The Impact of Language in Conflict Management and Peace Building (Published)
Conflict is inevitable and part of the society. A conflict can be encountered in the home, between a husband and his wife, between parents and their children. Conflicts can also be between friends, colleagues, a teacher and his students, and even between religious leaders, politicians, traders, just mention it. Conflict is not entirely negative. The society needs conflict to advance as conflicts enable people know their rights, duties and short comings. The manner a conflict is handled is very important. Language at this juncture, plays an indispensable role in managing conflicts on one hand, and on the other hand, escalating a conflict. In other words, the paper explores language as an instrument capable of deescalating or escalating a conflict.
Keywords: Language, Peace – Building, People’s Lives, conflict management
Amnesty as a Tool in the Negotiation to end Insurgency in the Niger Delta (Published)
The period between 2003 and 2009 witnessed an intensification of military insurgency and a dangerous degeneration of the conflict in the Niger Delta of Nigeria. The attacks on the oil production facilities by insurgent groups, sabotage by criminal syndicates and a flourishing kidnapping industry had transformed the Niger Delta from a region of political and social instability into a virtual war zone. Oil production had declined by over a million barrels, to about 1.6 million barrels per day. Major oil companies started relocating or shutting down their facilities from the region as the violence, which eventually spread to the other parts of the country could not be repressed by the heavily armed Joint Task Force (JTF) of the Nigerian Military. The implication of the crisis for the political and economic survival of Nigeria is believed to have propelled the Yar’adua administration in mid-2009 to offer ‘amnesty’ to the militants as part of a negotiated process of ending the insurgency in the region, while the issues in the conflict were being addressed by the government. This novel and unprecedented strategy was and still remains controversial but many agree that the problem of insurgency in the region was reasonably contained for several years following the offer of amnesty. This paper is an attempt to analyze the relevance of this policy as a negotiation strategy and a conflict management tool that can be used for future interventions in similar conflicts within the country and across the continent.
Keywords: Amnesty, Insurgency, Negotiation., conflict management
THE ROLE OF POLITICAL LEADERS IN THE RESOLUTION OF POLITICAL VIOLENCE IN YOBE STATE, NORTH- EAST REGION – NIGERIA (Published)
This study investigates the role of political leaders and the management of political violence in Yobe State, North –east region of Nigeria. Nigeria transited to democratic governance on May 29th, 1999 with much fanfare and great expectations. Despite the euphoria and sentiments especially from the political class, that would greet the celebrations, it is rather debatable whether there is any specific social, political and economic development in Yobe state and Nigeria generally due to the persistent spate of political violence. It is against this background that this study examines the role political leaders have played in promoting and curbing political violence in Yobe state with particular reference to the activities of the Jammatul Ahlis Sunnah Lidda’awati wal jihad (Boko Haram). This study is also timely due to the fact that the country is presently confronted with serious security challenges. The study is therefore guided by the following research proposition: Political violence is not an expression of systemic leadership failure. To achieve this objective therefore, the study employed the qualitative methods as the main research methodology, which was supplemented by basic quantitative methods. These two methods complemented each other through triangulation. Chart for data analysis was drawn using the 2003 Microsoft Excel XP Version 10 package. The study also utilized secondary data through an extensive review of literature in order to provide a foundation on which the empirical data was built. in fact; a sample of 510 respondents was randomly selected and administered with the questionnaire from 6 local government areas in Yobe state. The study used the conjectural political conflict model as the main theoretical framework. From the empirical data analyzed, the study revealed that political leaders have not done much in the management of political violence in Yobe State. The study therefore recommends amongst others that political leaders should be bold and have an articulate leadership style that would effectively manage and prevent conflict in Yobe state
Keywords: Boko Haram, Nigeria, Political leaders, Political violence, Yobe state, conflict management