The Adeola Adeyemi Foundation (TAAF), in partnership with the ECOWAS Peace Fund, successfully executed the Lagos Peace Project 2025, a landmark initiative designed to promote peaceful coexistence, unity, and conflict prevention across Lagos State. The two-week project, held from October 10 to October 24, 2025, brought together community leaders, youth groups, government institutions, security agencies, and civil society organisations to strengthen dialogue and inspire collective action toward peacebuilding.
A Vision for Peaceful Coexistence
The project, themed “Promoting Peaceful Coexistence in Lagos: A Conflict Prevention Sensitisation Program,” was created to address social, ethnic, and religious divisions while promoting mutual respect and tolerance among Lagos residents. With Lagos widely regarded as a cultural and demographic representation of Africa, the initiative positioned the city as a model for peacebuilding within Nigeria and across the West African region.
Through carefully structured engagements, the initiative directly impacted over 5,500 participants and reached more than 500,000 individuals through digital campaigns, media advocacy, and community awareness efforts.
A Two-Phase Approach to Peace Advocacy
Phase One: Digital Awareness and Community Sensitisation
The project began with an intensive digital and media campaign aimed at driving awareness about peaceful coexistence. TAAF deployed a multi-platform strategy that included social media advocacy, radio jingles, influencer partnerships, billboard campaigns, and branded awareness buses.
The online campaign alone generated over 5.8 million views and more than 72,000 interactions, reflecting strong public engagement with peace-focused messages such as “Peace Begins With Me” and “Lagos Thrives When We Co-exist.”
Phase Two: Physical Engagements Across Lagos
Lagos Peace Conference
The physical engagement commenced with the Lagos Peace Conference held at the Mike Adenuga Centre in Ikoyi. The conference convened traditional rulers, ECOWAS representatives, government officials, youth leaders, academics, security agencies, and peace advocates for dialogue sessions and cultural engagement.
Participants explored critical themes including youth inclusion, intergovernmental collaboration, gender roles in peacebuilding, and the role of communication and culture in conflict prevention. The conference also featured cultural performances, panel discussions, and interactive sessions that reinforced peace as a shared social responsibility.
A major highlight of the conference was the unveiling and free distribution of “Peace Lens,” a peace education publication authored by TAAF Founder, Adeola Adeyemi, designed to provide practical tools for conflict resolution and empathy-driven leadership.
Lagos Peace Walk
The Lagos Peace Walk followed as a vibrant public demonstration of unity and collective commitment to peace. Hundreds of participants, including students, volunteers, NGOs, and security agencies, marched through major routes in Ikeja carrying placards, chanting peace messages, and engaging the public.
The walk not only amplified awareness but also strengthened trust between citizens and security agencies, demonstrating how collaborative civic engagement can promote community harmony.
School Peace Outreach
The project concluded with a School Peace Outreach at Lagos City College, Yaba, engaging students and educators in interactive sessions on empathy, leadership, and conflict resolution.
The outreach encouraged students to become Peace Ambassadors and introduced the establishment of school peace clubs to sustain advocacy efforts. Educational materials and copies of Peace Lens were donated to participating schools, ensuring long-term access to peace education resources.
Key Achievements and Impact
The Lagos Peace Project achieved significant milestones, including:
- Increased public awareness about peaceful coexistence and conflict prevention
- Empowerment of youth and women as peace ambassadors
- Strengthened collaboration between community institutions, security agencies, and regional peace organisations
- Establishment of sustainable advocacy structures such as peace clubs and networks
- Enhanced visibility of grassroots peacebuilding initiatives across Nigeria and the ECOWAS region
The initiative also demonstrated the effectiveness of combining culture, education, dialogue, and digital advocacy as powerful tools for promoting unity and social cohesion. A REPORT ON THE LAGOS PEACE PRO…
Looking Ahead: Expanding the Peace Movement
Building on the success of the Lagos Peace Project, TAAF plans to expand the initiative across other Nigerian states and ECOWAS member countries. Future strategies include institutionalising peace education in schools, strengthening community capacity-building programs, and establishing a Lagos Peace Network to sustain collaboration among peace advocates and stakeholders. A REPORT ON THE LAGOS PEACE PRO…
A Collective Commitment to Peace
The Lagos Peace Project reaffirmed a central truth: sustainable peace begins with individuals, thrives through community collaboration, and flourishes when institutions work together.
Through this initiative, TAAF continues to champion its mission of fostering peaceful coexistence, empowering communities, and building a future where unity, tolerance, and empathy shape societies across Africa.
