Traditional African Grassroots Peace-making Approaches

IT IS NOW WIDE KNOWLEDGE that Africa profiles some of the highest statistics of violent conflicts in the world. Further, for many years the treatment of conflicts in Africa has revolved around foreign conventional conflict resolution mechanisms to the exclusion of traditional African grassroots peace-making approaches. To be sure, mechanisms for conflict resolution were not introduced to Africa. Indeed, long before the introduction of foreign ideology and thought, indigenous African societies relied upon their indigenous knowledge systems and expertise to cope with the challenges posed by harsh environments as well as to deal with and conclusively resolve conflicts that arose in their communities. Despite being dynamic, conflict resolution mechanisms in Africa were inspired by the concept of "warp and weft". The warp - is the tradition of family or neighborhood negotiation, which is normally facilitated by elders. The other basic element - the weft - is the attitude of togetherness in the spirit of humanhood or Kparakpor in Yoruba, ubuntu in Zulu, or ujamaa in Kiswahili.

Uniquely, the "traditional" or rather indigenous method of conflict resolution in African was such that it focused not only on admonishing the offender(s) but also on the more holistic issues of building broken relationships and re-integration of the offender(s) back into society. This was because Africa societies were communal and thus this communality demanded that conflict be resolved so as to allow for future co-existence. Therefore, an African elder acting as mediator to a conflict would begin by considering the social realities, and start from a vintage point further back and try to form a frame of social reference. They would ask questions like: Who are you, and where are you from? Explain your family link. Where did you grow up? What do you like doing? Etc. These questions would provide clues, not only about immediate causes, but long-standing grievances, and thus offer a wider and deeper insight into the differences and similarities between the parties. The rationale behind this approach was that parties more often than not had fairly similar needs, but different interests. They also had similar or different ideologies and beliefs and such an approach would help identify such similarities and differences. The immediate objective of such an approach to conflict resolution was to mend the broken or damaged relationship, and rectify wrongs, restore justice and to adopt the mood of co-operation.

From experience in African, as in other parts of the world, it goes without saying that mutual understanding and tolerance are not maintained automatically, and should purposefully be aimed at and worked for. This fact was greatly appreciated in traditional African societies and  some of these societies still hold on to the wisdom of traditional grassroots peace-making approaches. For example, the Kpelle people of Liberia of West Africa are known for their ad hoc local meetings called "moots" or "house palavers", where the conflicting parties arrive at mediated settlements through the use of experienced African elders. Similarly, among the Ndendeuli of Tanzania mediators play active roles in conflict solving by suggesting an agreement and get as far as pressurizing the parties into accepting it. Pressurizing can be done through talking or singing: shaming and ridiculing. This special method can be used in contexts where it is acceptable, and in instances where the cause of the dispute is self- evident. Interestingly, ridiculing is a power tool for promoting social cohesion and tolerance. Among the different tribes in Zambia, ridiculing is commonly known as 'Chimbuya'  and involves tribes making fun of those they consider their tribal cousins.

Furthermore, in traditional African societies, the method of negotiation which was generally used is the neighborhood system. The success of the neighborhood system may be attributed to its elemental simplicity, participatory nature, adaptable flexibility and complete relevance. It starts with discussions by individuals within the social context on an emerging dispute. The contexts usually are according to the circumstances. For example, a condensed family or an extended family, immediate neighbours or a larger neighbourhood, or a combination of family and neighbourhood or different parties of a state. It can also be a smaller or a larger organisation, for example, a school or a religious group. In this method, instead of directing the discussion towards spite, or the apportioning of blame, it is pointed towards a solution with judges and mediators making decisions based on rules. They look forward to the future, for improved relations - not only between the disputants but also in the whole community that is involved.

Another prominent feature of traditional African grassroots peace-making approaches was that despite most traditional African societies being patriarchal, women equally played an important role in peace-making. For instance, the concept of 'Nneka' (an Igbo word meaning mother is supreme) a belief in the traditional Igbo society in Eastern Nigeria refers to women as sustainers and healers of human relationships.

Chinua Achebe in his well-known novel "Things Fall Apart (1958) explains that: "... when a father beats his child, it seeks sympathy in its mother's hut. A man belongs to his father when things are good and life is sweet. But when there is sorrow and bitterness, he finds refuge in his motherland."

Likewise, the Luo women of Kenya were at the forefront in the various stages of peace processes like preventive diplomacy, peacemaking, peacekeeping and post conflict peace building. They used methods like direct or indirect interventions through elders and women's networks that existed within warring parties. When a conflict was perceived through preparation for war or actual outbreak of war, women got together and discussed the issue among themselves. Then they asked the elders in their clan or community to arrange for a dialogue with those of the opposing clan or community. If the elders refused them, the women from one community arranged to visit their counterparts in the enemy camp and built alliances as a strategy for convincing the elders in both camps to resolve their conflicts in nonviolent ways.

From the foregoing, it is clear that traditional African grassroots peace-making approaches are still highly relevant to modern day conflict resolution on the Continent. Despite African societies undergoing several changes, the basic concept of "warp and weft" still exists and in most societies the bond of Ubuntu remains strong. Moreover, the recurring failure of litigation and other foreign sciences in different fields has prompted the need to utilize other alternative methodologies in conflict resolution and in Africa this means revisiting indigenous knowledge systems. Furthermore, conflict resolution processes in African must be remodeled from short-term power dominated interests, punitive and retributive justice towards a longer-term co-operative and people centered approach and restorative justice that promotes reconciliation. As such, conflict resolution should not be the responsibility of a privileged few alone, but rather be a participatory process in every sense involving all affected people, including women and the youth. It is therefore imperative for African organizations, intellectuals, professionals and all that are involved in the field of peace and conflict resolution to consider how African ethical values can be inculcated into modern conflict resolution structures. Only then can Africa truly find African solutions, to African problems.