By Odita Sunday
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has called on the Federal Government to adopt the peacebuilding model introduced by Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani as a national framework for tackling insecurity, arguing that Nigeria must shift from a reactive security approach to one driven by conflict prevention, justice, inclusion and community participation.
The call was contained in a statement signed by the National Coordinator of HURIWA, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, on Monday, in which the group urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to direct relevant federal institutions to work with the Kaduna State Government in documenting and adapting the model for nationwide implementation.
HURIWA said Governor Sani’s peace initiative, which focuses on rebuilding trust between government and citizens, promoting justice, equity and fairness, encouraging community ownership and pursuing inclusive development, offers practical lessons that should be institutionalised across the country.
According to the group, Nigeria’s prolonged security challenges cannot be resolved solely through military operations and policing, stressing that sustainable peace requires addressing the root causes of conflict and restoring public confidence in governance.
To achieve this, HURIWA urged the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to begin structured consultations with the Kaduna State Government to independently document, evaluate and transform the Kaduna experience into a flexible national peacebuilding framework adaptable to the peculiar realities of different states.
The association also proposed that every state should conduct a comprehensive Conflict and Peace Audit to identify local drivers of violence, including communal disputes, political grievances, youth unemployment, poverty, land conflicts, farmers-herders clashes, religious intolerance and criminal activities.
HURIWA further called on the IPCR to undertake an independent assessment of the Kaduna model, examining the contributions of government institutions, traditional rulers, religious leaders, women, youth groups, civil society organisations and security agencies, while evaluating its impact on communal peace, kidnapping, banditry, agriculture, education, healthcare and public trust.
The rights group equally advocated an expanded role for the NYSC in national peacebuilding through the establishment of a Peace and National Cohesion Community Development Service programme that would train corps members in conflict prevention, mediation, civic education, human rights, interfaith dialogue and community engagement.
It maintained that corps members should serve as peace educators and civic ambassadors rather than security personnel, noting that the NYSC remains one of Nigeria’s broadest grassroots platforms for promoting national integration.
HURIWA also urged the NHRC to ensure that justice, accountability and respect for human rights become central pillars of any national peacebuilding framework, insisting that lasting peace cannot exist where citizens experience discrimination, exclusion or denial of justice.
The organisation further called on the Federal Government to establish a national early-warning and early-response mechanism capable of identifying emerging conflicts before they escalate into violence, with traditional rulers, religious leaders, women, youth organisations, civil society groups and local governments playing active roles in the process.
It stressed that peacebuilding should be closely linked with development, arguing that communities cannot truly enjoy peace where schools remain shut, healthcare services are inaccessible, farmers are unable to cultivate their lands and livelihoods remain threatened.
HURIWA welcomed reports of the reopening of schools and healthcare facilities as well as the return of farmers to previously abandoned farmlands in parts of Kaduna State, describing them as indicators that peace initiatives should deliver measurable socio-economic benefits.
The association also proposed the establishment of a National Peace and Community Resilience Council comprising the IPCR, NHRC, NYSC, state governments, traditional institutions, religious bodies, civil society organisations, women and youth representatives, as well as relevant security agencies.
According to HURIWA, the council would develop a National Peace and Community Resilience Framework, coordinate nationwide conflict mapping, strengthen early-warning systems, support state governments in designing local peace initiatives, promote interfaith dialogue, train corps members as peace ambassadors, publish annual peace reports and convene a National Peace Summit.
The group cautioned against politicising the Kaduna peace initiative, insisting that successful models should be independently evaluated and replicated regardless of the political party in power.
HURIWA urged the Federal Government to engage Governor Uba Sani in a structured national dialogue on the initiative while encouraging other governors to subject their own peacebuilding efforts to independent assessment in order to build a national repository of workable solutions to insecurity.
The association concluded that Nigeria must move beyond responding to crises after they occur and instead invest in preventing conflicts through justice, inclusion, community ownership, human rights protection and sustainable development.
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