As Nigeria battles persistent insecurity, ranging from banditry and communal clashes to cybercrime and youth restiveness, experts are calling for deeper, more strategic approaches to peacebuilding.

One of the loudest voices is Adebobola Omowon, Executive Director of Wide Gate Initiatives, whose grassroots peace efforts have transformed several communities across Nigeria.

In an exclusive interview with The Nation, Omowon laid out a roadmap for tackling Nigeria’s most pressing security challenges—not just with force, but with foresight.

“Violence doesn’t emerge in a vacuum,” Omowon said. “It grows in environments where people feel unheard, unseen, and disconnected. To end insecurity, we must listen, engage, and restore hope in the hearts of citizens through a bottom-up approach.”

Wide Gate Initiatives has implemented over a dozen peace programmes in the last five years, targeting schools, universities, local councils, religious institutions, and youth groups.

According to Omowon, the focus is always on root causes: poverty, exclusion, trauma, poor governance, and misinformation.

“In Oyo State, we worked with cult-ridden communities and saw transformation within months simply by engaging youth leaders, offering mentorship, and opening dialogue channels,” he explained.

“People don’t want to be violent—they just don’t see an alternative.” Omowon also believes the Nigerian government must rethink its approach.

“Security cannot be outsourced to weapons alone. We must fund peace education, community reconciliation programmes, mental health support, and local mediation structures,” he said.

When asked about the role of religion and ethnicity in conflict, Omowon was candid. “Nigeria’s diversity is not the problem. The problem is the manipulation of that diversity by those seeking power.

“At Wide Gate Initiatives, we train community leaders to embrace inclusive narratives—ones that celebrate rather than weaponize our differences.”

His solutions are practical and scalable: peace clubs in every school, community mediation centers in every Local Government area (LGA), and policy reforms that prioritize prevention over punishment.

“What Nigeria needs now,” he concluded, “is a new national consciousness—one rooted in empathy, justice, and shared responsibility. Peace is not the absence of conflict; it is the presence of systems that can manage it constructively.”

As insecurity continues to challenge Nigeria’s development, Omowon’s voice and vision offer a compelling blueprint for lasting change.