The President of the Society for Peace Studies and Practice (SPSP), Mr. Nathaniel Msen Awuapila, has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intensify collaborative efforts aimed at ending insecurity in Nigeria, describing peacebuilding as a shared responsibility that requires decisive leadership and broad national partnership.
Awuapila made the call on Tuesday, November 25, 2025, at the opening ceremony of the 19th International Annual Conference and General Assembly of SPSP held at the Abiola Ajimobi Resource Centre, University of Ibadan. He emphasized that peace must be prioritized as the foundation for economic stability, social progress, and national unity.
Speaking on the conference theme: “Economic Challenges and the Tasks of Building Sustainable Peace in a Globalised World,” the SPSP President said insecurity had become a heavy national burden requiring urgent, collective action from government, communities, scholars, practitioners, and other stakeholders.
“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.
While acknowledging the government’s ongoing All-of-Government approach, Awuapila stressed the need for an All-of-Nation approach—one that aligns institutions, communities, and citizens in a unified peace agenda.
He expressed concern that Nigeria, 65 years after independence, still lacks a national peace policy framework. According to him, this gap remains a major obstacle to coordinated peacebuilding efforts.
“It is troubling that Nigeria, at 65, does not yet have a national peace policy framework,” he said. “A national peace policy was drafted more than 15 years ago, but it has remained only a draft. Without a guiding framework that reflects our current realities, peacebuilding becomes slow, fragmented, and reactive.”
He strongly advocated for the formulation and adoption of an updated national peace framework to strengthen coordination among peace actors.
Awuapila highlighted SPSP’s contributions over its 19-year existence, pointing to the society’s strengths in research, dialogue facilitation, community engagement, policy development, and field interventions—all of which he said equip the body to serve as a strategic partner in Nigeria’s quest for stability.
With Nigeria grappling with deepening economic pressures and rising insecurity, he urged the government to reinforce internal peace structures to protect the country’s future.
“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 event drew an array of dignitaries, including retired Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, who delivered the keynote address; Chief Adebisi Akande, Pro-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan; Dr. Abiodun Essiet, Special Adviser to the President on Community Engagement; Vice Chancellor, Prof. Kayode Adebowale; SPSP founder and Conference Host, Prof. Isaac Olawale Albert; Prof. Elias Bogoro, Chairman of the Board of Trustees; Comptroller General of Immigration, Kemi Nanna Nandap; Benue Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs, Hon. Aondowase Kunde; and Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adebo Ogundoyin.
A key highlight of the ceremony was the induction of 40 new Fellows of SPSP, cutting across academia, security institutions, government, and humanitarian sectors—an indication of the Society’s growing influence in shaping Nigeria’s peace and development landscape.
Speakers at the conference examined the link between economic hardships and rising insecurity, warning that Nigeria’s development goals may remain elusive without strong, strategic, and well-coordinated peace interventions.
