Mr Chukuemeka B. Eze, the Executive Director of WANEP, said WANEP was clear from inception that it was going to adopt the approach of locating, empowering and accompanying civic power and agency to build peace.

“This approach has not only proven to be effective, but has transformed a good number of its current and former staff from the state of obscurity in peace practice to enviable heights,” Mr Eze stated this during the commissioning of the head office complex of the WANEP.

The event, which was also climaxed with a book launch on “Strides and Strains of Civil Society Organisations in West Africa: The WANEP Story”, was chaired by Mr Alain Marcel Da Souza, the ECOWAS Commission President.

In attendance were Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General for West Africa and Sahel, Dr Sam G. Doe, the first Executive Director and Co-founder of WANEP and Mr Emmanuel H. Bombande, the second Executive Director and Co-founder of WANEP.

Mr Eze noted that the WANEP was a leading regional peace building organisation founded in 1998 in response to civil wars that plagued West Africa in the 1990s.

He said over the years, WANEP had succeeded in establishing strong national networks in every Member State of ECOWAS with over 500 member organisations across West Africa.

He said WANEP placed special focus on collaborative approaches to conflict prevention, and peace building, working with diverse actors from civil society, governments, intergovernmental bodies, women groups and other partners in a bid to establish a platform for dialogue, experience sharing and learning, complementing efforts at ensuring sustainable peace and development in West Africa and beyond.

He said with the cooporation of governments in the sub-region, ECOWAS, the African Union and development partners, WANEP had continued to act as a catalyst in implementing programmes and specific activities that support Africa peace agenda.

“WANEP is the story of Africans, by Africans and for Africans and has become an attitude rather than just an organisation,” Mr Eze said.

Dr Doe said: “WANEP is a story marked by moments of God’s hand”.

Mr Bombande said urged civil society organisations (CSOs) to keep doing good works for the benefit of humanity.

He explained that CSOs, which perform their roles well, stood the chance of receiving more support from governments, development partners and donors.