The North Central Peace Ownership Movement has urged Nigerians to take personal and collective responsibility for promoting peace, tolerance and peaceful coexistence as part of efforts to address insecurity and communal conflicts across the country.
The movement said sustainable peace could not be achieved if citizens continued to depend solely on the government and security agencies, stressing that individuals, families and communities must play active roles in preventing conflicts.
The call was made on Wednesday in Abuja during the formal launch of the movement under the theme, *“Peace Begins at Home.”*
The initiative is driven by the Julebrama Women and Children Initiative (JUWACI), in collaboration with the Open Dialogue Initiative (ODI), with support from the Mandela Washington Fellowship Alumni Association of Nigeria and the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria.
Speaking at the event, the Chairman of NAHCON, Ambassador Ismail Abba Yusuf, represented by the Registrar of the Hajj Institute, Dr Ibrahim Abubakar Jalingo, described the initiative as a timely intervention in Nigeria’s peacebuilding efforts.
He said development and national progress would remain difficult to achieve without peace, urging stakeholders to move beyond discussions and translate their commitments into practical actions.
“There will be no development. Absolutely no development. No progress can be made without peace,” he stated.
Jalingo stressed that peacebuilding must go beyond classrooms and conference halls, adding that it should be reflected in people’s daily relationships and interactions within their communities.
The Executive Director of JUWACI and co-convener of the movement, Chief Jennifer Hembafan Alih, said the initiative was established in response to persistent insecurity, communal tensions and the devastating effects of conflicts across the North-Central region.
She said Nigerians must become active participants in peacebuilding rather than rely exclusively on government interventions.
Alih added that meaningful change would begin when individuals consciously addressed their attitudes and embraced peaceful relationships with people of different backgrounds.
“Peace does not mean that there is an absence of grief or any other bad thing, but peace is deliberate. And today we are preaching a simple message: peace begins at home,” she said.
She urged Nigerians to look beyond religious, ethnic and linguistic differences, noting that mutual understanding and recognition of shared humanity were essential to peaceful coexistence.
Similarly, the Founder of the Open Dialogue Initiative and co-convener, Chief Abdullahi O. Haruna, called for renewed commitment to forgiveness, tolerance and responsible citizenship.
He identified unresolved resentment, prejudice and fear as factors capable of destroying relationships and fuelling conflicts.
Haruna said peace should be treated as a fundamental pillar of human existence and deliberately incorporated into the values taught in homes and educational institutions.
He also urged young Nigerians to recognise their responsibility in shaping the country’s future, stressing that building a peaceful society should not be left to one generation or institution.
An academic and development advocate, Dr Jummai Ahmadu, warned that unresolved disagreements within families could contribute to wider societal instability.
She said domestic conflicts, if left unaddressed, could be passed from one generation to another and eventually manifest as divisions within communities.
Ahmadu urged families to promote mutual respect, understanding and open communication, stressing the need to resolve disagreements constructively before they degenerated into lasting hostility.
Other contributors at the event included Dr Abdulraham Abu Hamisu, Dr Ibrahim Abubakar Jalingo, Dr Emmanuel Nathan Oguche, Mallama Fatima Ibrahim Ogohi and Barrister Benni Alika.
The Etsu Kwali, His Royal Highness Lucas Ayedoo Nisazzan, was among the traditional rulers expected at the event but could not attend.
The organisers also expressed concern over the role of misinformation and irresponsible social media engagement in worsening divisions within communities.
They called for responsible information sharing, digital safety and critical thinking as essential components of efforts to build a peaceful society.
The movement’s campaign, tagged **#PeaceBeginsFromHome**, seeks to expand peacebuilding beyond conflict response to include prevention, reconciliation, social cohesion, responsible communication and community participation.
The organisers maintained that the family remained the first school of citizenship, noting that values cultivated at home would eventually shape people’s conduct in public life.
They, however, acknowledged that efforts to promote peace at household and community levels must be complemented by measures to address the structural causes of conflict, including poverty, injustice, competition over land and resources, weak institutions, insecurity and social exclusion.
The movement plans to engage traditional rulers, religious leaders, women, young people, educators, policymakers, civil society organisations and the media in its advocacy for sustainable peace.
The organisers said the launch marked the beginning of a broader community engagement campaign to make peace a daily practice rather than an occasional public declaration.
“We shall not inherit conflict. We shall inherit and build peace,”They declared.
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