The Society for Peace Studies and Practice (SPSP) has renewed calls for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intensify national collaboration in addressing Nigeria’s worsening security challenges, warning that sustainable development will remain elusive without a coordinated peace strategy.
Delivering the keynote address at the opening of the 19th International Annual Conference and General Assembly of SPSP in Ibadan, the President of the Society, Mr. Nathaniel Msen Awuapila, said insecurity had grown into a heavy national burden that now requires decisive leadership and the active involvement of all stakeholders; government, communities, researchers, and peace practitioners.
Awuapila urged the Federal Government to make peace a central pillar of national policy, noting that no meaningful economic stability or social progress can take root in an atmosphere defined by violence, distrust, and rising public anxiety.
He appealed directly to President Tinubu to deepen engagement with peace professionals, emphasising that the All-of-Government approach currently adopted must evolve into an All-of-Nation strategy for Nigeria to achieve lasting solutions.
“We are appealing to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to work closely with peace professionals, researchers, and grassroots actors to help solve the insecurity confronting our nation,” he said.
Awuapila expressed concern that, 65 years after independence, Nigeria still lacks a National Peace Policy Framework, an absence he described as a major impediment to coordinated peacebuilding efforts.
“It is troubling that Nigeria, at 65, does not yet have a national peace policy framework. A draft was produced more than 15 years ago, but it has remained only a draft,” he stated.
He called for the urgent formulation and adoption of a comprehensive peace framework that would align institutions, communities, and stakeholders toward a shared national peace agenda.
Highlighting SPSP’s work over nearly two decades, Awuapila noted that the Society has built strong capacity in research, dialogue facilitation, community engagement, policy advisory, and field interventions, roles that make it an essential partner in rebuilding national resilience.
He warned that economic hardships, youth disillusionment, and increasing communal tensions underscore the need to reinforce Nigeria’s internal peace architecture.
“Our youths are becoming disillusioned, communities are losing trust, and the economy is struggling under the weight of insecurity. These realities demand collective action,” he said.
The conference, held at the Abiola Ajimobi Resource Centre, University of Ibadan, brought together an eminent group of stakeholders including former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa (rtd.); former Osun State Governor and UI Pro-Chancellor, Chief Bisi Akande; Special Adviser to the President on Community Engagement, Dr. Abiodun Essiet; University of Ibadan Vice Chancellor, Prof. Kayode Adebowale; SPSP Founder, Prof. Isaac Olawale Albert; Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Prof. Elias Sulaiman Bogoro; Comptroller General of Immigration, Kemi Nanna Nandap; Benue Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs, Hon. Aondowase Kunde; and Oyo Speaker, Rt. Hon. Adebo Ogundoyin.
A major highlight was the induction of 40 new Fellows of SPSP drawn from security agencies, tertiary institutions, government, and humanitarian organisations, an affirmation of the Society’s expanding influence in shaping national peace and development discourse.
Speakers at the conference examined the link between Nigeria’s economic challenges and rising insecurity, cautioning that the country’s development aspirations may remain unattainable without firm, strategic, and well-coordinated peace interventions.
The four-day conference continues with technical sessions focused on innovative peacebuilding models for a globalised and economically strained world.