REALITY BITES
By PALANG KASMI
In commemoration of the 2025 World Peace Day, the National Women Platform on Security Sector Reform and Governance (NWP-SSRG), in conjunction with Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), organised a two-day forum to identify and proffer solutions on the role of women from all walks of life in tackling Nigeria’s lingering challenges of insecurity.
Stakeholders were drawn from across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, including women in Civil Society Organisations, Non-Governmental Organisations, youth groups, security agencies, wives of traditional rulers, the Female Drivers Association, business groups and the media. Participants brainstormed on ways to push for the inclusion of women in peace negotiations and discussions, to conduct research that would attract gender policies on peace and security and to address other pressing issues.
The engaging forum, themed, ‘She Speaks Peace’, was held from September 24–25 at Dennis Hotel, Abuja, alongside the organisation’s conference and Annual General Meeting.
Transforming the role of grassroots women
A major focus of the forum was how to transform the role of grassroots women from marginalised players into key stakeholders in sustainable peace, leadership structures and policymaking. It was agreed that the contributions of rural women as vital stakeholders in peace initiatives had long been overlooked.
National Focal Person of NWP-SSRG, Associate Prof. Plangsat Dayil, urged stakeholders to come up with practical research, contributions and suggestions that would enable the organisation to develop policy recommendations on leadership and peacebuilding at both state and national levels.
Dayil, a Public Policy, Governance and Development Expert, disclosed that participants were intentionally and carefully selected from across groups and networks.
“The women seated here today are not in hundreds of thousands, but each one is linked to a particular network in this space, and we hope to be a hub for women’s groups working in this area.
“It will surprise you to know that among participants is the president of the Association of Female Drivers of Nigeria. We also have the Association of Women in Trade and Agriculture, the Plateau Youth Leader of the National Council of Women Societies and the Gender Focal Person of the Plateau State Gender and Equal Opportunities Commission, among others,” she said.
“It is with deep honour that I welcome you to this significant gathering to mark the International Day of Peace. Today we gather not just to talk but to reaffirm our shared commitment towards building a world where peace is not a privilege but a right; where peace is not a distant dream but a lived reality,” she added.
Amplifying women’s voices
According to Dayil, the event marked the culmination of the organisation’s recent zonal dialogues on strengthening women’s leadership in peace, security and engagement, all held under the theme, ‘She Speaks Peace’.
She explained that the theme resonated deeply with the vision of a peaceful, just and inclusive world: “We want to amplify women’s voices from the grassroots, nationally and internationally. We have had four successful regional engagements on women, peace and security—two in Northern Nigeria and two in Southern Nigeria—so this is a commemoration of all the engagements and discussions.”
Tracing the platform’s origins, Dayil noted: “Since 2019, the FES Peace and Security Centre in Dakar, with the support of the EU, had led a ‘security for all’ initiative, which culminated in the creation of this women’s platform on security sector reform and governance.
“We worked with Mali and Sierra Leone as observers, but it is only the Nigerian platform that remains active. We have now become a beacon of hope to the entire ECOWAS sub-region as far as the engagement of women in security sector reform and governance is concerned.”
She further explained: “The main mission of the platform is to ensure that security services at all levels are accountable, responsive, and equitable to the unique needs of women. This will be achieved through advocacy, capacity-building, and inclusive dialogue. We are trying to reshape the security landscape across ECOWAS.”
Dayil listed challenges confronting Nigeria and the ECOWAS sub-region, including violent extremism, climate insecurity, exclusionary governance and the profitability of criminality, which, she said, made discussions on peace and sector reform more difficult.
Despite this, she was still optimistic: “Across Africa, women have carried communities through conflict, protected families, healed wounds, and sustained hope. Yet too often, they are excluded from the table where peace is negotiated. This must change, and we must all work towards that change.”
Donor agencies reaffirm commitment
Resident Representative in Nigeria for the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), Lennart Oestergaard, expressed the organisation’s commitment to supporting peacebuilding initiatives in Nigeria, particularly in addressing lingering challenges in parts of the country.
“We are glad the FES has made a commitment to peace and security in Nigeria and Africa and are proud to be a co-founder of the actionable platform NWP-SSRG. Honestly, this network is very important.
“We still remember how it came into being through an excellent project funded by the European Union. We connected women from various networks across different countries, but only the Nigerian network is still alive. We are very proud of that,” Oestergaard said.
He noted that FES was set to celebrate its 50th anniversary of humanitarian work in Nigeria and highlighted its peacebuilding approaches, including civil society support, democratising the security sector and promoting a democratic society where peace and stability were possible and women’s voices were heard.
Representative of the European Union (EU), Abuja, Agnieszka Torres, stressed the EU’s commitment to supporting security sector reform and women’s inclusion in peacebuilding. “Evidence has shown women are present in various sectors like peace and security, mediation, energy, and governance, but their voices are not very much heard. When women are at the table, peace agreements are more likely to be reached,” she said.
Outcomes of the Forum
Keynote speaker, Dr. Paul Andrew Gwaza of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), Abuja, warned in his paper, ‘Strengthening Women’s Leadership and Capacity to Participate in Security and Peacebuilding’ that excluding women from peace negotiations not only undermined justice but also weakened the legitimacy and durability of peace agreements.
Panel discussions, paper presentations and abstract presentations for proposed research on Nigerian women’s involvement in peace and security, along with the NWP 2025 conference and Annual General Meeting, were highlights of the forum.
The forum recommended that peace initiatives and strategies must involve women and marginalised groups in local communities, as they were more aware of the specific security challenges. It also called for wives of traditional rulers and daughters of the land in affected communities to be engaged in peacebuilding.
Other recommendations included case studies of women’s community groups as peace instruments, educating grassroots women on their rights, mentoring women from the grassroots into leadership and providing post-traumatic interventions for crisis-affected rural communities.
The overarching consensus was clear: involving women in peace initiatives at all levels was not optional. It was essential for building sustainable peace in Nigeria and the ECOWAS sub-region.