FG, Stakeholders Begin Work on New National Peace Policy
By Auwal Ahmad Umar
The Federal Government has commenced consultations with key stakeholders on the development of a new National Peace Policy aimed at strengthening conflict prevention, institutional coordination and sustainable peace across Nigeria.
The initiative was disclosed 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.
The three-day technical workshop, organised by OSPRE and the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) in collaboration with Triple Peace Africa, was themed “Building an Inclusive National Infrastructure for Peace and Resilience.”
The meeting brought together officials from federal ministries, departments and agencies, members of the National Assembly, state peace commissions, civil society organisations, subnational institutions and peacebuilding practitioners from different parts of the country.
Why a new policy?
Speaking at the workshop, the Director-General of OSPRE, Chris Ngwodo, said the proposed policy was intended to provide a common framework for Nigeria’s evolving peacebuilding efforts.
Mr Ngwodo said the process would build on previous initiatives while taking into account developments and lessons that have emerged since the last attempt to develop a National Peace Policy in 2012.
The Director-General of IPCR, Joseph Ochogwu, described the proposed policy as a critical foundation for Nigeria’s peacebuilding architecture.
He said the framework would provide the institutional and operational direction required to coordinate peacebuilding efforts across the country.
The Special Adviser to the President on Homeland Security, Major General Adeyinka Famadewa (rtd), said the policy would encourage a shift from reacting to conflicts after they occur to anticipating and preventing them.
He said a coordinated approach involving relevant stakeholders was necessary to address emerging threats and prevent conflicts from escalating.
Stakeholders seek broader coordination
The Chief Executive Officer of Triple Peace Africa, Paul Nyulaku, said the emerging framework represented a new consensus among stakeholders on the need for a more effective approach to peacebuilding 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 made available for its implementation.
Participants agreed that Nigeria needs a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to peacebuilding, with stronger links between federal institutions, state and local governments, state peace commissions, civil society organisations and community-level actors.
They also called for a completely renewed framework that reflects Nigeria’s present realities and addresses emerging challenges and opportunities in peacebuilding.
NOA seeks values-based policy
In his closing remarks, the Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Lanre Issa-Onilu, urged stakeholders to ensure that the proposed policy is firmly rooted in Nigeria’s national values.
He said the policy should go beyond conflict management to become a tool for civic mobilisation, national unity and social cohesion.
Representatives of participating institutions signed a communiqué committing themselves to stronger strategic collaboration, improved institutional coordination and better alignment of peacebuilding initiatives.
The resolutions from the workshop will form part of wider consultations across the country as stakeholders work towards producing an inclusive National Peace Policy and strengthening Nigeria’s national infrastructure for peace and resilience.