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CONFLICT AND NATIONAL INTEGRATION IN
NIGERIA (A CRITICAL ANALTYSIS OF NIGER DELTA REGION 2000-2007)
ABSTRACT
One of the major
problems facing Nigeria and indeed, Africa is intra and inter-ethnic conflicts.
The conflicts in some of these nations have, in very recent times degenerated
into serious violence, a number of which have developed into intractable armed
struggle. These situations have, to a large extent threatened the corporate
existence of many African states, especially against the backdrop of the
divergent cultures of the various ethnic nationalities; Rwanda, Congo
Democratic Republic, Sudan and Somalia to mention some of them. And the Niger
Delta question in Nigeria is one that has remained a vexed area for which no
answer seems to be sufficient. What therefore, is the way forward? It is in
line with the various attempts in the past that this essay proposes the
theatrical approach.
The
conflict in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria has become global as it is wont
to,given the fact that the major actors in the crisis are transnational-the
multinational oilcorporations play very critical and fundamental roles in the
crisis as a result of their insatiable quest to make profit and their inability
to behave appropriately towards the people of theregion. This situation has
made them relate with the people as they would in any other business venture
where they would not want to lose out but to continuallymake profit. In the
process, the people decide to come up in arms to claim their right and thus
ensues conflict between the two, because the Niger Delta is at the crossroads of
Nigeria’s political economy presently. In this paper, we are of the opinion
that it is only when the government takes a serious look into the affairs of
the multinationals inthe Niger Delta with a proven effort to treat the
indigenes right that the problem can beabated.
CHAPTER ONE
1.0
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
In Nigeria,
ethnic conflicts have contributed to the social and political dislocation of
the Nigerian society. This situation has often led to stagnation in social and
economic growth of the country. Of late, the seeming intractable conflict in
the Niger Delta has assumed a much dangerous dimension resulting in the wanton
destruction of state properties and loss of lives and private properties of
inestimable value. There has been reported cases of armed militia groups that
have taken root in the creeks of Niger Delta, particularly in Rivers, Bayelsa
and Delta States, whole activities ranges from bunkering, through piracy to
kidnapping and blowing up of oil installations. All these have caused
irreparable damage and loss to the Nigerian state. What for instance, is the
reason for some of these conflicts?
A number of
factors may have contributed to the conflict situation in the Niger Delta:
anger, hatred, greed, lust jealousy, selfish ambition and break breakdown in
communication etc. These according to Hagher (1997) are some of the reasons
responsible for the conflict in most countries. While this may be true to some
degree, on a global level he contends that conflicts and other wars are a
result of “Social Injustice, insecurity of life and property, territorial
ambition, national pride, religious intolerance, ideological differences….”
These, he aptly describes as the “oils igniting the flames of war all over”.
Through these conflicts, the economic, political and social life of the people
have been dislocated and destroyed.
Nevertheless,
the government in an attempt to stem these conflicts has enlisted a number of
measures, including workshops and conferences aimed at resolving the conflict
situation in the Niger Delta. But despite the several measures fashioned by the
government and its agencies, there do not seem any end in sight in the
conflicts, if anything; there seem to be a steady rise in the activities of the
various militia groups. The reason for this may be a bit contentious, but with
all intent and purpose, one can say that some of the measures taken have been
too elitist in approach and design. To this extent, majority of the people
(masses) are excluded in the process of peace building. It is in this regard
that the medium of theatre is being advocated as a tool in conflict resolution
and management.
In the so called
era of globalization and global village, it is anachronistic to talk about
nationalism, autonomy, and development. Punditries have declared the end of
history. Development is passé and autonomy is out-dated… Politicians talk about
win and win situations, not winners and looser…. Nationalism becomes cultural
relativism at best, or fundamentalism at worst. While autonomy is a pipe dream,
all fads have their days (Shivji, 2009:117).
The principles
of democracy are generally known and universally acceptable. Yet their precise
application very much depends on the historical context of the country and the
people concerned. A set of principles is one thing and its application is
another. There is no universally acceptable model of democracy though there are
universally recognized principles of democracy… there are certain unavoidable
implications in working democracies. They produce winners and losers. And each
one of these has obligation to make the system work (Mohiddin, 2009:171).
The above two quotations
suggests that globalization, democracy and development form a vicious circle.
These suggestions imply that in application, democracy is driven in the
globalized world with capitalism at its fulcrum. Largely, this interaction
depends on the history of a specific country and people. Thus different nations
resort to varying methods to nurture their democracy.
Most countries in the third
world including Nigeria sought to be seen as democratic. The reason for this is
in two folds. On the one hand, democracy has attained such a height that to be
democratic is a condition for membership
to international organization like IMF,
world Bank, UN and WTO while on the other hand, financial assistance from the
global North to South like borrowing,
foreign aid, grants and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) insists that receiving countries must be
democratic..
Remarkably,
ethnic differences are often exploited in Africa for various purposes ranging
from political power to wealth. Igwe (2003:143) rightly noted that:
Worldwide, the most acute problems of
ethnicity are still in Africa where poverty, corrupt and incompetent
leadership, the colonial heritage and possibly religion had created terrible
civil wars in Nigeria, Sudan, Ethiopia, Burundi, Rwanda, and many other states
including even pogroms, genocide, ethnic cleansing and on almost endless
bitterness sometimes leading to succession calls for ethnic self-determination
sovereign National conference political restructuring and a like. Again, Section 14, subsection 3 of the 1999
Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria States that:
The composition of the Government of the
Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be
carried out in such a manner to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and
the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty
thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few
states or from a few ethnic of other sectional groups in that government or in
any of its agencies. Following the 1967/70 civil war in Nigeria, successive
governments in Nigeria has continued to search for peaceful coexistence of the
various ethnic groups in Nigeria and achieve integrated national development.
In this search, the 1979 Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) reported that inter- ethnic rivalries in Nigeria between
one ethnic group or combination of ethic groups and others are struggles to secure the domination of
government at the exclusion of others. The committee submitted that it is
essential to have some provision to ensure that the predominance of persons
from a few states or from few ethnic groups is avoided in the composition of
government or the appointment or election of persons to high offices in the
Nigerian state (CDC, 1979: viii). Nigeria adopted the federal character
principle to counteract the national question issue. This paper therefore
explores the extent of application of
the federal character principle to solving national question in Nigeria.
1.2
PROBLEM OF THE STUDY
The consequent entrenchment of powerful
and centralised institutions of governance in Niger Delta communities has
continued to threaten the existential essence of man in his local and national
environment. The Igbo were originally free from such centralized and despotic
institutions of governance.
However, to facilitate governance in Niger
Delta communities where kingship institutions were few, or to achieve
uniformity with the rest of the country, the colonial masters created the
"warrant chiefs" with the ordinance of 1916. With the attainment of
independence, the warrant chiefs became anachronistic and irrelevant. Perhaps
to achieve the same objective as the colonial masters, the military government
in 1978 created autonomous communities and decreed that each community be
placed under a traditional ruler (Eze or Obi in some areas). The proliferation
of kingship institution was thus engineered in an area of Nigeria where the
predominant political organization was the "democratic village
republic" in which the traditional local institution for governance has been
the town union. The situation now is that there exists in most communities in Niger
Delta communities two dominant institutions for governance - the town union
which is at the apex of the system of unions/assemblies that are part of the
democratic village republic and the Eze Institution fostered by the government.
The problem is that social conflict situations have arisen in many communities.
There is social conflict over the relationship between the town union (or its
president) and the Eze. There is social conflict over accession and succession
to the Eze stool, which has tended to destabilize the town union. There is also
social conflict over the Eze's area of jurisdiction and the town unions' area
of jurisdiction. The gravity of the situation is perhaps evidenced by the
numerous litigations on these matters pending in law courts all over Niger
Delta communities.
The high
rate book haram brought about income inequality, poverty among all but the very
top few, lawlessness / selectively lawed, unemployment, poor education system,
bastardised healthcare system, and medieval infrastructure have culminated in
unlashing a level of hardship and human suffering that have forced many to seek
divine intervention through churches and mosques.
Largely,
the victims have been the hapless, defenceless common folk, and it is difficult
to understand how their deaths could help whatever cause the Boko Haram
sect have been pursuing. Finally, “Boko Haram” is also a cover for criminal
activity and political thuggery of all sorts. Anything that turns violent can
be blamed on the Islamist movement, whether it has a link to it or not. It is a
perfect alibi, one that prevents further questioning. Bank robbery? Boko Haram.
Attack on political opponents? Boko Haram.
As such, the name is ceasing to have any
meaning at all: Boko Haram is everywhere and nowhere at the same time.
The hype in much of the Nigerian media
also contributes to the problem, as many media outlets chasing sales seem all
too willing to fall for unsubstantiated rumour and outright lies proffered by
political trouble-makers -- or by nobody at all. Of course, some international
media reporting has also been more scare-mongering than substance, presenting
this as a new terrorist threat to the West, when it is fundamentally a Nigerian
issue.
The Boko Haram phenomenon, in all its
threads, has captured the imagination of the entire nation, filling newspaper
pages and air time with fear and misinformation that reaffirms everyone’s core
understanding of their deeply dysfunctional state: Nigeria is broken and headed
toward the brink.
It is hard to imagine a state that is so
much a part of the problem effectively dealing with it. Still, the dozens of
security experts, academics and journalists I met with all agreed on the basic
elements to address the four interlocking parts of the Boko Haram phenomenon.
The criminal side of everything claiming to be, or claimed to be, Boko
Haram needs to be handled as criminal cases. This requires a non-rapacious
police force and independent judiciary. Every aspect of the police needs
reforming: recruitment, training and management. With the reputation of the
police at rock bottom, even practical intelligence gathering within the
community is extremely difficult in the absence of trust. The PDP government is
making the country very difficult to stabilise with its rigging pattern.
One of the key lessons of the current
Boko Haram trouble is that there can never be peace in a society where majority
are hungry and the minority keep on enjoying all the luxurious things of life.
1.3
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
1. To examine effectiveness of federalism and
democracy to foster national unity and security which can also build the stability of the federation and
sustainable development.
2. To arrest degeneration, ethno-religious anomalies
e.g insecurity and conflict must be
strategically managed in order to sustain peace and development in Nigeria and
the country’s democratic governance.
3. To evaluate the causes of conflicts and national integration in Nigeria
especially in Niger Delta region.
4. To achieve political stability of the country
through nation integration.
5. To reduce the challenges and insecurity consciousness
in Nigeria through national integration in Niger Delta region.
6. To forter
national unity and oneness through
regional and ethnic integration.
7. To proffer solution
to proper management of conflicts in Nigeria especially in Niger Delta region.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTION
1. Can one examine effectiveness of federalism and
democracy to foster national unity and security which can also build the stability of the federation and
sustainable development?
2. Is it possible to arrest degeneration, ethno-religious
anomalies e.g insecurity and conflict
must be strategically managed in order to sustain peace and development
in Nigeria and the country’s democratic governance?
3. What are the causes of conflicts and national integration in Nigeria
especially in Niger Delta region?
4. Can political stability in Nigeria be achieved
through nation integration?
5. Can this study reduce the challenges and
insecurity consciousness in Nigeria through national integration in Niger Delta
region?
6. What are the
solution to proper management of conflicts in Nigeria especially in Niger Delta
region?
1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
H0: One cannot examine effectiveness of federalism
and democracy to foster national unity and security which can also build the stability of the federation and
sustainable development.
H1: One can examine effectiveness of federalism and
democracy to foster national unity and security which can also build the stability of the federation and sustainable
development.
H0: It is impossible to arrest degeneration,
ethno-religious anomalies e.g insecurity and conflict must be strategically managed in order to
sustain peace and development in Nigeria and the country’s democratic
governance.
H1: It is possible to arrest degeneration, ethno-religious
anomalies e.g insecurity and conflict
must be strategically managed in order to sustain peace and development
in Nigeria and the country’s democratic governance.
H0: There are no causes of conflicts and national integration in Nigeria
especially in Niger Delta region.
H1: There are causes of
conflicts and national integration in Nigeria especially in Niger Delta
region.
H0: Political stability in Nigeria cannot be
achieved through nation integration.
H1: Political stability in Nigeria can be achieved
through nation integration.
H0: This study cannot reduce the challenges and
insecurity consciousness in Nigeria through national integration in Niger Delta
region.
H1: This study can reduce the challenges and
insecurity consciousness in Nigeria through national integration in Niger Delta
region.
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This research work expiores the power struggle, poverty and terriorism : examining the emergency menace
of conflicts in Nigeria is beneficial to
Ombudsman, public administrative structures of these accountability
institutions within is relevant to a select group of developing and developed
countries, Practitioners as well as students of political science, public
administration, administrative law,
public policy decision makers and all other stakeholders engaged in the design
and execution of public policy will find this project most valuable.”
1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This study is centered on conflict and
national integration in Nigeria (a critical analysis of Niger Delta region
2000-2007.
1.8 LIMITATION OF STUDY
Despite the limited
scope of this study certain constraints were encountered during the research of
this project. Some of the constraints
experienced by the researcher were given below:
i. TIME: This was a
major constraint on the researcher during the period of the work. Considering
the limited time given for this study, there was not much time to give this research
the needed attention.
ii. FINANCE: Owing to the
financial difficulty prevalent in the country and it’s resultant prices of
commodities, transportation fares, research materials etc. The researcher did
not find it easy meeting all his financial obligations.
iii. INFORMATION CONSTRAINTS:
Nigerian researchers have never had it easy when it comes to obtaining
necessary information relevant to their area of study from private business
organization and even government agencies.
People in Niger Delta region find it difficult to reveal their internal
operations. The primary information was collected through face-to-face
interview getting the published materials on this topic meant going from one
library to other which was not easy.
Although
these problems placed limitations on the study,
but it did not prevent the researcher from carrying out a detailed and
comprehensive research work on the subject matter.
1.9 DEFINITION OF TERMS
CONFLICT: This could be described as a situation or
condition of disharmony in an interactional process. Conflict also is when two
or more values, perspectives and opinions are contradictory in nature and
haven’t been aligned or agreed about yet.
Ethnicity: Ethnicity as a
concept is relatively new which can be seen as an intricate phenomenon that
describes different perceptions.
According to Osaghae (1992), ethnicity refers to a
social formation resting upon culturally specific practices and a unique set
of symbols and cosmology. Ethnicity denotes a group
of individuals who consider themselves, or are considered by others, to
share common characteristics which differentiate
them from other collectivities within a society.
Political
Stability: This means a firmly fixed, needed and
desired policies for growth and development or the
policy.
ii. Free and Fair Election: This
refers to the absence of violence in the election stations or polls, the
country of votes in the polls immediately after voting and in the presence of
both and electoral officer, the representatives of the contestants and also the
law enforcement officers, ensuring that the names of all eligible voters are
included in the register of voters and also allowed to exercise their franchise
no the election day.
iii. Culture: This refers to arts,
social, institutions and belief of a particular group or people.
iv. Culture Organisation: This
refers to an organised group of people who share the same arts, customs and
common beliefs together.
v. Sponsorship: This refers to
the advancing money to candidates with which to run the election directly or
indirectly and also giving out gift to electorates so as to persuade them to
vote for a particular candidates. And also giving their candidates advise on
how to campaign and lobby for votes and support from the people.
vi. Election Outcome: This means
the relationship between the political parties and the objectives they aim at.
vi. Ezinihitte Mbaise League Association: This
is a cultural organisation in Ezinihitte Mbaise local government area of Isu
local govt in Imo State through which they unite themselves together so as to
see to the improvement of the area.
vii.
Old Politicians: This
refers to those politicians who does not any longer come out directly to struggle
for power still have the influential power in politics.
viii.
Governance:
According to Oxford Advancer learners Dictionary it defines governance as the
activity of governing a country or controlling a company or an organisation,
the way in which a country is governed or a company or instrument is
controlled.
Power Struggles: Power
struggles refer to people in a relationship fighting about who is in control,
with both trying to dominate the relationship in one way or another. In many
cases, relationship therapy and coaching can be very beneficial for couples
dealing with all the negatives that come with power struggles.
Terrorism:
this is the systematic use of terror,
often violent, especially as a means of coercion. In
the international community, however, terrorism
has no legally binding, criminal law definition.[1][2] Common
definitions of terrorism refer only to those violent acts which are intended to
create fear (terror), are perpetrated for a religious, political or,
ideological goal; and deliberately target or disregard the safety of non-combatants
(civilians). Some definitions now include acts of unlawful violence and
war. The use of similar tactics by criminal96 organizations for protection
rackets or to enforce a code
of silence is usually not labeled terrorism though these same actions may
be labeled terrorism when done by a politically motivated group. Perhaps,[3] it is
less oppressive in itself than through the effects of the precautions taken to
protect its likely victims.[4]
The word
"terrorism" is politically and emotionally charged,[5]
and this greatly compounds the difficulty of providing a precise definition.
Studies have found over 100 definitions of “terrorism”.[6][7] The
concept of terrorism may itself be controversial as it is often used by state
authorities (and individuals with access to state support) to delegitimize
political or other opponents,[8]
and potentially legitimize the state's own use of armed force against opponents
(such use of force may itself be described as "terror" by opponents
of the state).[8][9]
Terrorism has
been practiced by a broad array of political organizations for furthering their
objectives. It has been practiced by both right-wing and left-wing political
parties, nationalistic
groups, religious groups, revolutionaries, and ruling governments.[10]
An abiding characteristic is the indiscriminate use of violence against noncombatants
for the purpose of gaining publicity for a group, cause, or individual. The symbolism of terrorism can leverage human
fear to help achieve these goals. [11]
Conflicts :
Conflicts mean different things to different people. For instance, the Chinese
see conflicts in a positive direction. In their language, conflicts mean ‘an
opportunity or danger’ (Nweke, 2003:2). It is the degree of response to
conflict that determines how it turns out. One’s background, attributes,
perceptions and environment, among other things, influence the degree of
responses to conflicts. In his own
definition, Ihejirika (2001) opines that what usually comes to people’s mind
pictures when they hear of conflicts is war, fighting misunderstanding,
arguments, anarchy, stress, crisis, aggression and so on between individuals,
groups, communities, nations or states. Ihejirika observes that people with
negative connotations of conflicts tend to handle them in a destructive manner
with negative effects.
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