The founder of the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), Mr Steve Killelea, has held a high-level meeting with the Conflict Research Network (CORN) West Africa in Abuja, aimed at strengthening collaboration on peace research and data systems in Nigeria and the wider region.
The meeting, held on Monday, brought together key stakeholders including IEP Country Representative, Mr Roy Nwafor; Team Lead of SPRiNG, Prof. Ukiwo Ukoha; Mr Obinna Chukwuezie; and Ms Lara Raji of CORN West Africa.
Discussions focused on how "Positive Peace" frameworks and locally generated data can better support policy decisions, advocacy and resilience-building efforts, particularly across Nigeria and the Sahel.
Speaking during the session, Associate Director of CORN West Africa, Mr Obinna Chukwuezie, said while global frameworks such as those underpinning the Global Peace Index provide structure for analysing conflict trends, they often lack real-time local insights.
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"This is where CORN West Africa can add value, by co-developing localised peace metrics and linking data to narratives that influence behaviour and policy," he said.
Killelea, in his remarks, underscored the link between peace and economic development, noting that countries that invest in peaceful systems tend to record stronger growth.
"Countries that are improving in Positive Peace have twice the GDP growth rate of those deteriorating. Building the attitudes, institutions, and structures that sustain peace creates an optimal environment for societies to thrive," he said.
Also speaking, Prof. Ukiwo Ukoha highlighted the relevance of the NPAID initiative being driven by CORN West Africa, describing it as a tool for tracking patterns of violent conflict and resilience.
"The NPAID initiative led by CORN West Africa is an innovation that would complement systematic tracking of data on different indicators of violent conflicts. We are fascinated by the prospects of NPAID helping us shed light on why some contexts have remained peaceful amidst the presence of drivers of violence and mobilisations towards violence.
"By tracking peace efforts by government, community, security and civil society actors and institutions, we will be able to account for resilience. In this way, we can build and share evidence of what works and why. By sharing the evidence, we will be influencing uptake and replication of good practice, and consequently, promoting sustainable peace," he said.
On her part, Ms Raji pointed to the organisation's Nigeria Peace Web platform as a tool for documenting peace initiatives and actors across communities.
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She said the platform provides qualitative, real-time insights that complement global datasets such as the Global Peace Index and Positive Peace Index, thereby strengthening the evidence base for peacebuilding.
The meeting is expected to pave the way for closer cooperation between IEP and CORN West Africa, particularly in developing tools and frameworks to support sustainable peace efforts across the region.
