FG, Stakeholders Move to Build New National Peace Policy for Nigeria

By Auwal Umar, Gombe

The Federal Government and key stakeholders in Nigeria’s peacebuilding sector have begun work on a new National Peace Policy designed to strengthen conflict prevention, improve institutional coordination and promote sustainable peace across the country.

The initiative was announced in a statement signed by Hafsah Matazu, Programme Manager at the Office for Strategic Preparedness and Resilience (OSPRE), and made available to journalists in Gombe on Thursday.

OSPRE and the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), in partnership with Triple Peace Africa, convened a three-day technical workshop on “Building an Inclusive National Infrastructure for Peace and Resilience.”

The workshop brought together representatives of federal ministries, departments and agencies, members of the National Assembly, state peace commissions, subnational institutions, civil society organisations and peacebuilding practitioners from across the country.

Speaking at the meeting, OSPRE Director-General, Chris Ngwodo, said the proposed policy was aimed at creating a framework that reflects Nigeria’s current peace and security realities.

He said the process would also take into account developments that have emerged since the country’s previous attempt to establish a National Peace Policy in 2012.

The Director-General of IPCR, Joseph Ochogwu, described the proposed policy as a critical framework for strengthening Nigeria’s peacebuilding system, saying it would provide the institutional and operational foundation for coordinated peace efforts.

Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the President on Homeland Security, Major General Adeyinka Famadewa (rtd), said the policy would promote a more proactive approach to conflict management.

According to him, the framework would help move the country away from responding to conflicts only after they occur towards anticipating risks and preventing violence before it escalates.

The Chief Executive Officer of Triple Peace Africa, Paul Nyulaku, said the emerging framework reflected a broad consensus among stakeholders on the need for a new approach to building lasting peace in Nigeria.

The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Peacebuilding and Social Cohesion, Sadiq Abbas Tafida, pledged the commitment of the House to supporting the policy and ensuring that adequate resources are provided for its implementation.

Participants at the workshop called for a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to peacebuilding, linking federal institutions with state and local governments, state peace commissions, civil society organisations and community-based actors.

They also stressed the need for a completely renewed policy framework capable of responding to Nigeria’s changing security, social and economic realities while taking advantage of emerging opportunities for peacebuilding.

In his remarks at the close of the workshop, the Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Lanre Issa-Onilu, urged stakeholders to ensure that the proposed policy is rooted in Nigeria’s national values.

He said the framework should also serve as a tool for civic mobilisation, national unity and stronger social cohesion.

Representatives of participating institutions subsequently signed a communiqué committing themselves to deeper collaboration, improved institutional coordination and greater alignment of peacebuilding initiatives across the country.

The resolutions from the workshop are expected to form part of broader consultations across the federation as the Federal Government and stakeholders work towards producing an inclusive National Peace Policy and a stronger national infrastructure for peace and resilience.