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PEACE EDUCATION IN NIGERIA, A PRACTICAL ANTIDOTE TO VIOLENCE 

APPROACH IN SCHOOLS AND THE SOCIETY AT LARGE 

 

OKAFOR, GABRIEL OGECHI Ph.D 

Department of Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution 

University of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Umuagwo, Imo State. 

gabrielokafor73@yahoo.com 

gabriel.okafor@uaes.edu.ng 

 

ABSTRACT 

This paper is a critical attempt to highlight the role of peace educators in schools and the society 

at large as well as the relevance of peaceful relationship among individuals, groups and the 

society in general. The work covered the concept of peace and education. Through qualitative 

method of rigorous research ranging from field work, use of libraries, review of books, the role 

of peace education was examined. Interesting issues such as the meaning of peace, challenges 

of peace education and peace educators were studied. Similarly, critical study on how to 

achieve peace both in schools and the society were highlighted. The paper, therefore, argues 

that, the introduction of peace education both in primary and secondary schools in Nigeria will 

inculcate discipline in young ones and create a road-map for future leaders that are devoid of 

restless inclination.       

Keywords: Peace, Violence, Education, Schools. 

 

INTRODUCTION  

The peculiarity of peace education in schools is indispensable to the overall development of 

the society. This is true because, the work proposes in-depth understanding of the nature of our 

contemporary time and what the future holds for us, considering the targeted audience that 

revolved around young ones and adult in the society. In reality, for every Community of people, 

there is a time when they must consciously recognize who they are, things that form the corner 

stone of their existence, excitement, things that characterize them [culture of peace], so that 

they may set their true representation in some form of behaviour and cultural expression 

(Nwoga, 1984). The necessity of peaceful coexistence is one that stands at the epi-centre of 

socio-economic and political development of the society and schools in particular. It is a known 

fact that, human and material development cannot take place in an atmosphere of war, 

uncertainty, chaos and unfriendly situations. In most schools in Nigeria, the menace of lack of 

peaceful atmosphere has not only created an irreconcilable issues among students and parents 

but also sow a seed of perpetual lack of understanding of what was taught in the classroom 

among students. Consequently, the unfriendly situation among students in the classroom most 

times extends to parents who could not investigate properly before naively involving 

themselves. Therefore, in consideration of the immediate few lines above, National Open 

University handbook states that, “the core of peace education is the consciousness and 

conscience of the human being. It seeks to develop persons with rational, ethical minds whose 

vision of the world and its inhabitants is that of unity” (National Open University, n.d. 105). 

Violence which simply means, an act caused by physical force that is intended to hurt or kill 

somebody is the major reason for introduction of peace education at this point in our society. 

mailto:gabrielokafor73@yahoo.com


                                                                     Aquino Journal of Philosophy, Vol 5 Issue 1, April 2025. 

                 ISSN: 2786-9792 

 

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Also, at the core heart of peace education are the school children whom I earlier mentioned as 

one of the targeted group for a total compliance of the goal and objectives of teaching and 

learning peace education in schools. The over concentration on school children revolve around 

the-all-important status of children in the society. These are group of people some writers refer 

as “The future leaders”, meaning that, they are yet to become adult, and if the principles of 

peace is inculcated in them, the resultant effect should be in tandem with the objectives of 

peace education and by so doing, the society have achieved mass peace educators and leaders 

devoid of chaos and restless inclination. According to basic processes of growth and 

development in Developmental Psychology,  

The teacher should have knowledge of how children grow and develop in order to guide and 

shape their future development. It is at the early formative years that the child’s personality 

and behaviour are determined. The child is a product of both nature and nurture. This implies 

that, the hereditary factors interplay with the environmental factors to determine how the child 

grows and develops. (National Teachers’ Istitute, n.d, 76)    

Therefore, developmental Psychology which is primarily the function of teachers, deals with 

development, growth and behaviour in human beings right from the time of conception to the 

period of adolescent, when most  functions of the body become matured. It also deals with the 

factors which determine what a child will be in future.  

Admittedly, the mind and heart of a child is like an empty writing-board which is ready to be 

filled with either negative or positive impact. It is at this juncture that, teachers as peace 

educators should as a matter of utmost importance inculcate into school children the ingredients 

of peace for harmonious coexistence both in the school and outside the school. 

 

THE CONCEPTS OF PEACE AND EDUCATION 

Peace  

To a layman, peace is defined as the absence of war, and war is defined as the absence of peace. 

In a broader sense, peace encompasses the above definition. There can be peace even when 

there is war, as in situations when there are peaceful interactions between countries that are 

engaged in active war. For instance, the war in Ukraine/Russia is still on, while they agreed on 

the use of Sea to convey their food stuffs. Also, Palestinian and Israel have been able to 

establish peaceful use of Water Resources, even as the war between them has raged (Oke, 

2006). Therefore, the social conditions of war as against physical form, such as poverty, 

intimidation, oppression, fear, police brutality, monopolization of resources by few people are 

conditions of ill-peace. There is no peace in such a country experiencing the above threats, 

even when there is no war. The most common use of the concept of peace is in the absence of 

dissension, violence or war that makes peace associate with the happy and fortunate instead 

(Greene, 1998). Peace is also seen as a state of mind in concourse with serenity: a state of 

harmony, tranquility, concord and a balance of equilibrium of power. Peace could also mean 

“the opposite of conflict; it abhors violence and war as well as a state of justice, goodness and 

civil government” (Ikejiani-Clark & Ani, 2009, 3).  

Succinctly put, peace refers to a situation and or condition that create room for life, free from 

threats which eventually enable individuals and groups to relate well with each other or one 

another (Uwaoma, 2018). Peace also involves inner calm, serenity, contentment, social justice,  



        Okafor, gabrie..                           Peace education in nigeria, a practical antidote to violence… 

147 
 

 

absence of war and conflict, non violence, harmony, reconciliation and forgiveness, cultural 

and religious understanding and personal growth and development (Nwosu, 2024).  Finally, 

peace is generally defined as the absence of war, fear, conflict, anxiety, suffering, violence, 

torture, bag governance, etc., and about peaceful coexistence. 

Education  

The term education is used in four main senses in which it is seen to connote a process, a 

product, a discipline and an institution. Education as a process represents the conscious activity 

of either imparting and/or acquiring knowledge or skill or information whether in organized or 

not so organized ways with the intention of bringing about some desired behavioural outcomes 

in the participant. Education as a product is the outcome of the teaching and learning activity 

which is the corollary of the process. It is evidenced by the skill or knowledge or attitudes 

which individuals posses after acquiring education. Education as a discipline represents an 

organized branch of learning or a subject of study like Physics, Chemistry or Geography, etc., 

which may form part of the curriculum of the teacher, while education as an Institution 

represents all the enduring network of relationship, structures and establishments by which a 

society or country provides its members with the relevant educational experiences they 

required to function effectively within the society (Obasi, 2004).  

There are three forms of education which includes Informal education, Formal education and 

Non-formal education. Informal education refers to the spectrum of teaching and learning 

activities that are not governed by any laid down rules, methods, contents and standards. 

Learners usually acquire knowledge through observation, participation, imitation, practice, etc. 

Formal education refers to the systematized educational experiences provided in a prescribed 

way by a cult of professional teachers in specifically designated teaching and learning 

environments called schools. It is carried out in a protracted period of time during which a 

desired outcome is supposed to have been accomplished while non-formal education refers to 

the organized education which is usually provided outside the formal educational system. 

In view of our discussion above, education is a system by which one generation imparts the 

ideals and cultural practices of its society to the next generation in an unending process, 

(National Teachers’ Institute, n.d. 1), thus; we can say that education started as soon as man 

was created. Generally, education is about shaping or molding people, be they children, youth 

or adults to behave in certain ways, especially ways that will shun violence and preach peace. 

 

WHAT IS PEACE EDUCATION? 

Peace education is multidimensional and holistic in its content and process. Peace education 

can be imagined as a tree with many robust branches. Among the various forms of peace 

education practices are: Disarmament Education, Human Rights Education, Global Education, 

Conflict Resolution Education, Multicultural Education, Interfaith Education, Gender-

fair/Nonsexist Education, Development Education and Environmental Education. Each of 

these focuses on a problem of violence. Generally, all forms of peace education is the process 

of imparting values, knowledge, attitude, skills and behaviours to live in harmony with oneself, 

others and things surrounding ones environment. Peace education tends to develop knowledge 

and skills such as empathy, compassion, nonviolence, conflict resolution and social justice. 

Peace education or education for non-violence involves training and impacting skills that foster 

a culture of peace based on human rights. It provides knowledge and also develops skills and 



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attitudes necessary for recognition and resolution of conflicts. It exposes people to learn about 

human rights and responsibilities that everyone needs in order to live in a peaceful and just 

society; to learn to appreciate various worldviews, equipping students to mediate conflicts with 

deeper understanding of underlying cultural or perspective based causes; to learn and practice 

social justice to promote fairness, equality, equity, rights and promotion of non-violence in all 

contexts.  

In short, peace education is based on a philosophy that teaches non-violence, love, compassion, 

trust, fairness, cooperation and reference for the human family and all life on planet earth. 

 

THE ROLE OF PEACE EDUCATORS IN SCHOOLS AND SOCIETY AT LARGE 

A teacher or a counselor who teaches peace, non-violence and train people to live in peace is a 

peace educator. The primary role of a peace educator/practitioner is to change behaviours 

associated with violence or non-peaceful into non-violence and peaceful behaviour. Thus, 

peace educators seek to establish democratic classrooms that teach cooperation and promote 

positive self esteem among their students. Teachers serve as peaceful role models to help 

counteract images of violent behaviour young people receive through popular culture such as, 

videos, internet, games, music, homes, etc. Their teaching style will normally adjust to the 

developmental needs of their pupils, respecting the various identities and concerns about 

violence that students bring to the classroom (National Open University, n.d. 107). 

Consequently, the role of peace educators includes teaching students how to manage conflicts 

without violence, respect all forms of life and engage in social justice activities. They also teach 

students to appreciate intercultural diversity, inform students the consequences of war and 

social injustice as well as to learn the skill set for peaceful engagements and envision a future 

without war. Above all, it is the duty of peace educators to care for the students and encourage 

the students to care for others and most especially, to shun selective justice and peace 

management with suppression tools. 

 

THE CHALLENGES OF PEACE EDUCATION 

Nigeria is a multi-ethnic society. This factor has a lot of implication on the unity of Nigeria. 

Most of the ethnic crises are caused by no other factor than tribal sentiments, greed, selfishness 

and chauvinism (Uche, 2011). Tribalism is used to describe situations where people are overly 

loyal to their own group as well as behaviour or attitude that stem from strong loyalty to one’s 

own tribe or social group and posed a serious challenge to peace education in schools. 

Cultism and few other related social vices have dangerously infiltrated into primary, secondary 

and tertiary schools in Nigeria. Secret cults are the agents of murder, arson, victimization and 

oppression in educational institutions. Recently, it had metamorphosed into cult of kidnappers, 

organized armed robbery, political thuggery, etc. Cultism has had an extreme negative impact 

on learning and discipline in the schools. It has claimed the lives of students and teachers in a 

very alarming proportion and made teachers to seek for transfer out of those affected areas 

thereby lowering the standard of education. 

 



        Okafor, gabrie..                           Peace education in nigeria, a practical antidote to violence… 

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Another challenge facing peace education in Nigerian schools is inadequate funding of both 

materials and human resources on the part of government for effective teaching and learning. 

In most cases, materials meant for teaching are diverted for selfish purposes. Also, policy 

formulators on education is yet to inculcate peace education fully into primary and secondary 

schools curriculum and that amounts to lack of political will and unacceptability of peace 

education by government at grass-root level. 

Cultural intolerance among different ethnic nationalities in Nigeria both in the classroom and 

in the larger society is also a serious threat to peace education in schools. Culture, been the 

totality of the way of life evolved by a people in their attempts to meet the challenges of living 

in their environment is what gives order and meaning to the linguistics, social, political, 

economic, aesthetic, religious, philosophical modes and organization of a people, nation, ethnic 

or group (Asiwaju, 1997).  The belief of the Ijaw, Ibibio, Itsekiri, Eko, etc., who are in the 

riverine areas tended to be more in water spirit while those in the rain forest areas where tall 

trees existed, attached more importance to forest resources. Those in the highland areas like 

Jukun, Chamba, etc., tended to worship at the foot of the hills and mountains and the cultural 

differences should be tolerated by all so as not to endanger the process of peace education. 

Apart from the above challenges, cultural intolerance on symbols such as hair styles, tribal 

marks and body marks among different ethnic background is a threat to peace education in the 

society and schools in particular. The ethnic and cultural composition of Nigeria with about 

two hundred and fifty ethnic groups as well as different languages, required cultural tolerance 

for smooth running of peace education in schools and the society in general (Ukaegbu, 2010).   

Inordinate name-calling such as Igbos calling the Yorubas, “onye ofe mmanu” even among the 

Igbos, an Anambra person will call the rest of Igbo people; “Nwa onye Igbo”. The Owerri 

people of Imo State refer to other people outside Owerri as “Onye Isoma” which they consider 

as an abusive words and most times lead to violence. 

 

HOW TO ACHIEVE PEACE IN THE SOCIETY 

Peace could easily be achieved when one admits his mistakes and openly say “I am sorry”. 

This is true because, the highest point of human development is the ability for one to admit or 

accept his mistakes. There is a proverb among the Igbos of Nigeria which says, “okwu di nro 

n’eme ka onuma juo oyi”. Meaning that, when one feel sorry of his offence, the anger of the 

person offended will calm down. There is a popular aphorism which says “to err is human and 

to forgive is divine”. Therefore, always say I am sorry when you perceived that what you did 

was wrong. Never allow your ego to supersede your sense of reasoning.    

 

CONCLUSION 

Peace education activities promote the knowledge, skills and attitudes that will help people 

either to prevent the occurrence of conflict, resolve conflicts peacefully or create social 

conditions conducive to peace. It is an essential component of quality basic education that aims 

to build value and skills that will enable young and adults to prevent violence, resolve conflict 

peacefully and promote social conditions for peace and justice. 



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                 ISSN: 2786-9792 

 

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The paper advocates for school managements and education authorities to introduce not just 

on a cursory basis, peace education as a compulsory subject to all cadre of nursery, primary 

and secondary education in Nigeria. The tendency to tailor and catch them young towards peace 

education is in its ramification, the solution to the problem of education in Nigeria and by 

extension, the problem of other sectors of the economy. 

 

   REFERENCES 

 

Asiwaju I. A. (1997). “The Evolution of Nigerian Culture”, in Akinjide Osuntokun and Ayodeji 

Olukoju (eds), Nigerian Peoples and Cultures, Davidson Press, Ibadan.  

Eka W. N. “The role of Peace Educators in Building a Culture of Peace in the Schools: 

Comparisons between Indonesia and Malaysia”, in International Journal of Evaluation and 

Research in Education, (IJERE) Vol. 99, No.1, July 2023. 

Greene, R. (1998). The 48 Laws of Power, Penguin Books, New York,  

Ikejiani-Clark, M. and Ani C. (2009). “The Concept of Peace”, in Miriam Ikejiani-Clark (ed), 

Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution in Nigeria: A Reader, Spectrum Books Limited, Ibadan,  

National Open University of Nigeria. Introduction to Peace Education. 

Nwoga, D. (1984) “Nka na nzere, The focus of Igbo World View”, Ahiajioku Lecture Series, 

unpublished paper, Owerri, Imo State. 

Nwosu, C. (2024). “Concept of Peace, Conflict and Security in a Multi-Ethnic Nation”, in 

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Obasi, E. (2004). Citizenship Education for Nigerian Students in Tertiary Education, New 

Vision Publishers, Owerri.  

Oke, I. (2006).  “Conceptualising Peace”, in Shedrack Gaya Best (ed), Introduction to Peace 

and Conflict Studies in West Africa, Spectrum Books Limited, Ibadan,  

Uche A. C. (2012). Introductory Islam for University and Colleges, Applaused Multi-Sectors 

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