Assessing conflict resolution and peace building strategies in democratic systems: a study of Yobe State, Nigeria 2009-2017.

Abstract

Since 2009, there has been an increasing spate of violent conflicts in the North-Eastern part of Nigeria. The crises have defied several efforts aimed at resolving them and now require urgent attention from all stakeholders to find a lasting solution. The Boko Haram insurgency and other terrorists’ activities, especially the Fulani Herdsmen/farmers’ conflict has resulted in a humanitarian crisis in which over 20,000 people have been killed and about 2.6 million displaced with property worth millions of Naira destroyed. The crises which are now extending to other parts of Nigeria and the sub-region of West Africa needs to be handled with all seriousness before the situation gets out of hand. Several strategies have been employed in resolving the crises, such as the use of the military, legal adjudication, setting up of dialogue committee, legislative approach and proposed granting of amnesty to the insurgents and terrorist groups. However, all these measures have not been able to resolve the crises. This research work assessed the different strategies that have been employed to stem the crises in the North-East with a view to identifying the loop-holes and bottlenecks that have deterred or hindered the resolution of the conflicts. Survey method was employed in the collection of data through the instrumentality of questionnaire. “Interviews were conducted in order to get first-hand information about the root causes of the conflicts from the people at the grassroots who are most affected by the crises. It is hoped that a thorough understanding of the causes, as well as, obstacles hindering the resolution of the conflicts will provide a headway toward finding alternative strategies such as the South Africa Truth Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and other Afro-centric strategies that could be combined with renewed democratic strategies towards finding lasting solutions to the lingering problems that have been on for over a decade and threatening the corporate existence of the country. Findings revealed the urgent need to reappraise the current counter insurgency strategies and money laundering Acts which are the major strategies employed in resolving the ongoing conflicts, “Whilst employing alternative strategies (hybridization) with more focus on political economy approach which centres on addressing the root cause of conflicts such as poverty, unemployment, inequality and with emphases on preventive methods to conflict resolution and peace building.