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…Says Nigeria can’t build economy without peace framework
By Bianca Iboma-Emefu
The President of the Society for Peace Studies and Practice (SPSP), Mr. Nathaniel Msen Awuapila, has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intensify national collaboration toward ending insecurity, insisting that peacebuilding must become a top-tier priority for Nigeria’s leadership.
Speaking at the opening of the 19th International Annual Conference and General Assembly of SPSP on Tuesday, November 25, 2025, at the Abiola Ajimobi Resource Centre, University of Ibadan, Awuapila warned that the country’s worsening security crisis has become a “heavy national burden” threatening economic stability, social cohesion, and national unity.
Addressing participants at the four-day conference themed “Economic Challenges and the Tasks of Building Sustainable Peace in a Globalised World,” the SPSP president appealed to the Federal Government to work more closely with peace scholars, practitioners, and community actors. He argued that while government is pursuing an All-of-Government approach, Nigeria’s reality demands an All-of-Nation strategy that mobilises institutions, communities, and citizens toward shared solutions.
Awuapila lamented Nigeria’s failure to adopt a national peace policy framework 65 years after independence—despite a draft document existing for more than 15 years. He described the vacuum as a major obstacle to coordinated, proactive peacebuilding.
“Without a guiding framework that reflects our current realities, peacebuilding becomes slow, fragmented, and reactive,” he said.
“We are appealing to President Tinubu to work closely with peace professionals, researchers, and grassroots actors to help solve the insecurity confronting our nation.”
He called for immediate formulation and adoption of a national peace framework to align security agencies, policymakers, researchers, and communities around a unified agenda.
Highlighting SPSP’s contributions over nearly two decades, Awuapila noted its strength in research, dialogue facilitation, community engagement, policy advisory, and field interventions—capacities he said position the Society as a key national partner in the quest for stability.
He warned that Nigeria’s deepening economic pressures and pervasive insecurity are eroding trust, disempowering youth, and placing strain on national development.
“Our youths are becoming disillusioned; communities are losing trust; the economy is struggling under the weight of insecurity. These realities demand collective action,” he added.
The ceremony attracted prominent national figures, including former Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa (rtd.), who delivered the keynote address; Chief Adebisi Akande, Pro-Chancellor, University of Ibadan; Dr. Abiodun Essiet, Special Adviser to the President on Community Engagement; Prof. Kayode Adebowale, Vice Chancellor; Prof. Isaac Olawale Albert, founder of SPSP; Prof. Elias Bogoro, Chairman, Board of Trustees; Kemi Nanna Nandap, Comptroller General, Nigeria Immigration Service; Hon. Aondowase Kunde, Benue State Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs; and Rt. Hon. Adebo Ogundoyin, Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly.
A major highlight was the induction of 40 new Fellows of SPSP drawn from security agencies, academia, government institutions, and the humanitarian sector—an expansion that underscores SPSP’s growing influence in national peace and development discourse.
Speakers at the event warned that Nigeria’s development ambitions may remain elusive without firm, well-coordinated peace interventions, especially as economic pressures continue to fuel grievances and instability nationwide.
