For decades, peacebuilding efforts in Nigeria and across developing nations have operated in a state of continuous reaction. When conflict threatens or breaks out, early warning systems are activated to monitor tension, local elders are assembled for mediation, peace agreements are signed, and emergency security measures are deployed. 

While these measures are useful for containing active violence, they share a major flaw, as they try to manage conflict after it has already taken root, rather than removing the root conditions that allowed it to grow in the first place.

If Nigeria is to break the cycle of recurring instability, policymakers and development partners must acknowledge a direct truth: traditional mediation and crisis response do not address the primary drivers of youth radicalisation. 

The main causes of violence among young people are not born from inherently violent ideologies or ethnic hatreds; they are born from structural neglect—specifically, the widespread absence of quality education, the lack of employment opportunities, and the breakdown of basic local government services.

To build sustainable peace, our national strategy must shift from reacting to conflicts after they happen to proactively preventing them in the mind, anchored in Sustainable Development.

Primary vs. secondary causes of conflict

Public discussions frequently focus on the secondary triggers of conflict: ethnic divisions, religious differences, regional rivalries, or ideological disagreements. While these factors certainly shape how a crisis looks on the surface, they are rarely the primary cause.

Unemployed, uneducated, and economically sidelined young people face extreme personal risk and uncertainty about their future. When a young person lacks basic education and critical thinking skills, they are easily brainwashed and manipulated by extremist groups offering money, identity, and a sense of purpose. On the other hand, when educated young people face persistent unemployment and social exclusion, their frustration turns into deep grievances against the government.

Ideology, tribe, and religion are simply the tools that harmful actors use to exploit these underlying economic and educational voids. If we address the primary root causes—by providing free, quality education and building an economy that provides jobs for both skilled and unskilled youth—the secondary triggers will lose their power. An educated, gainfully employed young adult who has a stake in society is far harder to convince to join violent activities.

Transforming school curriculum

Because radicalisation takes place in the human mind, prevention must start in the mind long before extremist influences can take hold.

Nigeria’s current school curriculum includes subjects like Civic Education and Security Education. However, a closer look at these modules shows that they focus heavily on topics like National Identity, National Symbols, and defining Elements of Criminal Behaviour and Their Punishments. 

While understanding patriotism and legal consequences is necessary, this approach treats security largely as rule-following and law enforcement. It teaches youth what criminal behaviours are and how they are punished, but it fails to teach practical tools for emotional intelligence, dialogue, and conflict resolution.

We must evolve this framework into a dedicated Peace Education Curriculum, made compulsory from primary school through secondary school and tertiary institutions.

Children should be taught conflict avoidance, emotional intelligence, diplomacy, and peaceful negotiation from a young age. When a child grows up understanding that dialogue is a sign of strength and violence is destructive, that mindset stays with them for life. It becomes nearly impossible to preach violence to a mind that has grown up learning peace.

This makes Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education) an essential foundation for national security. Providing free, accessible education for all children in Nigeria is not just a social welfare program; it is a crucial tool to prevent radicalisation before it starts.

Insights from field experience

Reforming primary and university education will protect the next generation, but we must also address the millions of adults who are out of school, uneducated, or already radicalised.

I recently participated in a 4-day intensive Citizenship and Leadership Training organised by the Ogun State Ministry of Community Development and Cooperatives. This annual program is designed specifically to train community leaders on peacekeeping, conflict control, and local community development.

During the training, expert facilitators shared critical insights that directly align with this vision. Salami Adetokunbo, Director of Youth Development, Ogun State, highlighted how youth energy and leadership must be actively channelled into constructive community building and policy engagement, reinforcing that young people must be treated as partners in peace rather than security threats.

While Dr Olugbenga Adesoji C. Ologbon from Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) emphasised the essential roles of youth in promoting good citizenship, social responsibility, and sustainable development, noting that idle or excluded youth represent a major vulnerability for any society, Adewusi Olajumoke B., Director of Women Empowerment Services, Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, focused on women’s empowerment, demonstrating that women play a foundational role in training children from early childhood on moral values, tolerance, and conflict avoidance before they even start formal schooling.

This annual training model should be adopted by all 36 states across Nigeria. Furthermore, peace education must be delivered through both formal schooling (for students) and non-formal community programs (for educated and uneducated adults alike).

To maximise youth participation in these programs, states can link them with established youth initiatives—such as the SMILES Program, the National Youth Parliament, or the NYSC Community Development Service (CDS) framework. 

Young people who complete these intensive peacebuilding and conflict-prevention programs should be officially certified as Recognised National Peace Ambassadors. If this certification is formally recognised by higher institutions, government agencies, and employers, it will act as a major incentive for young people across the country to participate eagerly.

Local governance

This focus on grassroots prevention aligns directly with international research on local governance and peacebuilding, such as the UNDP/UNICEF guidelines on building peace in fragile or conflict-affected environments. In areas facing high levels of poverty, instability, or political weakness (often referred to as states of fragility), local government is the closest authority to the people.

When local governments fail to deliver basic services—such as clean water, healthcare, functional primary schools, and employment opportunities—citizens feel abandoned. In these vulnerable environments, extremist groups or criminal networks step in to provide services and cash, buying the loyalty of frustrated youth.

By ensuring reliable service delivery to vulnerable groups—especially children, women, and unemployed youth—local governments directly reduce community grievances. Meeting basic needs removes the anger that radical actors exploit to cause conflict.

Educating the mind before conflict

Nigeria cannot continue spending vast resources managing security crises after they erupt while neglecting the root causes that fuel them. Building lasting stability requires a commitment to structural prevention such as  making Peace Education compulsory in all primary, secondary, and tertiary institutions, guaranteeing free primary and secondary education for every Nigerian child to prevent out-of-school youth from becoming targets for radicalisation, establishing annual, state-sponsored peace and leadership training (offering recognised Peace Ambassador certificates) for both educated and uneducated youth and adults and strengthening local government service delivery to address community grievances in vulnerable areas.

If we educate and empower the mind with principles of peace from the beginning, we will not have to spend our future fighting the fires of violent extremism.