The Director-General of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), Dr Joseph Ochogwu, has warned that Nigeria’s democratic stability and development prospects could be undermined if the country fails to make sustained investment in peace, justice, inclusion and social cohesion ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Ochogwu gave the warning on Monday in Abuja while speaking at the IPCR Conference Hall during the Institute’s 2026 International Day of Peace Commemoration Lecture.
The event coincided with the global observance of the International Day of Peace on September 21, marked in line with a United Nations General Assembly resolution. The 2026 UN theme is “Investing in Peace for Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day.”
Domesticating the theme as “Renewed Hope Agenda: Investing in Peace for Democratic Stability – Everyday Pathways to Justice and Inclusion Ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 General Elections,” the IPCR boss said Nigeria must move beyond treating peace as a temporary response to crises and begin to regard it as critical national infrastructure.
He argued that credible elections cannot be secured through the ballot alone, stressing that the social and political conditions created in communities, markets, local government areas and online spaces before 2027 would significantly shape the conduct and outcome of the elections.
According to Ochogwu, Nigeria’s major conflict drivers include violent extremism, farmer-herder conflicts, banditry, youth restiveness, communal tensions, climate-induced competition over resources and misinformation.
He also identified hate speech, youth and women’s grievances, limited access to community-level justice and perceptions of exclusion as issues requiring urgent attention.
“Without peace, we cannot have food security. Without peace, we cannot have quality education, healthcare, or attract investment,” Ochogwu said, warning that insecurity disrupts livelihoods, weakens institutions and discourages economic investment.
He called for peacebuilding to be funded and sustained in the same manner as critical physical infrastructure.
“Every naira, every hour, every platform invested in dialogue is an investment in Nigeria’s survival,” he said.
Ochogwu disclosed that the IPCR had intensified its election-related conflict prevention efforts and would activate its national conflict telephony system to monitor and report incidents of electoral and political violence ahead of the 2027 elections.
He said reports generated through the system would be escalated to relevant stakeholders for early intervention, while the Institute was also coordinating the National Conflict Early Warning and Early Response Platform to link state-level mechanisms and strengthen conflict monitoring and response.
Other measures, he said, include dialogue with political actors and traditional institutions, engagement with women and youth networks across the six geopolitical zones, and the development of policy briefs on mitigating electoral violence.
The IPCR DG stressed that government alone could not guarantee peaceful elections, calling for a broad national compact involving the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies, National Assembly, private sector, traditional and religious leaders, civil society organisations, the media and international development partners.
He urged the National Assembly to strengthen legislation promoting social cohesion, while encouraging security agencies to deepen non-kinetic and community-centred approaches to conflict prevention.
Ochogwu also called on businesses to recognise peace as an economic imperative and urged the media to promote peace journalism while countering hate speech and misinformation.
He appealed to Nigerians at home and in the diaspora to make peacebuilding a personal and collective responsibility.
“Speak peace. Share peace. Fund peace. Teach peace,” he said.
Also speaking, Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni, said his administration had deliberately strengthened the state’s peace architecture through early warning and response mechanisms, conflict-management capacity building, peace education, dialogue and the use of technology to address information disorder.
Buni, represented by his Special Adviser on Security Matters, Brig. Gen. Dahiru Abdulsalam (rtd), said the interventions were designed to address the activities of what he described as “conflict entrepreneurs” who profit from instability.
The governor reaffirmed Yobe’s alignment with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly efforts aimed at promoting durable peace, improved security and inclusive economic growth.
