WE KEEP INVESTING IN SECURITY — WHEN WILL NIGERIA INVEST IN PEACE? A POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR SUSTAINABLE PEACE AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT BY DR. AKANDE, KAZEEM BABATUNDE

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CHAIRMAN, GOVERNING COUNCIL, AFRICAN INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICES OF THE PEACE (AIJP)
RECTOR, WESTERN COAST MARITIME ACADEMY (WECMA)
PRESIDENT, ECOLERITE INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICES OF THE PEACE
MD/CEO, ECOLETECH AGRIBUSINESS SERVICES LIMITED, IBADAN
Email: ambakandemni@gmail.com | Phone: 08036669747

Nigeria continues to commit substantial resources to security institutions, military operations, policing and other responses to insecurity. These investments are necessary to protect lives, property and national sovereignty. However, persistent conflicts, communal violence, banditry, terrorism, kidnapping and social tensions raise an important question: are we investing sufficiently in the conditions that prevent violence and sustain peace?
Security investment responds to threats, while peace investment addresses the underlying conditions that allow conflicts to emerge, persist or escalate. These include injustice, poverty, exclusion, unemployment, weak institutions, unresolved grievances and lack of access to justice.
Nigeria must therefore recognise peacebuilding as a strategic national investment rather than an occasional intervention.
Government should adopt a National Peace Investment and Conflict Prevention Framework that complements existing security strategies with preventive diplomacy, justice, peace education, community engagement, economic inclusion and reconciliation.
Peace investment must not replace security expenditure. Both should work together to protect citizens and address the root causes of insecurity.
RECOMMENDATIONS AND IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES
Recommendation One: Establish a National Peace Investment Framework.
The Federal Government should establish a coordinated national framework for integrating peacebuilding and conflict prevention into national development planning.
Implementation Strategies:
i. The Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, relevant ministries and peacebuilding institutions should develop the framework by First Quarter, 2027
ii. State and local governments should adapt the framework to their respective conflict prevention and community development priorities by First Quarter, 2027
Recommendation Two: Strengthen Early Warning, Justice and Community Peacebuilding.
Federal, state and local governments should strengthen community-based conflict prevention, access to justice and peaceful dispute resolution.
Implementation Strategies:
i. Relevant security agencies, justice institutions and community structures should establish functional early warning and response mechanisms by First Quarter, 2027.
ii. Government should strengthen mediation, legal aid, alternative dispute resolution and community reconciliation programmes, while ensuring that serious offences are handled through lawful processes by First Quarter, 2027
Recommendation Three: Invest in Peace Education and Inclusive Economic Opportunities.
Government should integrate peace education, civic responsibility and social inclusion into education and development programmes.
Implementation Strategies:
i. Relevant education agencies should develop and promote peace education programmes in schools and tertiary institutions by First Quarter, 2027
ii. Federal and state governments should link peacebuilding initiatives with youth employment, agribusiness, vocational training and women’s economic empowerment programmes by First Quarter, 2027
Recommendation Four: Establish Sustainable Funding and Performance Assessment.
Government should provide sustainable funding for peacebuilding and introduce measurable indicators for assessing peace and conflict prevention outcomes.
Implementation Strategies:
i. The Federal Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning should develop appropriate funding proposals for consideration within the national budget process by First Quarter, 2027
ii. Relevant institutions should publish annual peacebuilding performance reports assessing conflict prevention, community participation and reconciliation outcomes by First Quarter, 2027
CONCLUSION
A Nation cannot achieve sustainable development where insecurity, injustice and unresolved conflicts continually undermine social and economic progress. Security protects the nation against immediate threats, but peace investment helps prevent those threats from recurring.
Nigeria must move from responding only to violence to systematically investing in the conditions that make peace possible.
FINAL POLICY MESSAGE
NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE. MORE JUSTICE, MORE PEACE.
A SECURE NIGERIA IS DESIRABLE, BUT A PEACEFUL NIGERIA IS SUSTAINABLE.
REFERENCES
African Union. (2006). African Union Policy on Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development. Addis Ababa: African Union.
Federal Republic of Nigeria. (1999). Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended). Abuja: Federal Government of Nigeria.
Federal Republic of Nigeria. (2019). National Security Strategy. Abuja: Office of the National Security Adviser.
United Nations. (2015). Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. New York: United Nations.
United Nations General Assembly. (2016). Review of the United Nations Peacebuilding Architecture. Resolution A/RES/70/262. New York: United Nations.
United Nations Security Council. (2000). Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. New York: United Nations.
United Nations and World Bank. (2018). Pathways for Peace: Inclusive Approaches to Preventing Violent Conflict. Washington, DC: World Bank.