By Luminous Jannamike
ABUJA — Senator Ben Obi has recounted how he initiated the National Peace Committee and coordinated the Abuja Peace Accord that brought then-President Goodluck Jonathan and opposition presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari together ahead of the 2015 general election.
Obi, who served as Jonathan’s Special Adviser on Inter-Party Affairs, said the initiative grew out of his engagement with political parties and efforts to secure their commitment to peaceful elections.
The Editor of Saturday Vanguard, Onochie Anibeze; Vanguard Regional Editor (North), Soni Daniel; and Political Correspondent, Luminous Jannamike, visited Obi at his Abuja residence to present him with a letter notifying him of his selection for the Vanguard’s Personality of the Year Award slated for January next year. During the visit, Obi recounted how the National Peace Committee and the Abuja Peace Accord took shape.
Vanguard is conferring on him the Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his decades of public service and contributions to nation-building.
How the committee took shape
Obi said his position in Jonathan’s administration gave him the opportunity to engage political parties across the country and bring them into a common effort to promote peaceful electoral competition.
“At the time, I was the Special Adviser to the President on Inter-Party Affairs. Most of the political parties were, in one way or another, under my direct engagement, while others had their offices on the premises of my office. So, I knew all of them, and I got them involved,” Obi said.
He identified the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) as a key channel through which he secured the involvement of political parties in the initiative.
Obi said he subsequently worked with Bishop Hassan Kukah to identify a chairman for the proposed National Peace Committee and enlisted influential Nigerians to support the effort.
“I founded the National Peace Committee. It was my baby. I was the first convener of the National Peace Committee. I brought in Uncle Sam, Dangote and the Sultan of Sokoto,” he said.
He recalled that he and Kukah agreed on former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd), as chairman before approaching John Cardinal Onaiyekan.
“I sat down with Bishop Hassan Kukah, and we agreed on General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd) as the chairman. We then decided to go and visit John Cardinal Onaiyekan, and we assembled a 23-man team,” Obi said.
According to him, Onaiyekan subsequently asked where the committee would be based.
Obi said he suggested Kukah’s centre, having understood that the bishop already had a facility that could accommodate the initiative.
His account places political engagement and consultations with prominent figures at the heart of the committee’s formation.
Jonathan, Buhari and the peace accord
The initiative found a prominent expression in the Abuja Peace Accord ahead of the 2015 presidential election, when Jonathan and Buhari came together to sign a memorandum of understanding committing themselves to peaceful elections.
Obi said he coordinated the process that brought the two presidential contenders together, adding that the initiative attracted the attention of former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
“After I coordinated the Abuja Peace Accord, which brought President Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari together to embrace and sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr Ban Ki-moon, took note of the initiative. The accord is now globally acclaimed as the Abuja Peace Accord,” he said.
Obi said the accord continued to attract attention during Jonathan’s engagements abroad in the years following the election.
“In fact, between 2015 and 2018, wherever Jonathan went, he was asked about the Abuja Peace Accord. He would say, ‘I knew nothing about it. It was the brainchild of my Special Adviser,’” Obi recalled.
He said Ban later sent his Special Envoy for West Africa, Ambassador Ibn Chambas, to commend him for the accord. According to Obi, Chambas suggested that he establish the National Peace Committee.
Obi also said he travelled to about a dozen countries to discuss the accord and explain the initiative behind it.
His account links the peace accord and the committee as related efforts to bring political parties and their leaders into a common commitment to peaceful electoral competition.
A career beyond the peace accord
Vanguard’s decision to honour Obi recognises a wider record of political engagement and public service beyond his account of the peace initiative.
In its award letter, the newspaper highlighted his early legislative efforts to address terrorism. Shortly after assuming office as a senator in 2005, he introduced the Nigerian Anti-Terrorism Agency Bill and the Anti-Terrorism Bill, seeking to establish a framework for preventing and combating terrorism.
The citation also recognised his service as National Secretary of the All Peoples Party, his emergence as the Action Congress vice-presidential candidate in the 2007 general election and his subsequent appointment as Jonathan’s Special Adviser on Inter-Party Affairs.
Vanguard said his experience across political administrations and continued involvement in national affairs had positioned him as an elder statesman whose perspectives remained relevant to Nigeria’s democratic and socio-economic development.
According to Obi, the National Peace Committee and the Abuja Peace Accord represent connected efforts to make dialogue central to Nigeria’s electoral process. His recollection places him at the centre of the coordination that brought Jonathan and Buhari together before the 2015 polls, while Vanguard’s award recognises his broader contributions to public life.
The challenge beyond any single accord remains ensuring that political competition does not come at the expense of peaceful elections and national stability.
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