affect peace? Guided by the understanding that peace has situational and relational dimensions, this study explored the impact of public health crises on peace using the 2020 COVID-19 outbreak in Nigeria as a case study. Data collected between March and July 2020 through in-depth interviews with 37 Nigerians, Nigerian media sources, and the website of Nigeria Interreligious Council (NIREC) indicate that the COVID-19 outbreak and state response to it had mixed effects on peace in Nigeria. The article argues that this has major implications for interreligious peace in Nigeria and other religiously diverse societies.