CONFLICT: A CHALLENGE TO DIALOGUE
Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua
It seems that we are at a cross
road in the face of the recurring terrorism in Nigeria. Many people have
expressed worry and concern about the conflicts and insecurity in the nation.
Seminars and workshops on dialogue and conflicts have “filled the air” within
and outside Nigeria. John Cardinal Onaiyekan in a seminar in Nairobi- Kenya acknowledged
several efforts made to promote dialogue by groups and individuals in Nigeria.
He affirmed that religion is only one out of many dimensions of conflict in
Nigeria.[1] This
calls for a brief analysis of some other conflicts but then, the following
questions from so many Nigerians linger:
- Why is it that among places of worship only Churches are targeted by the modern terrorist?”
- How come no mosque has been bombed if Boko Haram terrorism is not a religious agenda?
Some Muslims have responded that
the terrorists want to turn the Christians against Muslims to cause a religious
war as a strategy to disintegrate the country even though Dr. Goodluck Ebele
Jonathan, the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has vowed that
Nigeria will never disintegrate. The minister of communication, Labaran Maku in
NTA and AIT on Monday, June 18, 2012 said that the terrorist activities are
aimed at destroying the economy of the North. In Daily Sun Tuesday, June 19,
2012 Chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) and governor of
Niger State, Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu in a statement signed by his chief press
Secretary, Danladi Ndayebo “described the targeting of churches as a
diversionary tactic” because religion “is a very sensitive tool that could be
used to cause disaffection in the region”. The Northern governors thus request
in the same paper that we should look beyond Boko Haram. The seminar organized
by Muslims in the National Mosque that was reported by AIT at 8.00pm news on
June, 15, 2012 shows that the Muslims are desirous in restoring peace and
security in Nigeria. One of the resolutions in that seminar is the training and
education of the almajiri / almajira. The hope could be that this training would
include capacity building for peaceful coexistence. His Excellency Architect
Namadi Sambo, the Vice president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was a
witness to this commitment.
In my last publication of June,
10, 2012, I had suggested an Ecumenical Dialogue among Christians and Inter-sect
Dialogue among Muslims. This could enable the Christians and Muslims come
together to identify the sources of conflict in Nigeria. Generally conflict is
seen as a disagreement between two parties whose objectives are perceived to be
incompatible. However, the levels and stages of conflicts may be classified as
follows:
- Intra personal conflict – This is a conflict within a person. This could be a battle of inherited syndromes and phobias acquired by a person at birth that have been allowed to grow without proper debriefing. This could give rise to split personality that is manifested in conduct disorder (CD). Failure in an examination or election of an over ambitious person can lead to this conflict. The patient can become schizophrenic like Lady Macbeth after persuading Macbeth to kill Duncan in William Shakespeare, “Macbeth”. The demoniac in the Gospel of Mark expressed a split personality when he said: “I am legion for we are many” (Mark. 5:9) in response to Jesus’ question: “Who are you?” Some psychologists have identified other symptoms of internal conflicts as: insomnia, high blood pressure, hypo cardiac exhaustion and lost of value for life. Some people have observed that among the causes of intra personal conflicts are: inferiority complex, guilt, abnormal traits inherited from birth and lack of parental care. This kind of conflict calls for intra-personal dialogue whereby the person goes deep into the castle of his / her inner heart to discover his / her real self. This is however difficult hence the need for an expert in this process of debriefing and healing of memories.
- Intra group conflict – This is the conflict that happens within the community. This conflict creates disharmony within the village, society or institution. This conflict if not resolved can lead to insurrection. Some of the causes of intra group conflict are: struggle for power, family land, fish ponds, inheritance and greed. This conflict is very common in a monarchical system where the king or community leaders misappropriate what belong to the community. This may, to some extent explain the oil conflicts in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria where some traditional rulers and leaders of the community have been accused of depriving the communities access to the dividends of oil grants by the oil companies.
- Inter personal conflict – This is the conflict between two persons. It is a flow of the internal conflicts in the heart of a person. It leads to a blunt refusal to be each other’s keeper (Genesis 4, 9) like the case of Cain and Abel. Some of the causes of inter personal conflict are: jealousy, ugly image from birth, greed, selfishness, wickedness etc.
- Inter group conflict – This is the conflict between two different communities. This can lead to ethnic, tribal and religious conflicts. Some of the causes could be: different ideologies, beliefs, territorial boundaries, inter personal conflict of some leaders who will get the whole communities involved etc. Usually, conflict starts with a little disagreement. The following tools may be used to analyze conflict; sparks, fire, anger, eruption of conflict and calm after the conflict.
In the above analysis, where does
“Boko Haram” fit in? Is it a conflict within the sect? Is it a conflict between
the sect and government or a conflict between the sect and Christians? If yes
in either case, what are the issues? Who are the key actors and beneficiaries
of the modern terrorism in Nigeria? Is it possible for the government to invite
some aggrieved politicians who failed elections for dialogue and political
debriefing to heal their conflicting memories? I still believe that in Nigeria,
there is no conflict between Christianity and Islam even though Christians and
Muslims are victims in many of the conflicts thereby making it difficult to
completely liberate religion from the terrorist saga.
Fr. Prof. Cornelius Afebu
Omonokhua is the Director of Mission and Dialogue of the Catholic Secretariat
of Nigeria, Abuja; and Consultor of the Commission for Religious Relations with
Muslims (C.R.R.M), Vatican City (comonokhua@hotmail.com).
[1]
John Cardinal Onaiyekan, “Conflict and
Peace in Nigeria: Between Despair and Hope, the role of religion”, A paper presented
in a seminar organized by the African Council of Religious leaders (ACRL), Nairobi-
Kenya, May 16, 2012
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