Rough Road to Peace: Isaac Chikadibia Obiakor
Rough Road to Peace tells the story of Lieutenant General Isaac Chikadibia Obiakor, a Nigerian soldier whose career reached the upper levels of national military service and international peacekeeping. It is a biography shaped by conflict, command, discipline and the difficult search for peace in fractured societies.
The book follows Obiakor through operational, tactical and strategic assignments in Nigeria and beyond. It captures his role in conflict situations within the country and in other parts of the world, including Liberia and Sierra Leone, where peace did not come by magic. It had to be pursued through negotiation, patience, sacrifice, military judgement and the steady management of violent uncertainty.
His later service as Military Adviser and Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping at the United Nations gave his career a global institutional dimension, placing him at the centre of international efforts to manage conflict, protect vulnerable populations and support fragile transitions from war to stability.
The paths were rough, but the outcomes revealed something important about modern peace operations: nations and organisations can behave in ways that reduce conflict, protect communities and create the foundations for recovery. Obiakor's career illuminates the material, moral and institutional conditions required for peace to take root.
Rough Road to Peace is the story of a soldier whose life shows that peace is not passive. It must be built, defended and sustained through courage, discipline, judgement and service.