The prevention of inter-communal conflict in cities where multiple religious
and secular norms and processes affect the delivery of security and
justice is a major challenge for governments and residents. Most analyses
of conflict prevention focus on the part played by traditional authorities
or civil society associations, downplaying the role of public police forces.
Yet fieldwork in Kano, northern Nigeria, suggests that locally appropriate
forms of conventional policing can be highly effective in lowering
tension. While the need to negotiate with Kano’s semi-state and informal
policing actors has not reconfigured the Nigerian police’s authority practices,
Kano’s relative stability owes much to the political and technical
skills with which senior police officers manage the city’s competitive
environment.