CONFLICT & DEVELOPMENT.
By Leslie Eke, Jp.
Abraham Lincoln once wrote a letter to his son’s teacher, the following: ‘’steer him away from envy; if you can. Teach him the secret of quiet laughter. In school, teach him, it is far more honorable to fail than to cheat. Teach him to be gentle with people, and tough with tough people. Try to give him the strength not to follow the crowd when everyone is getting on the bandwagon. Teach him to listen to all men; but teach him also to filter all he hears on a screen of truth and take only the good that comes through. Teach him now to laugh when he is sad. Teach him that there is no shame in tears. Teach him to close his ears to a howling mob; and to stand and fight if he thinks he is right. Let him have the courage to be patient, let him have the patience to be brave. Teach him always to have sublime faith in his creator and faith in himself too, because then he will always have faith in mankind.’’
Abraham Lincoln’s teacher recommendation is a panacea for presumably containment of the ‘theory that conflict and social division are inevitable in all social structures because the mechanicisms by which society integrates and exercises control over its members are never wholly successful.’
I may have strayed far from what is intended in this paper. Mediation as one of the tool of alternate dispute resolution is an agent of seeking to reconcile two or more parties in a disagreement. The Nigerian state has become a hot bed of conflicts due largely because our leaders are out of focus and the people are run down.
The economic lives of the Niger Delta states depend on trade. The slave trade of the 18 th century was replaced by trade in oil palm in the 19 th century. However, the discovery of crude oil in 1956 has greatly changed the orientation of the Niger Delta. The present situation is that the Niger Delta is littered with oil fields with abundant gas reserves, and gas flares. Now with about 90% of Nigeria’s crude oil coming from the Niger Delta, it dominates the internal revenue yield of the nation.
The problem of the Niger Delta, therefore, are hinged around poor development of the area in spite of its crude oil and gas deposits and its being a major contributor to the nation’s wealth, coupled with the seeming difficulty in getting Federal Government to understand the situation and take adequate and necessary action. The following problems still persist: Poor Transportation/Communication, Flooding ,Erosion, No drinking water, oil Pollution, Oil Hazards, gas Flaring, Pollution of water wells, Thermal Pollution etc, inadequate funds for community development and the attendant violence in the area.
The effective development of the Niger Delta was left in the hands of the Federal Government by the departing colonial powers (Britain), hence on the eve of independence the British Government in Nigeria “order in council, 1960, section 14”. The Federal Government while accepting this responsibility passed the Niger Delta Act of 1961, which became moribund.
In some school of thought most people contend whether or not all conflicts can be resolved. Some other portend that with God all things are possible. But it matters in the general process that conflicts can be managed and resolved. These conflicts can be personal, social and organizational, etc.
As the dust settles over the euphoria of our new democracy, especially in Rivers State, several new positions and mechanisms have been put in place to aid transparency, accountability and good governance. The citizens have a part in these new positions and mechanisms. It was Bill Clinton who said- “we can cure what is wrong with America with what is right with America”.
The rational behind the objective is for the past 15 years the civil society has struggled for democracy and the concept of good governance is relatively new and very little understood. Civil society organizations set themselves the task of introducing this concept to ensure that Nigeria takes it rightful place among democratic nations. Changes are taking place in Rivers State that could have a profound effect on other states’ political landscape where in the past the military had bastardized the people. Following sustained internal pressures to liberalize, the executive Administration has opened up. In view of the trouble spots in the Niger Delta, Youths are under considerable pressure to resolve the conflicts through negotiations and dialogue. Today more than ever, we can be certain that peace shall come to stay.
We must support key policies to integrate human resources; competing effectively in the 21 st century and development planning processes at local and national levels. Mediation empowers the process enabling the disputants to work out all areas of contentions. The aim will be that at the end of the day they will ultimately decide for themselves what direction for peace as the needs and interests of the parties are discussed. The driver here is problem- solving of the results of the consequences of the issues that have developed and increased for decades. In communities with under-representation in terms of Development infrastructure, should liaise with voluntary organizations, lobby group, trade unions, working at national and local levels for development. Lovers of peace may not claim to have all the answers to development but will appreciate long-term partnership to learn from one another.
We believe that Government commitment to contribute to economic and political emancipation of our people through sustained good governance at all levels, holds the key to build a better world for our people and sustainable peace. The civil society intends to participate fully in social development of the people. Government should intend to evaluate the economic, environmental and social content of Government Actions (policies). They must seek out and value the views of others regarding the way forward for progress. I believe that the responsibility for developments is to every citizen of Nigeria. The constitution in its first page prescribes harmony of the citizens and welfare of all persons among others.
Leslie Eke, Jp.
A Chartered Mediator & Community Relations Practitioner.
