Mechanisms for Conflict Management in Plural and Divided Societies: the Nigerian Experience

Nigeria like several other new and segmented societies is undoubtedly facing a number of challenges that have to do with how to successfully manage her numerous ethnic groups. Therefore, the thrust of this paper is an appraisal of the institutional and public policy mechanisms put in place to integrate the convoluting federal system. The paper is divided into a number of sections. With an introductory overview, the paper proceeds to dwell on the contending paradigms to conflict management in the extant literature on plural and deeply divided societies. The second major part surveys a number of ethno-religious conflicts between 1999 when the nascent democracy was inaugurated till 2003 to attest to the fact that the polity is beleaguered. Having done that, part three is a critique of the integrative/accommodative strategies of the managers of the Nigerian system for it not to go the way of the former Soviet Union (USSR) which disintegrated in the early 90s. The paper infers with the observation that all the accommodative strategies have been directed mainly at the elite, ignoring the masses of the people simply because the strategies are Western bourgeoisie theory of social stability and elite stability. Whereas, the masses of the people too; needs to be targeted for conflict resolution. This is because they are the ready tools in the hands of the political class to foment communal instability. The strongest recommendation of this paper therefore is that the masses of the people should be re-orientated and mobilized on the needs for communal stability in the interest of development, peace and tranquility