Insecurity: IPCR DG advocates non-kinetic approach to resolve crises

The Director General of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), Dr Joseph Ochogwu, has advocated for the use of non-kinetic approaches in resolving the numerous crises in Nigeria. He made this statement while speaking with journalists after the 4th induction ceremony for members of the Peace Institute (MPI) of the 2025 cohort of […]

The Director General of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), Dr Joseph Ochogwu, has advocated for the use of non-kinetic approaches in resolving the numerous crises in Nigeria.

He made this statement while speaking with journalists after the 4th induction ceremony for members of the Peace Institute (MPI) of the 2025 cohort of IPCR trainees at the National Peace Academy (NPA) in Abuja.

When asked for his opinion on how best to tackle the rising communal crises and the emergence of ethnic militias in the country, Dr Ochogwu said, “There are two dimensions to managing conflict. One is a kinetic approach; another one is a non-kinetic approach.

“What we’ve done here actually is providing the soft power dimension in terms of the non-kinetic training capability of our population to be able to handle certain crises.

“There are certain crises that you need the hard power to deal with, which the military, intelligence system, policing system and all that are dealing with. So on our side too, what we are doing is providing the right skill set to enable our population to be able to live together peacefully, to equip people who are going to cascade some of this training downward to ensure that the larger number of Nigerian population, because the more enlightened citizens we have, the more easier it is for government to actually do the small decisions that we’re talking about.

“So, people need to be enlightened, and enlightenment comes with a lot of peace-building skills, and that is what we’ve done.”

He said a part of the preparation to deal with violence through non-kinetic means was the training of people in peacebuilding, noting that the inductees have been trained to monitor early warning signs of conflict and be involved where necessary in resolving the conflicts wherever they find themselves.

Thirty-eight new members were inducted at the ceremony.