Dr Asmau Abdullahi Ribadu, a newly inaugurated Peace Ambassador, has described her recognition as both an honour and a call to deeper responsibility, shaped by personal experiences growing up in northern Nigeria and years of grassroots engagement with vulnerable communities.

Reflecting on the role, she emphasized that her understanding of peace is rooted in lived reality. Having lived in Yola and Maiduguri, she has witnessed how instability affects daily life, particularly for women and girls. According to her, insecurity not only disrupts education and healthcare but also deepens poverty and limits opportunity, placing disproportionate burdens on the most vulnerable.

She noted that these experiences have informed her work through Hope for Her Foundation, where community outreach efforts have reinforced the connection between peacebuilding and women’s empowerment. Through the foundation, she has directly reached over 1,000 girls and women across underserved communities in Abuja, Adamawa, and Maiduguri, providing reusable sanitary pads and essential health education. She stated that improving access, protecting dignity, and creating opportunities for women and girls are essential steps toward strengthening communities and fostering stability.

As she steps into the ambassadorship, her focus will centre on advancing peace through dignity, inclusion, and access. She highlighted that peace should not be seen merely as the absence of conflict, but as the presence of conditions that allow individuals to live safely, access education and healthcare, and participate meaningfully in society. She intends to expand her engagement in schools and underserved communities, with a focus on reaching young people and vulnerable women through both advocacy and practical support.

She also stressed the importance of inclusion, particularly for women living with disabilities and those in custodial settings, noting that such groups are often excluded from peacebuilding and development efforts. For her, meaningful peace must be tangible and reflected in everyday life.

On the role of women in peacebuilding, she described women’s leadership as critical to achieving lasting stability. While women are central to families and communities, she observed that they remain underrepresented in decision-making spaces. She argued that sustainable peace cannot be achieved without their inclusion, as women contribute significantly to community dialogue, conflict awareness, and social cohesion.

In terms of concrete initiatives, she plans to build on existing programmes under her foundation while integrating a stronger peacebuilding approach. This includes expanding outreach efforts focused on menstrual health, building on previous interventions that have already reached over 1,000 girls and women, which she described as closely tied to dignity, confidence, and access to education. Additional plans include school-based engagements promoting inclusion and social responsibility, as well as community outreach in underserved areas. Advocacy efforts will also target issues of equity and access for marginalized groups.

Addressing young people and the wider public, she underscored that peace begins with individual actions and everyday interactions. She encouraged young people to recognize the value of their voices and urged Nigerians to prioritize inclusion, fairness, and respect as foundations for national progress.

She further noted that the ambassadorship presents an opportunity to project a more balanced global image of Nigeria, highlighting resilience and ongoing grassroots efforts. By amplifying community-driven initiatives, particularly those led by women and youth, she expressed hope that the role will contribute to both local impact and international collaboration.

She concluded that lasting peace depends on sustained investment in people, especially women and girls, and affirmed her commitment to advancing this vision through her new platform.