Adonis & Abbey Publishers

editor@adonis-abbey.com UK: +44(0)20 7692 0770 / Nigeria:+23470 5807 8841

African Renaissance Volume 12, Number 2, 2015: Social (In) justice, Conflict and Peace in Africa

About This Edition

ISSN : 1744-2532 (Print) 2516-5305 (Online)

Table of Contents :

On Social Injustice, Conflict and Peace in Africa
Ufo Okeke-Uzodike 7

Disrupting the Interruptions: Re-Considering Ubuntu, Reconciliation and Rehumanization
Sylvester B. Maphosa and Alphonse Keasley16

Human beings are potentially active, conscious agents capable of knowing and transforming their worlds. Although the end of colonialism and apartheid can be celebrated for reaching ‘new’ vertical state-society relationships and social contracts that created states and governments including political procedures and frameworks for power and enacted laws and their enforcement, the importance of horizontal society-society relationships that create community, coexistence and how people live together despite their differences has been overlooked. There is a disjuncture in the character of moral commitments and shared values of the ideals that inspire people to work together for the sake of common good and enduring cultural peace. Indeed, contemporary challenges raise serious questions about the capability of extant practices to provide for population groups to confront their social futures positively. How can we better prepare population groups for a rapidly changing and globalising world? How can we better invest extensively in re-imagining and re-inventing human values for peaceful relationships? The Agenda 2063 represents a collective effort and an opportunity for Africa to regain its power to determine its own destiny. It is an aspiration and call for action and strategic framework underpinned by the African Union dream to build ‘… an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa; an Africa driven and managed by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the international arena’. However, there are still societal changes that must take place to overcome the disruption that occurred in many African nations.

The Rage of Insurgency: Why Boko Haram May Remain Untamed
Ufo Okeke-Uzodike and Hakeem Onapajo49

Nigeria is experiencing one of the worst periods in its history given the Boko Haram insurgency, which grew very rapidly in sophistication and lethality over the six-year period between 2009 and 2015. With about 16,000 deaths and two million people internally displaced or refugees, the massive suffering has generated increasing concerns about state and international responses to Boko Haram. Many hold the view, based on the Nigerian government’s actions, that the terrorist group has thrived due to the lack of a strong political will. It is argued that the government has not provided enough space for international collaboration to address the insurgency -- hence the lack of international intervention. In light of that, this paper analyses the many factors that have enabled and elongated the Boko Haram insurgency such as: the failure to address the root causes of violence in northern Nigeria; the politicisation, regionalisation and ethnicisation of the crisis; corruption in the war on the insurgency; and international politics and uncooperative international powers. We argue that unless these issues are meaningfully addressed, Nigeria and the West and Central African sub-regions may not see the end of the Boko Haram insurgency in the short and medium terms.

Janet Trisk71

Using the experiences of a local parish church, this article explores the interconnected themes of forgiveness, reconciliation and reconstruction. It is suggested that while the work of liberation theology is not over, in order to move beyond oppositions, a theology of reconstruction should be embraced. This will necessarily require a measure of forgiveness. Circumstances facilitating forgiveness are considered. It is suggested that the experiences of a local church in attempting to offer a space for reconciliation and reconstruction may offer models of hope for the wider society

International Committee of the Red Cross and International Humanitarianism: Perspectives on its Assistance to Internally Displaced Persons in Nigeria, 1986-2007
Kenneth Chukwuemeka Nwoko90

This is a historical examination of the humanitarian and emergency responses of the International Committee of the Red Cross to Internally Displaced Persons in Nigeria from 1986, when the organisation established its regional delegation in Nigeria, to 2007, the year that marked the end of President Obasanjo’s second tenure in office. This tenure witnessed a lot of internal displacements in Nigeria resulting from internal crises. It investigates the causes of internal displacement in Nigeria, the extent and effectiveness of ICRC’s partnership with its movement partners in responding to the phenomenon and the effect of this intervention on the victims. The paper interrogates the enabling mandate of the ICRC to embark on this effort as well as the effects which this has had on the emergency response capability of the local humanitarians. The paper argues that the humanitarian and emergency response capacities of the country have been strengthened and this could be sustained through the continuous tapping from the expertise of the ICRC and its movement partners, the Nigerian Red Cross (NRC) and International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRCS) in the training and retraining of the personnel of agencies saddled with emergency response, rescue and relief operations, with regard to internal displacement.

Benjamin Maiangwa and Olumuyiwa Babatunde Amao117

This paper revisits Boko Haram’s attacks on and use of women and girls in terrorist operations as part of its mission to establish an Islamic Caliphate in northeast Nigeria. Using the State Fragility thesis as framework of analysis, and the Chibok Abduction of 14 April, 2014, as an empirical case study, the paper examines how and why women and girls have become very central to Boko Haram’s reign of terror in Nigeria. The paper further examines the consequences of these assaults, the governments’ response, and how the attacks have helped further Boko Haram’s operations and strategic goals. We conclude by offering some suggestions that could help stem terrorist violence against women and girls in northeast Nigeria.

Ogo-Christian Conflict in Afikpo and the need for Sustainable Peace
Kelechi Johnmary Ani and Chukwuemeka Oko Otu 145

The history of religious conflicts in Nigeria has been dominated by the discussion on Christian-Muslim conflicts, especially in the northern part of Nigeria. The implication is that it has created the intellectual negligence of the conflicts that exist amongst the practitioners of other religions. This work is a study on the conflict between Christians and the members of the Ogo cult in Afikpo, South-eastern Nigeria. It is centred on the theory of clash of civilizations. The paper revealed that since the 1980s, the area has been characterized by one form of conflict or another and showed that the conflict has led to massive loss of properties. It therefore recommended multi-dimensional roadmap to sustainable peace.

[abstract]


Annual Subscription Rate
Individual Subscriptions