Renaissance Foundation For Peacebuilders

WHY YOU SHOULD INVEST IN PEACE AND PEACEBUILDING: THE WAR TAX WE CAN’T AFFORD

Every year, conflict, violence, and insecurity cost the world over $14 trillion that’s 12.6% of global GDP (IEP, 2019).
To put it simply, every person on earth “pays” about $5 a day in the hidden tax of war and insecurity: a war tax we can no longer afford.

Here’s a breakdown of where this cost goes:
■ Military Spending> $5.6 trillion
■ Internal Security > $4.9 trillion
■ Losses from Conflict > $1 trillion
■ Crime & Interpersonal Violence > $2.6 trillion

In Africa alone, violent extremism costs $97 billion annually (UNDP, 2020). Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, has lost over $132 billion to violent conflict, roughly 30% of its GDP.
In 2020 alone, over $40.6 billion in foreign investment was diverted due to insecurity.
Projects worth ₦12 trillion have been abandoned nationwide.

These figures are not just numbers, they represent lost opportunities, shattered livelihoods, and delayed progress. Conflict holds back development, widens inequality, and drains human capital. It is an invisible tax on hope and prosperity.

Yet, for every dollar the world spends on war, less than a fraction is invested in peacebuilding.
This imbalance keeps the cycle of violence alive.

At the Renaissance Foundation for Peacebuilders (REFOP), we believe that peacebuilding is not charity, it’s smart economics. It’s about redirecting resources from the machinery of war to the architecture of peace.

When you invest in peacebuilding, you:
Enable development and economic stability
Strengthen community resilience
Support good governance and trust
Create a healthier business environment
Build a future where peace pays more than war ever could

REFOP has visited 31 public secondary schools in Lagos State, reaching over 19,000 students and 700 teachers, while engaging community leaders, artisans, and youth in local peace initiatives. Our programs Breed the Peace, Digital Empowerment, Plant for Peace, and Gender Equity and Inclusion are shaping the next generation of peacebuilders across Nigeria.

Imagine what could happen if more people , individuals, businesses, and governments invested in peace the same way they invest in profit.

Peace is not free, but it’s far cheaper than war.
Let’s stop paying the war tax and start funding peace dividends.

Join us.
Let’s build a culture of peace that saves lives, restores dignity, and rebuilds nations.

When Peacebuilding Backfires: The Cobra Effect in Security

In public policy, there’s a concept called the Cobra Effect. That’s a situation when a solution unintentionally makes the problem worse.

Peacebuilding is not immune.
Take Nigeria’s reintegration program for “repentant” Boko Haram fighters. The intention was noble: offer amnesty, skills, and a pathway back into society. But in some cases, these fighters exploited the system by stealing intelligence from security agencies and reselling it to terrorist cells, only to return to violence more empowered than before.

This is a classic Cobra Effect: a peace initiative that backfires because underlying incentives, community trust, and accountability were overlooked.

At REFOP, we believe such stories remind us that peace requires wisdom, foresight, and community trust. Good intentions are not enough; interventions must be designed with care, inclusivity, and security in mind, or they risk empowering the very divisions they seek to heal.

What are your thoughts? How can peacebuilding programs avoid this kind of backfire?