Two of Nigeria’s most respected peacebuilders, Pastor James Wuye and Imam Muhammad Ashafa, have been honored with the first-ever Commonwealth Peace Prize in 2025. The award, which comes with a £50,000 donation, recognizes their decades-long commitment to reconciliation, dialogue, and the promotion of religious harmony in a country often marked by tensions between faith communities.

Wuye and Ashafa, once bitter rivals during interreligious conflicts in Kaduna, transformed their shared history of violence into a powerful mission of peace. Together, they co-founded the Interfaith Mediation Centre, an organization dedicated to fostering dialogue between Christians and Muslims, mediating community disputes and training future peace advocates.

The Commonwealth Peace Prize not only acknowledges their remarkable personal journey but also highlights Nigeria’s role as a center for grassroots peacebuilding on the global stage. With the award’s financial support, their Interfaith Mediation Centre is expected to expand its reach, empowering more communities across Africa to embrace dialogue over division.

Their recognition stands as a testament to the enduring power of forgiveness, unity and the belief that peace is possible even in the most divided societies.