Peacebuilding Strategies in Nigeria’s Ethnic Space: Specific Focus on Conflict-Spot in Kaduna Communities

Authors

  • Kazeem Oyedele Lamidi Department of Local Government and Development Studies, Faculty of Administration, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0434-8990
  • Oluseyi Idowu Olaleye Department of Political Science, College of Social and Management Sciences, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria
  • Bisiriyu Abiodun Taleat Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Management Sciences, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6000/1929-4409.2022.11.11

Keywords:

Peace Building, Ethnic Group, Communal Conflict, Peace and Conflict Impact Assessment

Abstract

This paper contextualised the subject matter and its strategies by providing insights on the development, peace and conflict in the Nigerian environment; explicating the peace and conflict impact assessment; exposing the causal factors for communal conflict; and analysing the strategies across the main tribes in Nigeria with specific focus on Kaduna communities. It drew largely on secondary sources whose contents were explicitly analysed for this contextual discourse. It found out that there were internal mechanisms put in place towards engendering peace building across the major tribes in Nigeria. It enlisted obtainable peacebuilding strategies in Kaduna communities. It concluded that a remarkable feature of the peace building strategies is that it does not only aim at conflict resolution, but also ensures peaceful co-existence scenes and harmonious relationships between and among conflicting people or communities. However, the latter still remains challenging owing to a low human development index and civic orientations.

References

Adam, A.M. 2000. Inter-group conflicts and customary mediation: Experience from Sudan in Africa. Journal on Conflict resolution, 2(2): 1-13

Agbese, P.O. 2004. Chiefs, constitutions, and policies in Nigeria. West Africa Review, 6: 1-22.

Agwu, F.A. 2007. World Peace through World Law: The Dilemma of the United Nations Security Council. University press Plc, Ibadan.

Ajayi, A.T. & L.O. Buhari 2014. Methods of conflict resolution in African traditional society. African Research Review, 8(2): 138-157. https://doi.org/10.4314/afrrev.v8i2.9 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4314/afrrev.v8i2.9

Akinteye, A., J.M. Wuye & N.A. Muhammed 2001. Zango-Kataf crisis: A case study. In (A. Ogomudia ed.) Peace Support Operations, Command and Professionalism: Challenges for the Nigerian Armed Forces in the 21st Century and Beyond, pp. 61-72. Gold Press Limited, Ibadan.

Albert, I.O. 2001. Epochs and lessons of Nigeria’s participation in international peace support operations. In (A. Ogomudia ed.) Peace Support Operations, Command and Professionalism: Challenges for the Nigerian Armed Forces in the 21st Century and Beyond, pp. 164-189. Gold Press Limited, Ibadan.

Aning, K. 2008. Africa Union’s Peace and Security Architecture: Defining an Emerging Response Mechanism. The Nordic African Institute, Uppsala.

Asiyanbola, A.R. 2007. Urban-Ethno Communal Conflict in Africa: Nigeria. A paper submitted for presentation at the Union for Africa Population Studies (UAPS) Fifth African Population Conference, December 10-14, 2007. Arusha, Tanzania.

Awe, B. 1999. Conflict and divergence: Government and society in Nigeria. African Studies Review, 42(3): 1-20. https://doi.org/10.2307/525200 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/525200

Babangida, I.B. 2002. Babangida, I.B. 2002. Ethnic Nationalities and the Nigerian state: The Dynamics and Challenges of Governance in a Plural Nigeria. A Distinguished Annual Lecture Delivered at National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, April 10, 2002. Kuru, Nigeria.

Bagudu, N. 2004. Recrudescent Civil Disturbances and Human Rights: The Jos and State-wide Crisis. League of Human Rights, Jos.

Barnett, M., H. Kim, M. O’Donnel & L. Sitea 2007. Peacebuilding: What is in a name? Global Governance 13(1): 36-53. https://doi.org/10.1163/19426720-01301004 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/19426720-01301004

Benson, K.S. & K.O. Lamidi 2018. Local institutions and peace-keeping in southwestern Nigeria: A situational analysis. International Journal of Research in Arts and Social Sciences, 11(1): 268-279.

Blench, R., S. Longtau, U. Hassan & M. Walsh 2006. The Role of Traditional Rulers in Conflict Prevention and Mediation in Nigeria. Report Prepared for DFID, Nigeria.

Bobboyi, H. & A.M. Yakubu (eds.) 2005. Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution in Northern Nigeria. Proceedings of the Northern Peace Conference, pp. 27-36. Kaduna: Arewa House, Centre for Historical Documentation and Research, Ahmadu Bello University, for the Northern Governors’ Forum (NGF).

Burgess, G. & H. Burgess (eds.) 2003. Beyond Intractability. University Conflict Information Consortium, Colorado.

Bush, K. 2003. Hands-on PCIA, Part 1, A Handbook for Peace and Conflict Impact Assessment (PCIA). Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

Chigozie, C.F. & O.S. Ituma 2015. Nigerian peacekeeping operations revisited. Singaporean Journal of Business Economics and Management Studies, 4(2): 1-10. https://doi.org/10.12816/0014527 DOI: https://doi.org/10.12816/0014527

Cohen, H. 1993. Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations. Annual Review of Psychology, 33(1): 1-39. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ps.33.020182.000245 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ps.33.020182.000245

Crisis Group 2010. Northern Nigeria: Background to Conflict. Crisis Group Africa Report No.168.

Danfulani, U.D. 2009. The Jos Peace Conference and the Indigene/Settler Question in Nigerian Politics. Unpublished paper https://www.ascleiden.nl/Pdf/paper-Danfulani.pdf (Accessed August 17, 2017).

Ekeh, P.P. 1975. Colonialism and the two publics in Africa: A theoretical exploration. Studies in Society and History, 17(1): 105-157. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0010417500007659 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0010417500007659

Falade, J.B., S. Harbor & W. Osofisan 2004. Elements of Project Design: An Analysis of NGO Projects for Strengthening Electoral Processes in Nigeria. UNDP, Lagos.

Folami, O.M. & T.A. Olaiya 2015. Gender, storytelling and peace construction in a divided society: A case study of the Ife/Modakeke conflict. Cogent Social Sciences, 2(1): 15-35. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2016.1159015 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2016.1159015

Framojvic, M. & K. Bush 2004. Peace and conflict impact assessment. In (K. Bush ed.) Building Capacity for Peace and Unity: Role of Local Government in Peacebuilding, pp. 51-61. Federation of Canadian Municipalities, Ontario.

Geertz, C. 1963. The integrative revolution: Primordial sentiments and civil patriots in the new states. In (C. Geertz ed.) Old Societies and New States: The Quest for Modernity in Asia and Africa, pp. 105-157. The Free Press, New York.

Ibeanu, O. 2000. Ethnicity and transition to democracy in Nigeria: Explaining the passing of authoritarian rule in multi-ethnic society. African Journal of Political Science, 5(2): 45-65. https://doi.org/10.4314/ajps.v5i2.27310 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4314/ajps.v5i2.27310

IPCR (Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution) Nigeria 2003. Strategic Conflict Assessment Report. IPCR, Abuja.

Kasfir, N. 1976. The Shrinking Political Arena: Participation and Ethnicity in African politics, with a Case Study of Uganda. University of California Press, Berkeley. https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520315617 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520315617

Kazah-Toure, T. 2003. Ethno-Religious Conflict in Kaduna State. Human Right Monitor, Kaduna.

Kotze, D. 2000. Issues in conflict resolution. African Journal on Conflict Resolution, 12(2): 77-86. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691187518-004 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691187518-004

Kwaja, C.A. 2009. Ethnic and religious conflicts in Wase LGA, Plateau State, Nigeria. In (S.G. Best ed.) Causes and Effects of Conflicts in the Southern Zone of Plateau State, Nigeria, pp. 2-12. John Archers Publishers Limited, Ibadan.

Lamidi, K.O. 2019a. Peacebuilding: Conceptual, trajectory and imperative analyses in the third world countries. Canadian Social Science, 15(2): 53-64. https://doi.org/10.4314/gjss.v18i1.8

Lamidi, K.O. 2019b. Challenges of local governance institutions on peacebuilding in Africa: Empirical insights from southwestern Nigeria. Global Journal of Social Sciences, 18(1): 95-106. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4314/gjss.v18i1.8

Lamidi, K.O. 2019c. Communal conflict, communal peacemaking and governmental interventions: Lessons from the Ife-Modakeke crisis. African Journal on Conflict Resolution, 19(2): 11-32.

Lamidi, K. O. 2020. Localism and Peacebuilding Mechanisms in African Countries. Peace Studies Journal, 13(2), 10 - 28

Lamidi, K. O. 2021a. An Evaluation of Peacebuilding Strategies in Southwestern Nigeria: Quantitative and Qualitative Exam-ples. Journal of African Conflict and Peace Studies, 4(2), 7. https://doi.org/10.5038/2325-484X.4.2.1143 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5038/2325-484X.4.2.1143

Lamidi, K. O. 2021b. Local Institutions and Peacemaking in Southwest Nigeria. African Conflict and Peacebuilding Review, 11(1), 54-75. https://doi.org/10.2979/africonfpeacrevi.11.1.03 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2979/africonfpeacrevi.11.1.03

Lange, M. 2004. Building Institutional Capacity for Conflict-Sensitive Practice: The Case of International NGOs, Development and Peacebuilding. International Alert, London.

Layder, M. 2014. Preventing and Mitigating Violent Conflicts: A Revised Guide for Practitioners. Creative Associates International, Inc., New York.

Leonhardt, M. 2000. Conflict Impact Assessment of EU Development Cooperation with ACP Countries: A Review of Literature and Practice. FEWER, International Alert and Saferworld, London.

Mac Ginty, R. 2013. Indicators+: A proposal for everyday peace indicators. Evaluation and Program Planning, 36(1): 56-63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2012.07.001 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2012.07.001

Machava, A. 2008. Towards a better conflict management framework: The role of national, regional and continental organizations. An M.A unpublished paper submitted to Department of History Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo- Mozambique.

NEEDS 2004. Resource Pack for Conflict Transformation. International Alert, London.

Nwosile O.B. 2005. Traditional Models of Bargaining and Conflict Resolution in Africa: Perspective on Peace and Conflict in Africa. John Archers Ltd., Ibadan.

Nyheim, D., M. Leonhardt & C. Gaigald 2001. Development in Conflict: A Seven Step Tool for Planners. FEWER, International Alert and Saferworld, London.

Oguntomisin, G.O. 2004. The Processes of Peacekeeping and Peacemaking in Pre-Colonial Nigeria. John Archers, Ibadan.

Ojiji, O. 2007. Conflict handling styles. In (C. Bassey & O. Oshita eds.) Conflict Resolution, Identity Crisis and Development in Africa, pp. 10-19. Malthouse Press, Lagos.

Oladoyin, A.M. 2001. State and ethno-communal violence in Nigeria: The case of Ife-Modakeke. African Development, 26: 195-223.

Olaleye, I.O. 2016. Traditional Institutions and Conflict Management in Ekiti State. Master Thesis, Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Administration, in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of Master of Science Degree in Public Administration, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

Olaoba, O.B. 2005. Ancestral focus and the process of conflict resolution in traditional African societies. In (I.O. Albert ed.) Perspectives on Peace and Conflict in Africa in Essays in Honour of General (Dr) Abdul Salam A, Abubakar, pp. 47-58, John Archers Ltd., Ibadan.

Olayiwola, S. & N. Okorie 2010. Integrated education: An instrument for resolving Ife-Modakeke conflict in Osun State, Nigeria. Journal of Alternative Perspectives in the Social Sciences, 2: 953-965.

Olayode, K. 2007. Pro-democracy movements, democratization and conflicts in Africa: Nigeria, 1990-1999. African Journal of International affair, 10(1&2): 127-146.

Olayoku, P.A. 2017. Transforming relations in the management of the 1992 ethno-religious conflicts in Zangon-Kataf, Kaduna State, Nigeria. African Journal on Conflict Resolution, 17(2): 67-92.

Oommen, T.K. (ed.) 1997. Introduction: Conceptualizing the Linkage between Citizenship and National Identity: From Colonialism to Globalism. Sage, New Delhi.

Osaghae, E.E. & R.T. Suberu 2005. A History of Identities, Violence and Stability in Nigeria (CRISE Working paper No. 6). Oxford Uniersity, Centre for Research on Inequality, Human Security and Ethnicity, Oxford.

Osaretin, I. & E. Akov 2013. Ethno-religious conflict and peace building in Nigeria: The case of Jos, Plateau State. Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 2(1): 349-360. https://doi.org/10.5901/ajis.2013.v2n1p349 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5901/ajis.2013.v2n1p349

Oshita, O.O. 2005. Conflict dynamics in a multi-ethnic state: Revivalism and brinkmanship in contemporary Nigeria. In (I.O. Albert ed.) Perspectives on Peace and Conflict in Africa, pp. 91-95. John Archers, Ibadan.

Ouellet, J. 2003. Peacemaking. In (G. Burgess & H. Burgess eds.) Beyond Intractability, pp. 1-4. University Conflict Information Consortium, Colorado.

Oyelaran, O.O. & M.O. Adediran 1997. Colonialism citizenship and fractured national identity: The African case. In (T.K. Oommen ed.) Introduction: Conceptualizing the Linkage between Citizenship and National Identity: From Colonialism to Globalism, pp. 213-216. Sage, New Delhi.

Oyovbaire, S.E. 1984. Structural change and the problems of national cohesion: The Nigerian experience. In (R.B. Goldman & A.J. Wilson eds.) From Independence to Statehood: Managing Ethnic Conflict in Five African Printer, pp. 32-41. HRM, Kaduna.

Paden, J.N. 2008. Religion and Political Culture in Kano. University of California Press, Berkeley, Los Angeles & London.

Rabasa, A., S.L. Pettyjohn, J.J. Ghez & C. Boucek 2010. Deradicalising Islamist Extremists. RAND, Santa Monica.

Remi, F. 2007. A Framework for Mainstreaming Peacebuilding in Development Programming in Nigeria. NEEDS, Abuja.

Rothschild, D. 1981. Managing Ethnic Conflict in Africa: Pressure and Incentives for Co-operation. The Brooking Institution, Washington D.C.

Salawu, B. 2010. Ethno-religious conflicts in Nigeria: Causal analysis and the proposals for new management strategies. European Journal of Social Sciences, 13(3): 345-353.

SBM Intel Report 2017. Southern Kaduna: A Critical Look. United State: Stratfor Publication. (Accessed June 15, 2020)

Schmeltzer, B. 2005. New Trends in Peace and Conflict Impact Assessment (PCIA). Research Centre for Constructive Conflict Management, Berghot.

Schwartz, S. 2010. Is Nigeria a Hotbed of Islamic Extremism? Institute for Peace (USIP), Washington DC.

Sklar, R.L. 2004. Foundations of federal government in Nigeria. In (A.A.B. Agbaje, L. Diamond & E. Onwudiwe eds.) Nigeria’s Struggle for Democracy and Good Governance: A Festchrift for Oyeleye Oyediran, pp. 3-17. Ibadan University Press, Ibadan.

Smith, L. & D.T. Robinson 2001. Getting a laugh: Gender, status and humor in task discussions. Social Forces, 80: 123-158. https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.2001.0085 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.2001.0085

Stewart, F. 2009. Religion versus ethnicity as a source of mobilisation: Are there differences? CRISE Paper No. 70, CRISE, Oxford. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1495152 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1495152

Suberu, R.T. 1996. Ethnic Minority Conflict and Governance in Nigeria. Spectrum Books, Ibadan. https://doi.org/10.4000/books.ifra.748 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/books.ifra.748

Suberu, R.T. 2001. Federalism and Ethnic conflict in Nigeria. Institute for Peace (USIP), Washington D.C.

Wilkes, R. & D. Okamoto 2002. Ethnic competition and mobilisation by minorities at risk. Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, 8(3): 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1080/13537110208428667 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13537110208428667

Young, C. 1976. The Politics of Cultural Pluralism. University of Winsconsin Press, Madison.

Downloads

Published

2022-09-12

How to Cite

Lamidi, K. O., Olaleye, O. I., & Taleat, B. A. (2022). Peacebuilding Strategies in Nigeria’s Ethnic Space: Specific Focus on Conflict-Spot in Kaduna Communities. International Journal of Criminology and Sociology, 11, 91–103. https://doi.org/10.6000/1929-4409.2022.11.11

Issue

Section

Articles