9 Years of Peace-driven Impacts: An Appraisal of Peacepace Initiative

By: Vol. Benedict Kanu

Ed. 237 || 07.04.2026

Peace, as the core of Peacepace Initiative, isn’t merely an essential ingredient for living but a necessity for sustainable growth at the individual and community levels.

Miller and King (2003), as cited in Redae (2020), defined peace as a political condition that ensures justice and social stability through formal and informal institutions, practices, and norms. Redae further posits that peace is not merely the absence of violence; rather, it involves more than that.

To fully drive his point home, he divided peace into two major components: positive and negative peace. He further posits that the concept of peace is best understood through these concepts. According to him, Negative peace is the absence of violence or the fear of violence, while positive peace is the attitude, institutions and structures that, when strengthened, lead to a peaceful society. (Redae, 2020)

However, Ruhab and Yousuf (2022) define peace as a condition of serenity, tranquillity and living in friendly relations with others. It is a scenario in which there is no war or violence in a nation or region.

Peace is also a state of security in which everyone is free from fear and can pursue social and economic development. To further buttress their point, they asserted that in a community, peace develops in the absence of war or conflict.

In a peaceful society, people ought to work together to resolve disagreements, treat one another with justice and fairness, and have a government that is willing and able to fulfil its mandate and responsibilities. It is against this backdrop that the Peacepace Initiative was created. 

Anchored in the notion of Positive Peace, Peacepace Initiative thrives on the principles of building a violence-free society, good governance, leadership, and positive policies that will facilitate the sustainable development of our community.

Hence, in this article, we shall examine the Peacepace Initiative, appraise its approaches, and assess its contributions to peaceful coexistence and peacebuilding. 

The Peacepace Initiative: Vision Unfold

The vision “Peacepace Initiative” came into existence to address the issues of violent conflicts and insecurity plaguing Nigeria, taking into consideration the main drivers of conflict, such as miscommunication, lack of peace education and quality education, human rights abuses and bad governance. With the mindset of positive peace, the vision of Peacepace upholds leadership; she encourages good governance and contributes to a peaceful and developed Nigeria.

Peacepace Initiative was established on the 25th of March 2017 as a youth-led non- governmental organisation with a network of youth ambassadors across Nigeria. Peacepace’s vision is centred on being a leading institution that promotes positive peace in the nation. The mission statement of Peacepace Initiative is hinged on the following:

1. To promote peace and peaceful coexistence in Nigeria 
2. To advocate for quality education and human rights 
3. To promote good governance and responsible citizenship.

The core values include:

1. Leadership: The Peacepace Initiative believes that everything revolves around leadership 
2. Community:  Peacepace Initiative prioritises its community involvement in its activities because it believes in teamwork.
3. Resourcefulness: As a youth-led initiative, Peacepace acknowledges the resourcefulness of its ambassadors’ talents and time, and the initiative is always willing to annex it.
4. Justice:  Being a Nigerian initiative, Peacepace believes in the Nigerian constitution and established laws, and abides by them. While Peacepace Initiative promotes responsible citizenship, she also advocates for the realisation and non-deprivation of the fundamental human rights as duly established by the law.
5. Partnership: Peacepace Initiative believes in meaningful collaboration with like-minded organisations and individuals to advance its cause in service to humanity. (Tunde Ogunyale, About Peacepace, 2025) 

The Peacepace Logo

“The Peacepace logo shows a dove carrying an olive branch and flying in a cycle,  with Peacepace written beneath it. The logo is designed with three colours, each carrying a deep meaning that represents our hope and reality as humans and a nation” – Tunde Ogunyale, 2025. Let’s dissect it further:

1. The Dove carrying an Olive Branch: This demonstrates peace. Doves are widely recognised worldwide as symbols of peace. Additionally, the Bible accounts also validate the dove’s inspiration. Jesus Christ, who is referred to as the Prince of Peace, had an experience in which a dove descended upon him following his baptism, confirming his sonship and ministry of peace and reconciliation. (Cf Mark 1: 9-11). Hence, the dove in the Peacepace logo represents her mission of Peace, and embodies the initiative’s values of hope and love for humanity.

1. The Circle: Is a 360-degree shape that represents continuity, which is what positive peace is about. Peacepace Initiative stands for Positive peace, which she believes encompasses an enduring and sustainable peace, not just the absence of war but also the presence of the necessary structure and systems that foster and perpetuate sustainable peace. 
2. The Three Colours: White represents peace and tranquillity, and blue represents calmness. The blue has two variations: the deep blue, which represents an abundance of peace and a state of high positive peace where systems and structures are available and functioning effectively. The lighter blue indicates the availability of relative peace, even amid chaos. 

Peacepace Initiative believes that it shows that our nation may not always have perfect peace, but we can still expect to enjoy some peace and progress as a developing nation. The logo of the Peacepace is future-focused without denying the reality of the present in our national context. (Tunde Ogunyale, Peacepace Inspiration, 2025).

Also Read: Deploying Technology and AI Initiatives to solve Nigeria’s Insecurity Issues

The Visioner behind Peacepace Initiative 

Born in Iwere Ile, Oyo State, Nigeria, to Mr and Mrs Ogunyale,  Abdulrasaq Olatunde Ogunyale has always shown the prospect of a great man and an impactful leader. He is a lawyer, chartered mediator, and a cybersecurity GRC advisor. 

 He holds a Master’s degree in Peace and Conflict Resolution and has over 8 years of combined experience in peacebuilding, legal practice and conflict resolution, and cybersecurity advisory. He is a Generation Change Fellow, a Mandela Washington Fellow, a Rotary Peace Fellow and an Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) Positive Peace Ambassador. He loves facilitating peace education, cybersecurity awareness, dialogue and relevant training to inspire hope and responsive civic action to drive social change.

An Appraisal of Peacepace Initiative 

Since its creation, Peacepace Initiative has achieved significant milestones worthy of praise. The organisation has indeed lived up to its expectations and continues to do so. With a Membership strength of over 300 ambassadors and volunteers (rostered and otherwise) scattered across Nigeria and beyond, the organisation has continued to advance its core tenet of peacebuilding and civic responsibility, advocating for good governance and effective leadership.

The Initiative regularly organises peace culture campaigns and has trained over 10,000 students from various schools in Nigeria since its creation in 2017. This campaign is geared toward drawing attention to the importance of self-understanding, maintaining a good and peaceful relationship within our community and with neighbours, taking a nonviolent approach to resolving issues, and encouraging civic responsibility.

Additionally, the Initiative has published over 230 articles on social media to address Nigeria-specific issues. She has also trained over 100 landlords and tenants in Oyo State, Nigeria, on the efficacy of settling landlord-tenant disputes through mediation. Peacepace also organised and led a televised mega peaceful election sensitisation campaign in Adamawa State that reached over 2.5 million people.

Furthermore, the organisation collaborates with local and international organisations. For example, the organisation partnered with Get up and Go Colombia, Colombia, in 2019 to implement a project tagged “Intercultural Exchange 4 Peace” to expose citizens from both nations to the historical cultures and rich values of both countries via a virtual exchange. Also, in 2024, the initiative collaborated with the Rotaract Club of Iseyin Pathfinder to implement another community-focused project titled “Building Bridges: Dialogue for Harmony in Iseyin.” The program took place at the palace of the monarch of the kingdom, the Aseyin of Iseyin.

Peacepace has also, through her program titled “Project Young Narrators (PYN), an exclusive and intensive leadership and peacebuilding training program, trained young Nigerian leaders across various geo-political zones of Nigeria.

The Initiative has also held an annual national peace conference, tagged “Pacemlug,” which means “Peace pull,” since its inception in 2017. Through Pacemlug, Peacepace addresses burning peace-related social and governance issues affecting the nation and its people, leveraging resourceful facilitators and experts in relevant fields from within and outside Nigeria. Further, Peacepace conducted a peace and unity seminar in April 2024 at Billachi, Demsa, Adamawa State, which was followed by another recent, intensive 2-day intergenerational community-based violence in 2025 involving youths, women, and traditional leaders from all the villages in the Demsa district.  All these are a summary of the impacts Peacepace Initiative is making in Nigeria.

An Appraisal of Leadership 

One of the peculiar attributes of a visionary, such as Tunde Ogunyale, is his ability and willingness to listen to the members of the initiative. He is always calling upon his members to share ideas for innovative problem-solving that align with the organisation’s vision and could positively impact our nation. His attitude towards community service and members’ contributions is inspiring, which is why he ensures members of the organisation who also distinguish themselves through selfless service are recognised and celebrated yearly. 

For every organisation to thrive, the leadership must necessarily be a good example to its followers. Amb Tunde Ogunyale is indeed a good leader who shows the perfect example for his followers. Peacepace Initiative’s success isn’t hinged on anything other than community spirit and teamwork. Peacepace Initiative is a family that everyone who wants to build a career in Public Policy, Peace and Conflict Resolution, and International Relations, or anyone who wishes to simply contribute to peace, can join.

In the next ten years, Peacepace Initiative would not just be a global brand but a household name for peace and conflict resolution.

Facebook: Peacepace Initiative

LinkedIn: Peacepace Initiative

X:@PeacepaceNG

Instagram: peacepace_initiative