Nigeria has intensified its efforts to establish a unified national framework for peacebuilding, as key security and governance stakeholders convened in Abuja for the Second High-Level Expert Dialogue on the Draft National Peace Policy (NPP).
The aim is to overhaul the country’s currently fragmented conflict management system.
The dialogue, organised by the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) in partnership with the Office of Strategic Preparedness and Resilience (OSPRE) and Triple Peace Africa, brought together policymakers, security experts, academics, civil society leaders, and development partners to refine and progress the proposed national framework.
Opening the discussions, the Director-General of IPCR, Dr Joseph Ochogwu, stated that Nigeria’s worsening and interconnected security challenges make the adoption of a coherent peace policy both urgent and unavoidable.
He highlighted the ongoing insurgency in the Northeast, farmer-herder conflicts in the Northcentral, separatist tensions in the Southeast, and widespread banditry and kidnapping in the Northwest, warning that the combined impact of these crises continues to strain national cohesion.
According to Dr Ochogwu, the proliferation of small arms, coupled with declining trust between communities and institutions, has further exacerbated insecurity and undermined local resilience.
He stressed that Nigeria can no longer rely on piecemeal and uncoordinated interventions, arguing that only a unified, evidence-based framework can deliver sustainable peace.
“We now require a nationally owned system that coordinates all peacebuilding actors, eliminates duplication, and ensures interventions are measurable, accountable, and impactful at community level,” he said.
He explained that the Draft National Peace Policy is the result of extensive nationwide consultations across all six geopolitical zones, incorporating feedback from traditional rulers, civil society organisations, academic experts, government institutions, and community stakeholders.
Describing the document as a strategic shift in approach, he said the policy is designed to move peacebuilding from reactive crisis response to a preventative and development-oriented system, anchored on data, early warning, and institutional coordination.
A key issue the policy seeks to address is the lack of a central coordinating structure for peace initiatives nationwide, a situation he said has led to duplicated efforts, institutional competition, and inefficient resource allocation.
The proposed framework, he added, will integrate peacebuilding into core sectors including security, justice, education, health, agriculture, and governance, ensuring a whole-of-government approach to conflict prevention and stability.
Dr Ochogwu further highlighted that the policy aligns with global and regional frameworks such as the United Nations Sustaining Peace Agenda, the Sustainable Development Goals – particularly SDG 16 on peace, justice and strong institutions – the African Union’s Agenda 2063, and the ECOWAS Conflict Prevention Framework.
He said this alignment demonstrates Nigeria’s commitment to international best practice and positions the country as a potential leader in structured peacebuilding across Africa.
Participants at the dialogue emphasised that the policy’s success will depend on strong political will, clearly defined institutional roles, sustainable financing mechanisms, and effective coordination across all levels of government.
They cautioned that without robust implementation structures, the policy risks becoming another well-intentioned but ineffective document.
Dr Ochogwu urged stakeholders to take collective responsibility for the process, describing them as critical actors in shaping Nigeria’s peace architecture and warning against institutional silos that weaken national response systems.
He reaffirmed IPCR’s commitment to working with federal and state governments, peacebuilding agencies, civil society organisations, the private sector, and international partners to ensure the policy is finalised, adopted, and implemented without delay.
He maintained that Nigeria’s stability depends on deliberate and coordinated action, stressing that the time for policy adoption and implementation is now.
Analysts suggest that the push for a National Peace Policy could represent a turning point in Nigeria’s conflict management strategy, shifting the country from reactive security responses to a more structured, preventative, and sustainable peace framework.
