By Johnbosco Agbakwuru
THE British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Dr. Richard Montgomery, has spotlighted peace and resilience as the heartbeat of UK-Nigeria relations.
This is as the Strengthening Peace and Resilience in Nigeria, SPRiNG, has convened high-level government officials, security agencies, programme partners, and civil society leaders in Abuja for its inaugural annual learning and adaptation event.
The event brought together key actors to review evidence-based strategies for reducing violence and institutionalising peace and strengthening climate resilience across northern Nigeria.
Funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, FCDO, SPRiNG’s two-day event provided a platform to assess the programme’s progress, test assumptions against evolving conflict and climate change dynamics, and integrate lessons learned into future policy and programme planning.
It featured keynote remarks by the British High Commissioner, Dr. Montgomery, alongside remarks from a representative of the Coordinator of the National Counter-Terrorism Centre, Major General A.G. Laka.
The gathering highlighted a major shift in SPRiNG’s approach: moving beyond ad-hoc peace efforts to strengthening institutional systems and mechanisms for stability
Speaking at the launch of the SPRiNG initiative, Montgomery said peace and resilience as the heartbeat of UK-Nigeria relations, was “absolutely central” to the partnership amid global scrutiny.
According to him, “I can’t think of any topic that is more topical given recent events and recent international commentary on Nigeria.”
Dr. Montgomery underscored Nigeria’s rising clout, explaining that “Nigeria is one of our important diplomatic partners. The judgment we, and our ministers, make is that Nigeria’s influence will only grow.
“If it grows very fast, and you’re becoming a bigger population, the importance and influence of Nigeria is going to grow in the decades ahead. And that’s why our foreign secretaries signed the strategic partnership in 2024.”
Framing SPRiNG within the 2024 UK-Nigeria Strategic Partnership, he detailed its blend of “kinetic” and “non-kinetic” security efforts. “It’s about providing institutional support to the official agencies of the federal government of Nigeria.
“It’s about building community-based initiatives, law enforcement, and community resilience,” he stressed, adding that “SPRiNG provides a vehicle, a platform, for partners to find catalytic support to find relationships that can promote these approaches.”
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris Malagi, whose representative delivered the keynote address and formal declaration of the event, emphasised the importance of strategic communication and institutional collaboration in national stability.
He was joined by representatives of Hajiya Imaan Suleiman-Ibrahim (Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development) and Alhaji Idi Mukhtar Maiha (Minister of Livestock Development), who underscored the nexus between gender inclusion, agropastoral practices and livelihoods, and their contributions to national security.
In his context-setting presentation, SPRiNG Team Leader, Dr. Ukoha Ukiwo, noted that the programme’s strength lies in its “Evidence-driven and Adaptive Management” approach.
“Conflict is dynamic; our solutions must be too. Today was about validating the evidence and impacts of our intervention, learn from what, where, and how we are making progress, and ensuring that our support to different government and civil society partners, like the Benue State Commission for Peace and Reconciliation, BSCPR, and the Kaduna State Ministry of Internal Security, are not just reactive, but structurally preventive,” said Dr. Ukiwo.
A high-level panel, moderated by Kemi Okenyedo, explored progress and opportunities to strengthen peace and resilience. Panelists included Ms. Josephine Habba, DG, Benue State Commission for Peace and Reconciliation, who shared insights on interstate collaboration;
Dr. Sulaiman Shuaibu, Commissioner, Ministry of Internal Security, Kaduna State, and Ms Lantana Abdullahi, WOPPI, who advocated for the formal inclusion of women in peace and security architectures.
The event concluded with a Project Fair, allowing stakeholders to interact directly with beneficiaries and implementing partners to understand the practical “Peace Dividend” being delivered to communities across Benue, Kaduna, Katsina, and Plateau states.
The SPRiNG Programme is a four-year initiative (2024-2028) funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, FCDO, implemented by Tetra Tech International Development, in partnership with Nextier SPD, Nextier, the Centre for Democracy and Development, CDD, and the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, HD. The programme aims to enhance institutional capacity for conflict management and response, boost public confidence in key institutions, and create greater incentives for peace in Nigeria.
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