Teens Go For Gold Network (TGFGN) has stressed the need to begin peacebuilding efforts in classrooms and among young people as part of efforts to address insecurity and social divisions in Nigeria.
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‎The organisation made the call during the launch of Kojo and Friends, a Peace Education Manual designed to equip children and teenagers with the values and skills needed to promote peaceful coexistence in their schools, homes and communities.
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‎The manual was unveiled at the second edition of the Peace Education Bootcamp held at Worksphere by Eridan, Ikeja, Lagos, with more than 150 pupils from St. Francis Primary School, St. Agnes Primary School and Maryland Primary School in attendance.
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‎Founder of TGFGN, Dr. Pelumi Obisesan-Aina, said the initiative was conceived against the backdrop of growing insecurity across the country and the need to shape young minds with values that encourage tolerance, empathy and non-violent conflict resolution.
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‎According to her, every geopolitical zone in Nigeria faces one form of insecurity or another, making peace education a necessary component of children’s development.
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‎”Peace education provides children with the values and comportment they need to foster a peaceful world. People want to go to school but not if they have to worry about being kidnapped. Insecurity affects how young people learn, the way they know the world and the way they evolve in it,” she said.
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‎Obisesan-Aina noted that recent incidents involving the abduction of pupils and teachers underscore the urgency of exposing children to lessons that promote understanding and peaceful coexistence from an early age.
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‎She explained that Kojo and Friends uses storytelling to teach peacebuilding, following four teenagers growing up in Lagos who are divided by ethnicity, language, religion and politics but learn to navigate their differences constructively.
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‎The TGFGN founder said the organisation believes young people hold the key to transforming society, adding that educating them about peace can help prevent the divisions and conflicts that continue to challenge the country.
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‎Delivering the keynote address on behalf of the Executive Chairman of the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (LASUBEB), Dr. Hakeem Babatunde Shittu, Hon. Toroti Akin-Taylor described the manual as a strategic investment in the future.
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‎He said the initiative would help raise a generation of Nigerian youths equipped with the knowledge, perspectives and practical skills required to become peacemakers in their schools, homes and communities.
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‎”We are grateful to the Lagos State Government for endorsing this work and for its steady commitment to young people. That endorsement consolidates our belief that when you invest in young people, you invest in a more peaceful future for everyone,” he said.
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‎Akin-Taylor urged the students to embrace empathy, ask difficult questions and learn to settle disputes without violence, noting that the future belongs to young people who choose understanding over conflict.
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‎Also speaking, TGFGN Board Member, Mrs. Adedolapo Osuntuyi, challenged the pupils to see themselves as part of the solution to Nigeria’s peace and development challenges.
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‎She said that while conflict is inevitable in any society, the manner in which people respond to disagreements determines whether peace is sustained.
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‎”We live in a country of over 200 million people — different tribes, different languages, different religions and different opinions. Sometimes, instead of our differences making us stronger, they become the reason we fight. But conflict is not the problem; how we respond to it is,” she said.
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‎Osuntuyi described the peace manual as a timely intervention that empowers young Nigerians to become ambassadors of peace within their schools and communities.