Traditional Mechanisms of Conflict Resolution in Africa: A Pathway to Sustainable Peace in Nigeria
Dr. Ejovi Austine
Department of Political Science,
University of Delta Agbor, Delta State, Nigeria
augustine.ejovi@unidel.edu.ng
Iwegbu Chuks Justus,
Department of Sociology and Criminology,
University of Delta
Agbor, Delta State, Nigeria
justus.iwegbu@unidel.edu.ng
Phone:08036250662
Abstract
This study delved into the traditional
mechanisms of conflict resolution in Africa; A pathway to sustainable peace in Nigeria.
It deployed the qualitative method of data collection and content analysis. The
work was adopted as a tool for analysis of the Peace Process theory propounded
by John Darby and Roger Macunity. It ascertained that disputes or disagreements
are unarguably and necessarily an inevitable part of human existence flowing
directly from communication, interaction and relationships which can occur at
individual, national and even international levels. Alternative Dispute Resolution
(ADR) mechanism is a basket of procedures outside the traditional process of
litigation or strict determination of legal rights. It may also be elucidated
as a range of procedures that serve as generally involve the intercession and
assistance of a neutral and impartial third party. The traditional mechanisms
of conflict resolution in Africa are alien to the Western world, this paper is of
utmost importance to the Western world and also enriched their pool of
literature. Nigeria is a country that is dominated by various ethnic groups
anchored on diverse cultures, customs and traditions. It is therefore not
surprising to see conflicts arise and despite the various attempts at resolving
these conflicts through litigation, it remained unabated. The paper investigated
the lessons learned from Traditional Mechanisms of Conflict resolution, it also
interrogated its impact on conflict resolution and the way forward. In light of
the lessons that were learnt and the impact of the traditional mechanisms of
conflict resolution; suggestions on how to attain sustainable peaceful society were proffered. In
conclusion, the study crystallized reforms on the alternative dispute
resolution introduced through the traditional mechanism which includes amongst
others that constitutional recognition should be given to traditional
institutions of conflict resolution to enable quick dispensation of matters.
Keywords: Traditional, Conflict, Peace and Resolution
Introduction
To a large extent, social history and thought believe that the
idea of conflict enjoys a high degree of attention and interest. The reason for
this interest is multifaceted. In the first instance, the occurrence of
conflict in human societies seems pervasive. It is an unbidden phenomenon and
is found in almost every nook and cranny of the world. In the second instance,
interest in the idea of conflict is explainable in the light of the fact that
human progress is attached to the minimal occurrence of this pervasive and prevalent
phenomenon. Third, it is even believed that the exploration and control of nature
and natural resources for human development are not possible without the exertion
and break out of some form of conflict or the other. The rationale behind conflict
over such natural resources is of compelling importance and critical interest for
intellectual analysis (ldowu, 2005). Fourth, the interest in the idea of
conflict by scholars over the ages, interestingly, has been used as an index in
the demarcation and categorization of the world especially in Africa.
Conflict Resolution
All societies have a framework of laid-down conventions or
rules by which conflicts are resolved or managed. Such societies also have a
body of rules that define and qualify people's relationships with each other
and the state, these rules and regulations form the law of the land. But in
those societies where there may not be a written constitution, the basic set of
standards to which individual member has been socialized from youth to conform
to and from which other standards in the culture derive these standards become
the framework of conflict management and regulation. Miller (2003) sees
conflict resolution as a variety of approaches aimed at terminating conflicts
through the constructive solving of problems, distinct from management or transformation
of conflict. According to Mitchell (1993), conflict resolution is essentially
aimed at intervention to change or facilitate the course of a conflict. Other
problem solving techniques are known generally as "problem solving workshops",
Interactive problem-solving", "third party consultation,"
or" collaborative analytical problem - solving". Although conflict
resolution has been part of human experience for centuries, Burton (1993)
rather argued that the concept is comparatively new in academic discourse. He
drew attention to the term "dispute which some scholars interchange with
conflict. For him, "settlement refers to negotiated or arbitrated outcomes
of disputes, while resolution refers to outcomes of a conflict situation. We
thus have "dispute settlement" and "conflict resolution', However,
dispute and conflict operate on the same principles and although they may refer
to different conditions and scope of social relationships, they may, like the concepts
of settlement and resolution, be used interchangeably. Miller et al (2001) indicate
that by conflict resolution, it is expected that the deep-rooted sources of conflict
are addressed and resolved and behaviour is no longer violent, nor are attitudes
hostile any longer while the structure of the conflict has been changed. Mitchel
and Banks (1996) use conflict resolution to refer to:
a.
an
outcome in which the issues in an existing conflict, are satisfactorily deal twith
through a solution that is mutually acceptable to the parties, self-sustaining
in the long run and productive of a new, positive relationship between parties
that were previously hostile adversaries; and
b. any process or procedure by which such
an outcome is achieved.
Conflict resolution in different societies can be quite
complex, principally because of the determinate effects of culture and language
symbolism. Hence, as Avruch and Black (1993); Albert (2001) rightly pointed
out; it is quite dangerous to relegate culture to the background in conflict
resolution. Although culture is a marker of social differences, it should not
be regarded as an obstacle to conflict resolution in multi-ethnic/multi-cultural
societies.
Perceiving conflicts through divergent cultural lenses is
natural. People interpret social action and social reality through their
indigenous conceptions and knowledge. Understanding the local indigenous
theories of conflicts is essential to their solution. Culture also determines
information processing as well as the use of metaphors and language in the
bargaining and debating process. It is by paying attention to the intricate
culture questions that even those apparently irresolvable conflicts can be broken
down. The cultural question can muddle up and compound conflicts and make them
appear impossible to resolve, (Otite and Albert, 2001).
In general, these scholars stressed that conflict resolution
provides an opportunity to interact with the parties concerned, with the hope
of at least reducing the scope, intensity and effects of conflicts. During
formal and informal meetings, conflict resolution exercise, permit a
reassessment of views and claims as a basis for finding option to crises and to
divergent points of view. Those who organize conflict resolution exercises or
workshops usually constitute the third party in a triangular arrangement and
consist of traditional rulers, modern sector leaders, reputable opinion leaders
and experienced key members of the public, capable of producing new ideas and
reconciliative conditions and actions.
Conflict
Management
Conflict management to Best (2005); Burton, (1990) is the
process of reducing the negative and destructive capacity of conflict through a
number of measures and by working with and through the parties involved in the
conflict. This term they further stated, is sometimes used synonymously with
"conflict regulation" and covers the entire area of handling
conflicts positively at different stages, including those efforts made to
prevent conflict, by being proactive. It encompasses conflict limitation,
containment and litigation. Conflict management may be perceived as a wider
concept involving conflict resolution and transformation when necessitated and
it is more of a long term arrangement involving institutionalized provisions
and regulative procedures for dealing with conflicts whenever they occur (Otite
and Albert, 2001). People must learn to manage conflicts productively, otherwise
the risks to society and its development are overwhelming. In some respects the
concepts of conflict resolution, conflict transformation and conflict management
overlap both in content and in practice.
In their "short course on conflict management",
for instance, Wilmot and Hocker (1998), identified some ideas for dealing with
conflicts. These included clarification of communication and checking of
perceptions which in turn involve the following: speaking out what is in one's
mind or heart, listening carefully, expressing strong feelings appropriately,
remaining rational, asking questions, maintaining a spirit of give and take,
avoiding harmful statements, asking directly what is going on, telling others one's
opinion, looking for flexible "shades of gray" solutions, recognizing
the power of initiating a co-operative move, identifying conflict patterns and
engaging in negotiations of agreements and settlements. Appropriate
communication skills and channels are crucial in conflict management. The term
"conflict management" is perhaps an admission of the reality that
conflict is inevitable but that not all conflicts can always be resolved,
therefore what practitioners can do is to manage and regulate them. (Burton,
1990).
Response to
Conflicts
Avoiding style, whistle-blowing, accommodation style,
compromising, joint problem-solving, third party decision making, etc. are some
of the measures adopted in responding to conflicts generally. However, people
respond to community conflicts in four distinct ways:
Avoidance: This means a
situation where a group alleging injustice or discrimination is literally
ignored or denied recognition by those being accused and those who have the
capacity for helping to redress the injustice done to the group, According to
Heliriegel et al (2001), avoidance style refers to unassertive and uncooperative
behaviours. A person uses this style to stay away from conflict, ignore disagreements
or remain neutral. The avoidance approach reflects an aversion to tension and
frustration and may involve a decision to let a conflict work itself out. Avoidance
as Wilmot and Hocker (1998) observed, is characterized by "denial of the conflict,
equivocation, changing and avoiding topics, being non-committal and joking
rather than dealing with the conflict at hand". This kind of response to a
conflict situation, compounds problems as the party that is "avoided"
will later seek other means of getting listened to. Such people usually resort
to violence. Writing on the disadvantages of avoidance, Wilmot and Hocker
(1998) noted that it "allows conflict to simmer and heat up unnecessarily
rather than providing an avenue for promoting it.
Confrontation or
Forcing: This style refers to assertive and uncooperative
behaviours and represents a win-lose approach to conflict. Those who use the cingapproach,
try to achieve their own goals without concern for others. The more a group is
ignored, "avoided" or "denied" attention, the more it
becomes confrontational (issuing threats, getting verbally aggressive,
resorting to litigation oreven physical violence) with a view to getting a
win-lose outcome. This style includes aspect of coercive power and dominance.
As Hellriegel (2001) rightly asserted, it may help a person achieve individual
goals, but like avoidance, for cingtends to result in unfavourable evaluations
by others place when third parties acting on behalf of the larger society (c.g,
a court of law)hands down mandatory terms of resolving the conflict. This
strategy works best for.
Third-party decision-making
styles: The "third-party decision- making", takes place
when third parties acting on behalf of the larger society (e.g, a court of law)
hands down mandatory terms of resolving the conflict. This strategy works best
for resolving community conflicts in societies where the rule of law has not
brokendown as in several parts of the developing world
Joint Problem
Solving: The fourth conflict handling style is what is technically
referred to as “joint problem solving". It refers to the situation in
which parties to a conflict either by themselves or through the assistance of a
third party, find solutions to their problems in a cordial environment. Problem
solving procedure according to Otite and Albert (2001) is non-judgmental and
highly participatory in character. It promotes co-operation between antagonists
who jointly analyse the structure of the conflict and carefully work out
strategies for reconciling with each other. The dominant question in a
problem-solving setting is: "How can the parties to a conflict peacefully
work together in the community they both own and share with one another? How do
the groups develop rational empathy? Or to be more specific, how do the two
cultures merge into the production of a "third cultures". This
approach is popularly considered to be the best method of dealing with
conflict, as its outcomes are usually self-supporting in the sense that it is
advantageous to all parties in the dispute (Albert,2001).
Traditional
Mechanisms for Conflict Resolution.
It is not a misplaced statement emanating from the sad
experiences of African societies today, to say that the abandonment of utility
laden traditional methods of bargaining and conflict resolution for foreign
models, is largely responsible for the multiplicity of avoidable (violent)
conflicts all over the continent (Nwolise, 2005).According to him a mere land
dispute between two families or communities leads to murder and destruction of
hundreds of houses and killing of several people today; whereas, in traditional
Africa, the systems put in place to monitor, prevent, manage and resolve
conflicts would have readily prevented such wanton damage.
Each people, race or identity group had (and have) their own
ways of doing things, especially as these concern conflict management and
resolution. While in Europe, for example, the police is an agency of crime
detection, several African societies relied on oath-taking and divination in
pre-colonial times. As rightly observed by Nwolise,(2005) these methods still
thrive today in some areas on a very limited scale alongside police torture and
skull breaking in the name of interrogation and confession extraction. Also,
while the Western world place emphasis on commissions of enquiries,
constitution and court system presided over by lawyers and judges, Africa uses
council of elders, King's court, people's (open) assemblies, etc, for dispute
settlement and justice dispensation.
i) The Council of Elders
The symbolism of authoritative decisions associated with
elders' cultural trusteeship and customary practices, has sustained conflict
resolution and management in Nigerian societies. The constitution of
King-in-Council or of village or town councils and their legitimacy of
interventions in conflict situations, are well known events in Nigeria,
especially in the rural areas. The elders according to Otite and Albert (2001)
may not have physical power to enforce decisions but they rely on leaders of
the various age-grades or youth associations to bring about and monitor peace
on the basis of the negotiated terms in particular conflicts, or of the known
institutionalized forms of conflict management. Kings and chiefs of various
designations and statues, practice their indigenous cultures admirably in
resolving, managing and transforming conflicts within and between their
domains. Yet, those who disagree with the verdict of these functionaries
proceed freely to settle their conflicts in the modern westernized sector ,for
example the courts.
Town councils are also agents of conflict prevention,
resolution, transformation or management within and between their communities.
The basis forth is mode of intervention is the people's surviving confidence,
trust and reliance on culture as a means of rallying and mobilizing people to
behave in patterned ways, a condition which can thus be used to handle conflict
problems at the ethnic or inter-ethnic levels.
ii) Supernatural Forces
Africa is represented by a diversity of cultural and
religious practices. This diversity affects the approaches to dispute and
conflict resolution in traditional setting. Generally, the approach would tend
to differ from the Western alternative resolution in several respects. Even
then, in Africa itself, the approach may also differ from one culture to
another. These traditional religious practices and beliefs are still strong
even among practitioners of Islam and Christianity in Nigeria.
The world of the ancestors is an extension of the world of
the living and the supernatural beings are part of the Nigerian systems of
thought. Ancestors and predecessors, royal and non-royal, like other deities
and shrines, are believed to impose decisive rightful verdicts in controversial
issues of conflict within and between communities. In the words of Otite and
Albert, when Kola, drinks, food, etcare shared and prayers said to settle
disputants in land, farm and feuding conflicts, participants from all the
parties, involved regard such disputes and conflicts to be finally settled with
divine sanction. Such conflict settlement terms, are generally accepted and
obeyed for fear of negative sanctions, such as deaths or affliction with bad
and incurable diseases from the spirit world.
iii) Shrines
Shrines and oath-taking are vital tools for social control
in Nigeria, especially in conformity with simple rules, order and mobilisation
towards development. Although, traditional mode of worship may differ from one
community to the other, it helped to maintain peace and order. Besides setting
socially approved values and norms which the people had to comply with, such
total compliance provided a common forum for understanding each other, thereby
ushering in peace and unity. Considering the importance attached to the shrine
in traditional societies, meetingsare usually held in front of them as signs of
honest commitment to resolutions so passed.
iv) Oath-taking
Oath-taking is closely associated with traditional religion
(whereby people are made to swear to the divinities/cult of ancestors) as a
means of compliance with resolutions and exoneration from allegations. Through
oath-taking before these shrines scattered all over the communities in Nigeria,
people come out in their true nature and comply with the prevailing norms and
values. The traditional formula which led to the peaceful resolution of the
Aguleri-Umuleri-Umuoba-Anam war, involved oath-taking, declaration of "No
more war" peace treaty and the performance of a cleansing ritual. The oath
which is binding one very indigene of the participating communities, was taken
to the effect that the parties accept peace and there would be no more war and
bloodshed amongst and between the five communities.. Violator of this oath
would face the wrath of the deities present and the ancestors, who in the
presence of God constitute the source of moral sanctions and peace guarantors
(Nwolise, 2005).
v) Divination
Divination is a process of gaining secret knowledge about
the past, present or future by calling on the aid of spirits or by looking for
supernatural signs (Womack, 1998).Divination is also used both for diagnosis of
social conflict and social control. Through divination therefore, the social
tensions and anxiety over seemingly unpreventable conflicts are deflected away
from the group by attributing the danger to supernatural agents. Besides the
power of the rites of passage and rites of intensification to reinforce group
solidarity, all societies, go through times of conflict or crisis when the
fragile social bounds seems about to break apart. Wars, illness or natural
disaster may threaten the ability of group members to interact with each other.
At these limes, it may become necessary to identify the sources of tensions and
restore order.
Findings/Lessons
learnt from Traditional Mechanisms of Conflict Resolution
1.
Speed- The traditional
mechanism of conflict resolution is much quicker.
2.
Adversarial- Court proceedings
are adversarial and about winning not losing, whereas, the traditional method
of conflict resolution is about finding possible solutions to disputes.
3. Privacy-
A clear advantage of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is
that the methods used are private and this may be an important factor if
commercial reputations are at risk.
4. Choice
of Tribunal-It is the parties who decide who comes in as a third party,
unlike litigation where they have less or no power at all over who listens to
them.
5. Flexibiliy
and Simplicity of Procedure-In litigation, complex and rigid court procedures are
employed which they have less or no power over.
Reforms on
Alternative Dispute Resolution
1. Adequate preparation should be made by
obtaining all relevant facts and evidence.
2. Establish ground rules to be followed
by all parties.
3. Define issues in dispute.
4. Identify the parties interest.
5. Search for common grounds.
6. Generate options.
7. Attempt to achieve consensus.
8. Put agreement into writing.
Conclusion
From the foregoing, we have been able to highlight the fact
that there are approaches to the peaceful resolutions and transformation of
conflict situation in Nigeria. While the African especially Nigeria may apply
some of these traditional methods, they also increasingly employ the western
methods of various dispute resolution.
It has however been argued that the abandonment of utility laden
traditional methods of bargaining and conflict resolution for the foreign
models, is largely responsible for the multiplicity of avoidable (violent)
conflicts all over the continent of Africa. Before the coming of the Europeans
to Africa, Africans had their peculiar methods of monitoring, preventing,
managing and resolving conflicts. As Nwolise (2005)rightly noted, they also had
their peculiar ways and manners of effecting peacemaking, peace building and
confidence building. Those very peculiar and effective methods have today been
adulterated and in some areas, wiped out by the forces of colonialism,
including religious psycho-war forces. The result to him, is ubiquitous
violence, which lead to instability and retard development. Dialogue between
disputants is today replaced by fighting and the mediating role of elders and other
more peaceful institutions as age-grades highly revered in societies, are replaced
in several cases with police action (tear gas), military "peace keeping operations
and endless court proceedings. The admonition of the President of South Africa,
Mr. Thabo Mbeki while on a working visit to Nigeria, is very instructive on the
issue. While lamenting the conflict situation in Africa and the failure of contemporary
methods which are essentially Eurocentric, he pleaded that Africa should adopt
new ways of conflict management and resolution which would be more effective
and efficient than what is now operated as inherited from the European colonial
masters.(Abu, 2003)
No matter how modest it might be, this paper wishes to join
the voices and leaders including those in Nigeria to fund in-depth researches
into Africa's traditional methods of conflict monitoring, prevention,
management and resolution efforts of African people both at home and abroad.
Relevant aspects of these methods should be adopted and incorporated in our
modem frameworks and mechanisms for a more peaceful, orderly, lawful and
harmonious society, which can support and act as catalyst to the overall
development in Africa particularly in Nigeria.
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