Ethnic Conflict Management in Africa

8/6/2019 Ethnic Conflict Management in Africa

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UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI

INSTITUTE OF DIPLOMACY AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

ESSAY TOPIC

Ethnic Conflict Management in Africa: AComparative Case Study of Nigeria and SouthAfrica

PRESENTED BY: HANS NYANGER67/ /2010

COURSE UNIT: CONLICT MANAGEMENT

PRESENTED TO: ..

MAY 2011


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Introduction

Nigeria and South Af rica could be likened to th e Bi bl ical A ar on and Mos es, who w ere endow ed with th e respo nsi bility to b ring Af rica out f r om th e bondage of despair , dec line and underdeve lopm ent. As regional pow er s, h isto r y has impos ed on them th e enor mous t ask of

f inding solut ions to som e of th e most p ressing Af rican concern s.

Af rican countries to day f ace grea ter challenge s to p eace and sta bility th an ever before. Th e countries of sub-S aharan Af rica , including Sierra -Leone, Ivor y Co ast, L i beria and the Democra tic R e publ ic of Co ngo, are a volatile mix of insecurity, insta bility, corr upt pol itica linst itut ions and pover ty. Al ar ming ly, most of th ese countries lack the pol itica l w ill to m aintain

previous p eace agree ments, and thus h ave f allen prey to continuous ar med ethnic conflict.(Mo nty M ar shall, 2003) Th is is par tly due to ineff ective conflict m anage ment.

The conflicts in these countries are mostly b etween ethnic gr oups, not between states. If notchecked , ethnic conflicts are contagious and can spread qu ick ly acr oss bo rder s l ike cancer cells.

Ted Gurr and Mo nty M ar shall h ave written that most Af rican conflicts are caused by th e comb ination of po ver ty and weak states and inst itut ions. (P eace and Conflict, 2001:11-13; 2003)

This essay pa per is mean t as a contri but ion tow ards th e ongoing searc h fo r new m ean s of managing ethnic conflicts in Af rica . Us ing Nigeria and South Af rica as case stu dies, it comp are sthe manage ment of ethnic conflicts in both countries and shows th e diff icult ies in managing dee p-r oot ed and compl ex conflicts. Th e govern ments of Nigeria and South Af rica have taken

bold const itut ional st e ps to reduce tension, but th e continuing ethnic and religious conflicts raise questions a bout th e eff ectivene ss of th ese mechani sms.

1. This stu dy pr opos es, among oth er things, th at ethnic conflict h as been at th e hear t of both

countries' deve lopm ent pr oblems. Pol iticised ethnici ty h as been detrimental to nationalunity and socio-economic well-b eing . It is impo r tant to note that most of th ese ethnic conflicts w ere caused by colo nia lism, wh ich compou nded inter -ethnic conflict byca pitalising on the isolation of ethnic gr oups. Th e divide -and -conquer metho d was us ed to p it ethnici ties again st eac h oth er , thus kee ping the peopl e f r om rising up again st th e coloniser s. D istri but ion of econom ic resou rces was oft en skewed to f avour a par ticular gr oup, push ing margina lized gr oups to us e their ethnici ty to mob ilise for equality. Th ese are the seeds of conflict.

There are some commo n conflict patterns. Th ey inc lude:

1. The demand for ethnic and cultu ral auto nomy,2. Comp eting demand s fo r land , mo ney and pow er , and 3. Co nflicts t aking place between riva l ethnic gr oups.


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Theoretical Approaches to Ethnicity and Ethnic Conflict

Ethnic gr oups are def ined as a commu nity of p eopl e who sh are cultu ral and linguist ic

charac terist ics inc luding histo r y, t radi tion, myth, and origin . Scholar s have been tr ying todeve lop a theoretica l a ppr oach to ethnici ty and ethnic conflict fo r a long time. Som e, l ike Do nald Ho r ow itz, Ted Gurr , Do nald Roths child and Edward Azar , agree that th e ethnic conflictsex perienced today-- especia lly in Af rica -- are dee p r oot ed. Th ese conflicts o ver race , religion,language and iden tity h ave become so compl ex that th ey are diff icult to resolve or manage .Ethnicity h as a str ong influence on one's st atus in a commu nity. Eth nic conflicts are there fore often caused by an attempt to s ecure more pow er or acce ss mo re resou rces. Th e opinion of th isstudy is th at conflict in Af rica is sy nonymous w ith inequality. Wh erever such inequalitymani f ests among gr oups, conflict is inevi ta ble. Hence the quest ion, how can we eff ectivelymanage ethnic conflict in Af rica to avoid fur ther hum an losses? Is th ere a blue print fo r conflictmanage ment?

Causes of Ethnic Conflict

Economic f actor s have been iden tif ied as o ne of th e major causes of conflict in Af rica . Th eorists believe that comp etition for scarce resou rces is a commo n f actor in almost all ethnic conflicts in Af rica . In mult i-ethnic societies like Nigeria and South Af rica , ethnic commu nities violentlycomp ete for pr oper ty, rights, jobs, education, lang uage , so cial amenities and goo d health care f aci lities. I n his stu dy, O k wudi ba Nnoli (1980) p r oduced empirica l exa mples linking socio-econom ic f acto r s to ethnic conflict in Nigeria . According to J.S. Fu rniva l, cited in Nnol i (1980:72-3), "th e wo rking of economic forces m ake s fo r tension between gr oups w ith comp eting interests." 1

In the case of South Af rica , Ger hard Mare conf ir ms th at ethnici ty and ethnic conflict a ppear to be a respo nse to th e uneven deve lopm ent in South Af rica , wh ich caused ethnic gr oups (Xhos as,Zulus and even Af rikaner s) to mob ilise to comp ete for resources along ethnic lines. It followsthat mult i-ethnic countries are like ly to ex perience distri but ional conflicts.

Anoth er major cause of ethnic conflict is psy cholo gy, especia lly th e f ear and insecurity of ethnic gr oups during transition. It h as been op ined that extremists bu ild upo n these f ear s to pol arise the society. A dditionally, m emorie s of p ast t raumas magni fy th ese anxie ties. Th ese interac tions

pr oduce a toxic brew of distr ust and susp icion that lead s to ethnic violence . Th e f ear of wh ite Af rikaner s in South Af rica on the eve of democra tic elections was a good case in point.

Gurr 's (1970) relative de priva tion theor y off er s an ex plana tion based on an ethnic gr oups' acce ssto pow er and econom ic resou rces. Th is is closely related to Ho r ow itz, (1985) who w r ote thatgr oup wo r th is based on the results of economic and political comp etitions.2

1 Nnoli, Ok wudi ba, (1980) Eth nic Politics In Nigeria . Fou r th Dimension Press. E nugu.

2 Gurr , Ted and B. H ar ff (1994) Eth nic Conflict In Wo r ld Politics. (s anf ranci sco: west V iew press.)


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According to L ake and Roths child, (1996) ethnic conflict is a sign of a weak state or a state embr oiled in ancien t loyalties. I n this case, st ates act w ith b ias to f avou r a par ticular ethnic gr oupor region, and behaviour s su ch as p ref eren tial t rea tment fuel ethnic conflicts. Th ere fore, in critical o r diff icult pol itica l s ituations, th e eff ectivene ss of governance is de penden t o n its a bilityto addre ss so cia l issues and hum an need s.

R ecen tly, s cholar s have come out w ith diff eren t a ppr oaches to conce ptu alising ethnici ty. F aced with th e pr olif eration of s e para tist conflicts in Nor th Am erica , the inade quacie s u nder lying moderni sation theor y are being ex pos ed. Th e notion that mo derni ty woul d result in smoothtransition f r om gemeinschaf (commu nity) to gessellschaft ( associa tion), w ith grad ual dissolut ion of ethnic aff iliations, s imply did not wo rk . Eth nici ty h as p er sisted in Nor th Am erica , Af rica and elsewhere . Th is f ailure simply m ean s ethnicity w ill remain , and that th e sta bility of Af rican statesis th reatened not by ethnicity p er se, but th e f ai lure of national inst itut ions to recognise and accommo date ethnic diff erence s and interests. A ccording to th is arg ument, th e lesson for ethnic conflict manage ment is th at govern ments shoul d not discriminate again st gr oups o r they w illcrea te conflict.

The second theor y is f r om th e primordia l school and stresses the uniqueness and the overriding impo r tance of ethnic iden tity. F r om th eir po int of view, ethnici ty is a biolo gica l and f ixed charac terist ic of individ uals and commu nities. (G eer tz, 1963)

The third theoretical a ppr oach is th e Instr umentalist arg ument. (B ar th.1969, Gl azer and Moy nihan, 1975) I n Af rica where pover ty and de priva tion are becom ing ende mic, mostly as a result of distri but ive injust ice, ethnici ty remains an eff ective mean s of su rviva l and mob iliza tion.Ethnic gr oups th at for m fo r econom ic reasons, easily disband after achieving their ob jectives.This correspo nds w ith B enedic t Ander son's (1991:5-7) arg ument th at ethnici ty is " a constr uct"rather than a constant.

Additionally, s cholar s' attention has also sh ifted to th e nature of ethnic conflict and violence beca use the post Col d War era has been marked by th e resurgence of ethnic conflict and even genocide in som e societies l ike Rwanda , Bos nia, and Zaire .

An impo r tant th eor y o n conflict and conflict manage ment is Joh n Bur ton's (1979, 1997) hum an need s th eor y. Th is a pp r oach to ethnic conflict ex plains th at ethnic gr oups f ight b eca use they are denied not o nly th eir biolo gica l need s, but also psy cholo gica l need s th at relate to gr owth and deve lopm ent. Th ese inc lude peoples' need for iden tity, s ecurity, recognition, par tici pation, and auto nomy. Th is th eor y pr ovide s a plaus i ble ex plana tion of ethnic conflicts in Af rica , wh ere suchneed s are not easily m et by u ndemocra tic regimes.

This pa per focuses o n Joh n Bur ton's th eor y to ex plain ethnic conflict in Nigeria and SouthAf rica , because it pr ovided cogent reasons fo r the conflicts in the case studies. (Bu r ton 1979)The hum an need s th eor y w as intr oduced to de bunk the oth er theories th at attri but e causes of conflict to th e inna tely aggre ssive nature of hum an being s. (Joh n Bur ton 1990) Th e impo r tance of th is th eor y to ethnic conflict m anage ment in Af rica is th at it mo ves beyond theories th at blame


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Af rican conflicts o n a primordia l past. I nstead , it po ints to ineff ective institut ions una ble tosatisfy th e basic hum an need s of th eir citizens. Wh erever such non-negot ia ble need s are not met,conflict is inevi ta ble. Ob viously, th e pr obl em of ethnici ty in Af rica large ly de pends o n the leve lof st ate eff ectivene ss, accounta bility, and transparenc y in hand ling the demands of diver sity. Th e focus o n the hum an need s th eor y in this stu dy does not m ean the neg lect of oth er theories, wh ich

I consider to b e equally us eful.3

It is nece ssar y to emphasize that pr oper ana lysis of ethnic conflicts is ver y impo r tant in order toavoid prescri bing a wr ong medicine for the ailment. Failure to f ind solut ions to Af rica 's ethnic

pr oblem w ill have deva stating social and econom ic consequence s o n a continen t th at is alread ywo rn out by conflict, po ver ty and disease.

According to th eorists, conflict manage ment mean s constr uctive hand ling of diff erence s. It is an ar t of designing a ppr opriate inst itut ions to guide inevi ta ble conflict into p eace ful channe ls. Th e impo r tance of conflict manage ment cann ot be overe mphasised. It is wh en leader s and states f ai lto addre ss impo r tant issues and basic need s th at violence brews. Nowh ere is conflict

manage ment and peace ful resolut ion of conflict mo re impo r tant th an in Af rica . Af rican leader sshoul d take a second look at th eir behaviou r and pol icy choices. Emph asis here shoul d be on discouraging corr upt ion, embracing transparenc y and good governance .4

Contextual Comparison of Nigeria and South Africa

There are goo d reasons why I h ave chosen Nigeria and South Af rica as case studies. Thou ghcountries a par t, th ey are regional gian ts. Th ey w ield grea t economic, pol itica l and militar y pow er in sub-S aharan Af rica . Th e two countries are equally bl essed with a mosaic of ethnici ties and race s, an asset to national and econom ic deve lopm ent.

In the case of South Af rica , th e countr y's o ver 40 m illion people have long been pol arized along racia l lines. Th e countr y is made up of wh ites, indigen ous Af rican s, colo reds, and Indian s. Th e black s fo r m th e majority of th e popul ation with a bout 30 m illion people, the whites 5 m illion,and the colo reds and Indian s sh are 3 million. In South Af rica , class is deter mined by race , w ith

black s at th e bottom of th e ladder . In the past, indigen ous Af rican s w ere forced to l ive in impo veri shed and segrega ted ethnic "hom eland s" u nder the a par theid regime. Th e countr y hasa bout 11 l inguist ic gr oups, but E nglish is th e off icia l language .

With a bout 120 m illion people, Nigeria is Af rica 's most populous countr y. It is hom e to 250linguist ic gr oups, but E nglish is also Nigeria 's chos en off icia l language . Althou gh most of th e ethnic gr oups are ver y t iny, th ree ethnic gr oups const itut e somewhere between 60 and 70 p ercen tof th e popul ation. Th e Hausa-Ful ani ethnic gr oups count for 30 p ercen t of th e popul ation, the

3 Monty G. M ar shall and Ted Gurr , (2003) P eace and Conflict 2003: A Glob al Su rve y Of A r med Conflicts, S elf Deter mination Movements and Democrac y.4 Mzala (1988) G atsha Buth elezi, Ch ief With A Doubl e Agenda . Zed Book s Limited. London and New Jer sey


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Yo r ubas a bout 20 p er cent and the Ig bos a bout 18 p ercen t. Th ese three major ethnic gr oups are diff eren tiated not o nly by region, but also by religion and lif e-styl e.5

Nigeria and South Af rica are both st ratif ied socie ties. How ever , only in South Af rica was th e white race dom inan t over the Af rican majority. As w e shall discover f r om th is stu dy,

inst itut ionalized racism, discrimination, lang uage , histo r y and cultu re rein forced the distance between South Af rica and Nigeria . Both countries w ere sha ped by assumpt ions and def initionsimpos ed by th e British r uler s. B ritish imperia l r ule in both countries pr ovided iden tities,language s and symbols fo r ethnic and racia l gr oups. Colo nial racism w as respo nsi ble for crea ting ethnic divi sions and encouraging regionalism and se para tism, wh ich fur ther se para ted the race sand ethnic gr oups.

In South Af rica , fo r exa mple, th e colo nists' pol icie s dee pened the diff erence s b etween Zulus and Xhos as, Nde bele and Venda s, Tsw ana and Qw aqwa, etc. Also, thos e of m ixed race were segrega ted f r om th e wh ite gr oups th r ough cultu re, residence , occupation and status. Th ese diff erence s bene f ited the elite by fom enting conflict. (S ee Hor owitz, 1985; M are , Ger hard , 1993)

The case of Nigeria is s imilar , w ith th e exce pt ion of th e racia l gr oup ings. Th ere are no s igni f ican t popul ations of colo red people or whites in Nigeria . Instead , there are indigen ous ethnic gr oupswho w ere encouraged to segrega te by th e colonia lists. Th e divide -and -r ule strategy w as eviden tin the design that distanced ethnic gr oups f r om eac h oth er in se para te area s called "Sa bongari ",in nor thern Nigeria and "Ab ak pa" in the eastern par t of th e countr y. Th is arrange ment result ed in violent conflict wh en the various ethnic gr oups w ere forced to comp ete for scarce resou rces.6

In both countries, th e pr ocess of mo derniza tion is adding tension to alread y divided socie ties. Asin most of th e third wor ld countries, major rifts in society su ch as th ese present for mida ble

pr oblems fo r govern ments attempt ing to maintain or esta blish ethnic har mony and fost er

econom ic deve lopm ent.The South Af rican conflict involved the Zulus and the Xhos as, Af rican National Co ngre sssuppo r ter s in the KwaZulu- Natal hom eland . Few phys ica l conflicts o ccurred between the dominan t m inority wh ite gr oups and the black majority ethnic gr oups. Th is w as par tly b eca use of the govern ment st rategy of s egrega tion, wh ich distanced black hom eland s f r om wh ite cities.How ever , there was a high leve l of violent conflict between black ethnic gr oups in the hom eland s. I n Natal alone, well-o ver 1,147 p eople were killed during the f ir st mo nths of 1992 (The New Yo rk Times, 18 November 1992: A6 ).

The conflict in Nigeria , especia lly f r om th e year 1967 to 1970, w as som ewhat diff eren t f r om th atin South Af rica . In Nigeria , ethnic iden tities are so m ixed that no region or state is immu ne to th e

5 Gurr , Ted and B. H ar ff (1994) Eth nic Conflict In Wo r ld Politics. (s anf ranci sco: west V iew press.)

6 Federa l R e publ ic Of Nigeria : R e por t Of Th e Constitution Conf erence Containing The R esolut ion And R ecomm enda tions, vol.2, Abu ja. National Ass embly P ress, 1995: 7


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inf ection. Th e main conflicts involved Hausa-Ful ani and the Eastern Ibos and the Yo r uba and Hausa, th e minorities of th e oil pr oducing states of th e south. 7

Both Nigeria and South Af rica are amo ng the richest in the continen t in ter ms of naturalresou rces. Nigeria can boast of its o il, coal, t in, bauxite and gold. South Af rica is rich in gold,

diamonds and oth er strategic minera ls. U nfor tunately, th e majority of South Af rican s did not bene f it f r om th ese riches beca use of racism and a par theid. Th at how ever does not r ule out th e presence of a str ong and diver sif ied priva te bus iness s ector and a subst antial m idd le class th atdoes include som e black s. Thou gh South Af rica 's economy is not ver y h ealthy, th ey st ill h ave a highly deve loped f inancia l syst em, a f air ly eff icien t telecommu nica tion inf rastr ucture, pow er , a re lia ble water supply, r oads, and a syst em of publ ic administration, wh ich is affl icted by

patr onage and corr upt ion, but st ill de livering to th e citizens.

In Nigeria , the majority of th e popul ation, especia lly th e people f r om th e Niger Delta oil- pr oducing area s in the South, h as yet to f eel th e impact of o il reven ues beca use of corr upt ion,discrimination and econom ic mismanage ment. Aft er inde pendence , the Nigerian govern ment

inter f ered heavi ly in all sph ere s of econom ic lif e at grea t cost to th e priva te sector and econom ic gr owth in genera l. Additionally, ethnici ty, cen tralized govern ment, and a corr upt r uling elite over shadow l if e in Nigeria . Th e ince ssant pow er f ailures in Nigerian cities and lack of good drinking water , telecommu nica tion syst ems and re lia ble r oads are compl icating lif e in Af rica 'smost populous and wealthy nation. Hence the quest ions, wh ere is Nigeria 's o il income? Wh ere is Nigerian leader shi p?

Both Nigeria and South Af rica , having concluded a diff icult t ransition to democra tic r ule are at a cr oss r oads. Both countries bear the respo nsi bility to st eer the continen t away f r om th e re pression of autho ritarian govern ments tow ard s a path of so cia l and economic deve lopm ent and good governance .8 Interestingly, th e two countries are also driven by a similar pol itica l st rategie s to

manage conflict thr ough national reconci liation, consensus bu ilding and economic deve lopm ent.The dual pr ocesses of t ransition and transfor mation need noth ing less th an a vi bran t economy in which the basic need s of citizens are taken care of. Th ey also requ ire a state and society w ith a sense of sh ared dest iny wh ere racia l and ethnic iden tities are harne ssed pos itively as a uniting force rather than divisive f actor or an impediment to nation building . In South Af rica , th e

pot ential fo r disaster may h ave been aver ted by th e wisdom of Nelson Mande la. How ever , wh atwill b ecome of curren t presiden t Th a bo Mb eki 's govern ment is st ill u nknow n. Now, all eyes are on Nigeria 's p residen t, Olus egun Obasanjo, and his p ar ty to show som e degree of ca pa bility too.

In South Af rica 's t ransition pr ocess, M ande la's charisma helped the Af rican national Co ngre ss(A NC) to pu r sue the path of negot iation, accommo dation and conf idence building for managing the ethnic diver sity p r oblem, thou gh som e South Af rican wh ites st ill compl ain of dom inan t p ar tyf avoritism follow ing A NC's s econd election victo r y of 1999. How ever , in Nigeria the r uling

7 Jose ph, R ichard (1991) D emocrac y A nd Pre benda l Pol itics In Nigeria : Th e R ise And Fall Of Th e Second R e publ ic. Sp ectr um Boo k s Limited. Ibadan . Ow erri .

8 K ane-Ber man, Joh n (1993) Pol itical Violence In South Af rica . South Af rican Institute Of R ace R elations.Joh anse burg .


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Comparitive Conflict Management Approaches

In view of th e intensity of th e ethnic conflicts th at have r ocked Nigeria and South Af rica , bothcountries have wo rked to deve lop const itut ionally b acked inst itut ions fo r conflict m anage ment.

In South Af rica , after a diff icult and courage ous pol itical negot iation between the countr y'svarious interest gr oups, th e state has p reven ted fur ther violence by deve lop ing mult i pl e democra tic a ppr oaches to crea te a foundation for peace and security. Th e arc hitects of th e newSouth Af rican constitut ion cra fted an impressive document aimed to h eal th e wou nds of th e pastand esta bl ish a society based on social just ice, fundamental hum an rights and r ule of law. Th e constitut ion guaran tees f reed om of asso ciation, language s and religion and inc ludes a bill of rights. S econdly, th e govern ment has crea ted aff ir mative action package s fo r disadvan taged gr oups, wh ich emph asise "manage ment of diver sity." Th ey are mean t, among oth er things, toaddre ss th e str uctural racism crea ted by th e a par theid state.13

Thirdly, th e str ucture of th e South Af rican govern ment was const itut ionally changed to make

way fo r a govern ment of national unity. Pow er -sharing mechanisms w ere inc luded in the constitut ion to p reven t th e ethnic or racia l dom ina tion of any gr oup. 14 The compos ition of th e new govern ment conf ir ms a trend tow ards accommo dation and tolerance , wh ich also h elped tolegitimise the govern ment.

Fou r thly, th e const itut ion dismantled the hom eland s. Th is act s igni f ied the end of a par theid . Asmentioned a bove, the conditions in the black reserva tions were inhum an. Po ver ty w as ende mic and socia l amenities and jobs w ere scarce . Th e neg lect of th e hom elands and tow nshi ps m ade the

people vulnera ble to ethnic entre prene ur s and war lords who w ere f ighting for pow er and econom ic resou rces. Follow ing the dism antling of th e ethnic hom eland s, th e const itut ion

pr ovided for the crea tion of nine pr ovince s in place of th e for mer four pr ovince s th at existed

during a par theid . Th is decision aimed to distri but e pow er between sub- national units. Th e pr ovince s enjoy relative auto nomy, thus h elping to de-escalate conflict.

The f ifth st e p t aken tow ard s peace ful conflict manage ment was th e esta blishm ent of th e Tr uthand R econci liation Comm ission (TRC) chaired by A rch-bishop D esmo nd Tutu, wh ich h elped toheal th e wou nds inflicted by th e a par theid syst em. It also h elped to inculcate a comm itment toaccounta bility and transparenc y into South Af rican publ ic lif e.

The sixth st e p the A NC govern ment too k was mean t to addre ss th e r oots of economic inequalities. Th e A NC intr oduced an ambitious pl an of action called the "R econstr uction and Deve lopm ent Pr ogramme (RDP). Th e RDP w as aimed at encouraging disadvan taged gr oups,especia lly bl ack s, to p ar tici pate equally w ith oth er s in bus iness. To m anage her compl ex ethnic

pr oblem, Nigeria , l ike South Af rica , has deve lop ed mechanisms fo r ethnic conflict manage ment.

13 Ander son, b enedic t (1991) Imm agined Commu nities: R eflection On The Origin and Spread of Nationalism. ( ed)R evised Edition. (Lo ndon and New Yo rk : Ver so)

14 Chanai wa, D avid (1993) "South ern Af rica Since 1945", I n , (eds), Al i Mazr ui and Wo ndji , C., G enera l Histor y Of Af rica Since 1935, Vol. 8, H eine mann . California . U NESCO


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Const itut ionally, Nigeria opt ed for f edera lism and secularism to m anage ethnic and regionalmisunder standing Like South Af rica , a bill of rights w as inc luded in the 1999 const itut ion, wh ichwas intended to allay th e f ear s of ethnic minorities in the South. 15

Past Nigerian dictator s h ad been under enor mous p ressure f r om m inority gr oups fo r a more f air

distri but ion of pow er . Fr om 1967 to 1999, th ir ty-s ix states w ere crea ted in Nigeria , wh ich cutacr oss ethnic and religious l ines.16 This mo ve was m ean t to fu r ther allay th e ethnic gr oups' f ear sof being dom inated by th e three major linguist ic gr oups, th e Hausa-Ful ani , the Ig bo and the Yo r uba. How ever , the via bility of th ese new st ates is u nclear , w ith th e exce pt ion of th e oil-

pr oducing states in the South. Som e of th ese states have recen tly b ecome conduits fo r the per sonal enric hment of th e elites at th e ex pense of allevia ting pover ty and crea ting joboppo r tunities fo r the rest of th e popul ation.

There have been re po r ts of disparities in the distri but ion of th e oil resou rces in Nigeria for manyyear s. Th is contentious issue has fu elled most of th e recen t ethnic conflicts in the countr y.Thou gh th e const itut ion pr ovided for a new syst em of resou rce allo cation, ethnic gr oups f r om th e

oil and minera l pr oducing area s see the new syst em as inade quate, arg uing they are not receiving enough mo ney fo r their own regional deve lopm ent. Th ese are the dynamics behind the Ogoni crisis and the recen t spo radic ethnic violence in the oil pr oducing Niger Delta states.17 I woul d arg ue that unless th is issu e is resolved , by a national conf erence , the economic base of th e countr y w ill be jeopardised.

Conclusion

In sum, th ese two cases give evidence that su gge sts som e impo r tant link s between conflictmanage ment, and the result ant st ate and quality of re lations between riva l ethnic gr oups. F ir stly,the preserva tion of ethnic peace (or its b reakd own) is de penden t upo n the type and eff ectivene ss

of th e avai la ble conflict manage ment mechanisms and also th e respective govern ment's pol icychoices and decisions. S econdly, th e use of constitut ional conflict manage ment tools h as th e pot ential to crea te last ing peace . Th is w as mo re eviden t in South Af rica , wh ere the govern mentcrea ted the founda tion for a thriving civi l so ciety, accounta bility and govern ment t ransparenc y.In Nigeria how ever , th e undemocra tic 1999 f edera l constitut ion lack s th e suppo r t of th e citizens.The constitut ion was dra fted by m ilitar y dic tator s and handed over to th e people. It h as not gone f ar enough to resolve the pr obl ems of ethnici ty th at have dogged the countr y since inde pendence .Civil li ber ty gr oups are curren tly campaigning for a new const itut ion.

In both countries, ethnic conflicts ar ose as a result of th e denia l of th e basic hum an need s of acce ss, iden tity, auto nomy, s ecurity and equality, compou nded by th e auto cratic r oles pl ayed bythe govern ment and the militar y. Fu r ther more, the violent conflicts in Kw aZulu Natal,Johanesburg, Lagos, K ano, and the Niger Delta result ed in a more disto r ted pattern of

15 Bur ton, Joh n (1990) Co nflict R esolut ion And Preven tion: St. M ar tins Press

16 Coh en, Abner (1974) Custom A nd Politics in Ur ban Af rica . Routl edge and K egan Paul Press.

17 Brass, P.R., (1991) Eth nici ty A nd Nationalism. Th eor y And Comp arison. Sage Publ ication. London.


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governance , wh ich led to fu r ther denia l of b asic need s to th e masses. Co nflict manage ment ismore eff ective if a govern ment is dev oid of corr upt ion. In tune with Joh n Bur ton's th eor y, th is isthe only w ay to s atisfy p eople's basic need s.18

The r ole of goo d political leader shi p cannot b e overe mphasized . Th e leader shi p sca le award s

Nelson Mande la and FW de Klerk high mark s. Both l eader s w ere a ble to fo rge t th e past and move tow ard s th e path of p eace and democrac y. Nigeria , how ever , has b een less fo r tunate in itsleader shi p. Ethno-religious conflicts in Nigeria have continued beca use Nigerian elites are corr upt and spl it along lines of re ligion and ethnici ty. Th is has result ed in ethnic riva lr y,susp icion and host ility among leader s. W ithout a bold and ar ticulate leader shi p, conflictmanage ment o r preven tion will always b e a mirage . Th e relative econom ic gr owth and deve lopm ent w itnessed in South Af rica after its t ransfor mation has helped the countr y allevia te

po ver ty and manage ethnic grievance s. Th is su cce ss h as challenged Nigeria to t r y and transfor methnic pol itics into mutu ally b ene f icia l relationshi ps. To do th is, Nigeria must w ithdra w f r om itsold and ineff ective a pp r oaches and deve lop new inst itut ions and mechanisms th at can addre ss

po ver ty, reven ue allo cation, and other national issu es peace fully. 19

This pa per has po inted out th e impo r tance of civi l so ciety in ethnic conflict manage ment. Th e vi branc y of civi l so ciety in South Af rica contri but ed to its p eace ful democra tic transition. In Nigeria , most of th e civi l so ciety has been cr ushed. Du ring the militar y dic tator shi p, mostgrassr oots o rganiza tions w ere threa tened and forced to go into h iding or become militant. Th e civi l so ciety th at does exist in Nigeria has played an impo r tant r ole in conflict manage ment. Th eyused publ ic meetings and de bates to raise awarene ss a bout th e need for ethnic har mony and the consequence s of u nchecked ethnic ani mos ity. Th e next st e p is fo r the civi l so ciety to t r y and coop erate with th e state in designing conflict manage ment st rategie s as well as mo nito ring the eff icienc y of th e inst itut ions in place .

The lesso ns of th is stu dy are that ethnic conflict is a nega tive sum game that bene f its no o ne. Th e advocates fo r racia l and ethnic peace in Nigeria and South Af rica have out numb ered thos e whowant to f eed f r om th e spo ils of conflict. Th e recen t decrea se in violent conflict and bothcountries' t ransitions to democrac y attest to th is. To achieve a last ing peace , Nigeria and SouthAf rica shoul d challenge the actions of ethnic leader s who h ave used violent ethnic conflict fo r

per sonal gain . Th e lesso ns learned f r om both South Af rica and Nigeria may begin to convince pol icy m aker s and pol itician s that st rategie s of discrimination and racism are not in the intere st

18 Coleman James (1958) Nigeria : Backgr ound To Nationalism. B erke ley and Los A nge les.

19 Heri ber t, Adam and Kogila Moo dley (1993) Th e Negotiated R evolut ion. So ciety and Pol iticsin Post Ap ar theid South Af rica . Joh ane sburg, Jo nathan Ball Publ isher s.


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of p eace and democrac y. 20 Fur ther more, eff ective conflict manage ment institut ions reassure foreign inve sto r s, thus boost ing the economy. F ina lly, p eace woul d help both countries sol idifytheir leader shi p positions in the Af rican Union and the New Af rican Par tner shi p for Deve lopm ent ( NEPAD). Th e democra tic transfo r mation pr ocess in both countries is not yetcompl ete. Th e signi f icance of ethnic conflict manage ment in Af rica is u nder lined by th e

continen t's u nderdeve lopm ent and weak econom ic gr owth. Th is po ints to th e need for a change in the continen t's a ppr oach to conflict manage ment. P eace in Af rica is not th e a bsence of w ar , butthe pr ovision of th e people's basic hum an need s.

20 Hislop, Rob er t, (1998), "Eth nic Conflict And The Gener os ity Mom ent", Jou rna l Of Democrac y, Vol.9, no, 1: 140-53


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Ethnic Conflict Management in Africa