The Conflict Research Network West Africa (CORN West Africa) on Wednesday unveiled a new digital platform, Nigeria Peacework (NPW), designed to make peacebuilding efforts across Nigeria more visible, connected, and accessible.
The platform, developed under the Nigeria Peace Act and funded by the United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office, aggregates structured data on peace actors, initiatives, and peace-related events across the country.
Speaking at the unveiling, the Executive Director of CORN West Africa, Dr. Timipere Allison, said the initiative could help shift peace practice in Nigeria toward coordinated prevention.
Allison explained that the platform was created to address a major gap in documenting peace efforts in Nigeria, noting that while violent incidents and insecurity trends are routinely tracked, peace initiatives often go largely undocumented.
“Nigeria has developed sophisticated systems for documenting violence. Building comparable systems for documenting peace is the next step toward strengthening resilience,” he said.
Represented at the event by CORN West Africa official Obinna Chukwuezie, Allison added that many individuals and organisations work daily to prevent violence and manage tensions, yet much of their work remains invisible.
“People work every day to prevent violence and manage tensions, but much of that work remains undocumented, disconnected, and often too invisible.
“The NPW platform aims to strengthen collaboration by helping stakeholders see who is doing what, where, and with whom, so they can coordinate better, reduce duplication, and build on what already works,” he said.
He emphasised that the success of the platform would depend largely on the willingness of peace actors across the country to actively use and shape it.
“We hope that, together, we can move from fragmented and episodic interventions toward coordinated prevention and cumulative learning, so that peace becomes as visible, measurable, and strategically supported as violence has long been,” Allison added.
Also speaking, the Nigeria Peace Actors and Initiatives in Data (NPAID) Project Officer, George Biesmans, said the platform was developed in response to the dominant public narrative that focuses mainly on conflict and violence.
According to him, the platform aggregates nationwide data on peacebuilding activities and actors in order to highlight often overlooked efforts aimed at promoting peace.
“The Nigeria Peace Web emerged in a context where discourse is heavily focused on conflict and violence.
“The platform aggregates data on peacebuilding events and actors nationwide, with the aim of shifting the narrative from conflict to peace,” Biesmans said.
He explained that the NPW initiative has two key objectives: to shift public discourse away from conflict narratives and to close the gap in peace-related data by providing systematic knowledge on peacebuilding activities.
“We want to put the spotlight on peacebuilding actors and initiatives that take place every day across the country,” he said.
Biesmans added that the platform operates on a hybrid model that combines automated data collection with user-generated contributions, allowing peace actors to share lessons learned and best practices.
Also speaking at the event, the Head of Programmes and Operations at CORN West Africa, Omolara Raji, said the organisation collaborates with key institutions and stakeholders to promote peace initiatives.
“We work with the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), the Institute of Peace Research, stakeholders from universities, as well as other civil society organisations,” she said.
Chair of the Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (PCVE) Knowledge, Innovation, and Resource Hub, Jaye Gaskia, described the platform as a web-based resource that enables users to easily track peace initiatives across Nigeria.
According to him, the platform will help monitor peace actors and evaluate the impact of their initiatives at both government and community levels.
“It will serve as a unified source of information for researchers, the media, citizens and anyone interested in peacebuilding.
“It will also promote shared learning so that when people implement successful initiatives in one location, others can learn from those experiences and replicate them elsewhere,” he said.
The event was attended by representatives of the European Union, members of the diplomatic corps, officials of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), and other peacebuilding stakeholders.
