Category: AfSol Publication

Re-Invented Abroad: Agitation for Self-Determination by the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob) Movement in South-Eastern Nigeria

Re-Invented Abroad: Agitation for Self-Determination by the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob) Movement in South-Eastern Nigeria

Posted by | Apr 6, 2019 |

Fifty years since the declaration of separatist Biafra, the narrative still reverberates across Nigeria. This is common in the south-eastern region where pro-Biafra movements with claims to the principle of self-determination, continue to reinvent the idea of the hitherto aborted Biafra. Relying essentially on primary data, this paper examines the current neo-Biafran agitation within the organizational framework of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) movement. Findings reveal that IPOB is a scion of the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) and an initiative of Nigerians in the Diaspora; that the group amplifies her struggle using the media; that non-violence remains the official principle of the group; and that group cohesion is very strong within the movement. Furthermore, the perception of marginalization, exclusionary politics, cumulative injustice, a weak economy, politics of the memory as well as state repression are factors that strengthen the neo-Biafran agitation. The paper suggests that strategies of inclusion, re-orientation of the Nigerian citizens, de-militarization of the Nigerian public space, dialogue and redefining of the Nigerian political structure are means through which the neo-Biafran agitation could be effectively managed.

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A Critical Analysis of the Requirements for Full Operationalization of the African Standby Force: Lessons Learned from the Eastern Africa Standby Force

A Critical Analysis of the Requirements for Full Operationalization of the African Standby Force: Lessons Learned from the Eastern Africa Standby Force

Posted by | Apr 6, 2019 |

It is evident from attempted coups d’état, contested elections, violent protests and riots, constitutional amendments to extend of terms of presidents, religious fundamentalism, terrorism, foreign interventions and other structural problems in Africa, which threaten the political equilibrium, that there are a various types of conflicts that need to be dealt with (See Institute for Security Studies, October 2017:10-21). This calls for a strengthened, enhanced and effective regional collective security arrangement. The African Union (AU) established the African Standby Force (ASF) for peacekeeping purposes as well as possible interventions when conflicts degenerate, and implement its motto of “African solutions to African problems”. This continental Force is being developed in five multi-dimensional regional brigades with military, police and civilian components but its operationalization took much longer than planned. The question is why? What are the hurdles? What needs to be done to fully operationalize it? This paper critically analyzes these issues and develops a ten-step procedure on what needs to be done to fully operationalize the ASF based on experience gained from the Eastern Africa Standby Force, one of the regional components, which declared full operational capability ahead of schedule in 2014.

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Appeasing the Land: Local Peace Committees and the Legitimation of Traditional Peacemaking in Kenya

Appeasing the Land: Local Peace Committees and the Legitimation of Traditional Peacemaking in Kenya

Posted by | Apr 5, 2019 |

In the last decade, the Kenyan state, reacting mainly to the 2007/2008 post-election violence and cases of intergroup conflicts, created local peace committees and conferred on them the rights to address specific disputes and prevent conflicts at the local level. Local peace committees are (superficially) modelled after social institutions deemed traditional, and are therefore an attempt to standardize an aspect of customary law. This article explores the ethnography of local peace committees in Enoosupukia, a former hotspot of interethnic clashes in Kenya. It relies on ethnographic data collected between 2014 and 2015 to describe the composition of local peace committees, discusses conflict resolution at the grass-roots level, and highlights their effectiveness and the emerging constraints on their performance. Although necessary in the resolution of local disputes through arbitration, local peace committees constitute hybrid governance arrangements, which tend to produce different modes of authority, operations, and legitimacy, with the possibility of intensifying clashes between traditional (informal) rules and formal law.

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Presidential Term Limits: A Threat to Peace and Security in Africa

Presidential Term Limits: A Threat to Peace and Security in Africa

Posted by | Apr 5, 2019 |

This article interrogates the recent trend whereby some African leaders resort to constitutional amendments to remove presidential term limits. It seeks to identify the factors that explain why this pattern is gaining ground in a growing number of countries, and analyzes its implications for peace and security in Africa. Attention is paid to two countries: Burundi and Burkina Faso which recently grappled with the issue of term limits with different outcomes. The article holds that the extension of presidential term limits threatens long-term peace and security in Africa. It argues that such political acts encourage unconstitutional changes of government, undermine human security, and weaken democratic institutions—all of which are critical to peace and security.

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The Rationale for AfSol in Peace and Security: The Global, National and Regional Precipitants

The Rationale for AfSol in Peace and Security: The Global, National and Regional Precipitants

Posted by | Apr 5, 2019 |

Since the establishment of the African Union in 2001, there has been a heightened activism for African Solutions (AfSol) in peace and security as opposed to the reality of external impositions and interventions. This article contends that while international factors play a role in Africa’s insecurities, the continent suffers largely from the ineptitude and myopic interests of Africa’s leadership at the state and regional levels. The clamour for AfSol by political leaders often serves to mask the complicity of local actors in Africa’s crises especially in peace and security. To ensure sustainable peace and stability on the continent, the AfSol concept should be underpinned with good governance and reliable attempts at context-specific solutions alongside mainstream development and security paradigms.

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