2024/2025 COFP Fellows Planting Seeds of Peace & Reaping Harvests of Positive Change
At the Cardinal Onaiyekan Foundation for Peace (COFP), every seed of peace planted is strategically nurtured with love, care, and hope. One of the most defining phases of the COFP Fellowship journey is the post-Module II Community Peace Project, a crucial period where theory meets practice and vision becomes a reality. This year, as always, COFP placed Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) at the heart of its project implementation across communities in Africa. For us, this exercise is not just a donor requirement activity but the compass that ensures that our efforts are meaningful, measurable, and mission-driven. The crux of this community transformation initiatives lies with the COFP Fellows who took it upon themselves to be the change agents through the seed grants received from the Foundation. They initiated and implemented projects that ranges from empowering the youth to promoting dialogue and social cohesion, Fellows rose to the challenge and created ripples of transformation in their communities since January 2025 to date. Based on our observations during our supervision exercise, these projects were not just events, they were experiences of positive change, healing, learning, and lasting impact. With each step, COFP continues to invest in a new generation of peacebuilders who are already making their mark in Nigeria and all over Africa. Enjoy stories from COFP Fellows.
a. The state of Plateau has had and continues to have its own share of violence. Andrew Danjuma Dewan and Emmanuel Ande Ivorgba were determined to foster lasting peace and social cohesion among Christian and Muslim in the state as they engaged 173 religious’ leaders and other stakeholders for a two-day Interreligious Assembly in Jos followed by a Tree Planting exercise in Bokkos on the 13th and 14th of February, 2025. As a result of the peace project, there is now increased collaboration, more frequent peacebuilding meetings and interactions between these leaders especially in the areas of social, economic, and cultural activities within Jos metropolis.
b. With conviction that for true peace to exist in any community, men, women and youth alike must be gainfully engaged with profitable ventures so as to dissuade their minds from conflict. With this assumption, Aliyu Hauwa Musa executed her peace project on 8th February, 2025 at Gwadangaji/Aleiro quarters, Birnin kebbi. Fifty participants benefitted from her project training in the area of Agriculture/Farming and were empowered with Potato seedlings for cultivation. After her project implementation on Saturday, the state government immediately organized a replica on the following Monday. Since then, there has been an improved social media platform participation for community development and peace by the participants as a result of the program.
c. Oboh Cecilia Leo embarked on skills acquisition and empowerment program featuring interfaith peacebuilding and conflict management for the participants that comprises of women and youth on 15th February, 2025 in Karu, FCT Abuja. The program had 60 participants in attendance, with 18 selected beneficiaries who received hands-on training and were empowered with starter items such as sewing machines, local milling machines, salon professional stands, hair dryers, hand-held dryers, liquid soap and chemicals, as well as confectionery equipment and ingredients. The beneficiaries expressed deep gratitude for the starter kits, which they believe will help them create wealth, support their families, and hopefully become employers of labour in the near future.
d. The remoteness and difficult terrain of Azbak community, Bade Local Government Area of Yobe state did not deter Gambo Garba Muhammad from visiting the community to enlighten them on the dangers of Gender Based Violence (GBV) which was prevalent in the community. In spite of other factors like suitable venue, availability of participants due to the peculiar nature of the environment, 75 people gathered to be schooled on dangers of GBV on 8th February, 2025. Participants include both male and female from Islam and Christianity. The workshop provided the forum for the participants to understand that GBV is a critical issue affecting individuals, especially women and girls in many communities in Yobe State and therefore, needs a holistic and collective approach to address it effectively.
