BOKO HARAM AND THE CHALLENGES OF INSIDER MEDIATORS IN NIGERIA

January 2014 Wale A e!"ye# C$MC % C"n&ul'an' Me (a'"r an )ea*e Bu(l er a e!"ye+ale,-.a(l/*".

The transition of a society from war to peace is extremely complex and difficult. i Conflict parties adopt different means to reach their goals, sometimes by killing thousands or tens of thousands of people in the process. Conflict is sometimes seen to be a breakdown of communication among parties involved, it therefore takes people who talk to the conflict parties to try and understand their motives and intentions, and why they have chosen arms and sometimes terrorism as their means of settling issues. Mediation is a mystery. Some peace processes are successful, some are dismal failures, and most are a bit of both. The so called Boko aram !fundamentalists" are one of the grassroots responses to bad governance in #igeria. Most of the sects were particularly produced by the abandoned sharia pro$ect of some northern #igerian %overnors.ii owever, whatever may be the true agenda of Boko aram, one thing nobody can deny the group is that there is a method to their operation.&eep insight suggests that Boko aram men target three main institutions' (ne, vulnerable banks whenever they need easy money to fund their operations. Two, barracks and prisons to free their men wherever they are detained and for revenge. Three, police and military formations to steal arms and uniforms.iii The broad nature of the strategy that is needed by government at this hour to meet the huge security challenge facing this nation thus goes beyond the technical points and force that is currently being adopted. The matter is too serious to be left to the professionals alone. There are roles for members of the public to play in solving this problem without pre$udice to the duty and status of the professionals involved. !)t is when the real sect embraces peace that we shall identify those hi$acking the process of violence to pursue their criminal agenda". iv *riction between human beings also has its disadvantages and advantages, and our response is either to eliminate or to promote it. v +here emotional heat and violent interaction are generated between people who ought to get along together like Boko aram portrays, we must work towards the removal of the cause,s- of the friction. But where movement in the direction of necessary change is not yet evident, or still too slow, we may make valid use of friction to call attention to the matter.

BOKO HARAM AND THE CHALLENGES OF INSIDER MEDIATORS IN NIGERIA

January 2014 Wale A e!"ye# C$MC % C"n&ul'an' Me (a'"r an )ea*e Bu(l er a e!"ye+ale,-.a(l/*".

#igerian government need to remember that despite all the complexity and variety in .frica/s history of conflict resolution, there seems to be an elemental warp and wefts formed by the two interwoven sets of threads, called by their traditional names of open and close' The attitude of togetherness in the spirit of humanhood0 and The tradition of family or neighborhood negotiation facilitated by elders. This paper is concerned with the former approach of closed negotiation knowing full well that going by their manual of operation, Boko aram has defied the attitude of togetherness in the spirit of humanhood and humanity . .s it stands Boko aram crisis has once again demonstrated that the links between religion, conflict, and conflict transformation are manifold. 1eligion can play a role both in escalating violent conflicts and in supporting the peaceful transformation of conflicts. )t can be a source of inspiration and $ustification for both war and peace. 1eligion shapes perceptions and behavior patterns0 it can be a source of meaning2making and values, or it can be used as an identity2marker to forge group cohesion. vi .s a matter of urgent national importance awareness of the specific role of religion is essential for designing appropriate conflict transformation strategies needed to tame the smoking lion. 1eligious actors in #igeria particularly in the north can make peace where political2secular actors are blocked, even if the conflict is not driven by religious issues not to talk of when it is entrenched in religion as Boko aram is. .s insider mediators attempt must be made to avoid dealing with value differences head2on but confront effectively to deal with the practical problems that arise from these value differences. There is need for an insider facilitator engaging with them to facilitate !communication" since Boko aram words are no longer understood. The logic here is that once radicali3ed groups are isolated, they tend to become more radicali3ed however inside mediation can work with their underlying interests and support them in the transformation from an armed resistance movement to a political force. )n fact when they ,.rmed groups- say they do want to talk it4s always for tactical and face2saving reasons they have to say they do not want to talk. ence an insider mediator will not rely on what is said, but look at what is meant. 5sually, what they want to say is different from what they actually say most of the time. )nsider mediator,s- can play key roles in all phases of the peace process, but their role is especially striking early on in a process now, when #igeria is trying to understand the actors and explore the benefits of negotiations. Cultural proximity can also enhance trust in this very delicate phase.

BOKO HARAM AND THE CHALLENGES OF INSIDER MEDIATORS IN NIGERIA

January 2014 Wale A e!"ye# C$MC % C"n&ul'an' Me (a'"r an )ea*e Bu(l er a e!"ye+ale,-.a(l/*".

The )nsider mediator4s role is to facilitate informal processes called confidence building on the assumption that such person has geographical proximity to the parties, or have in2depth knowledge of the situation as well as close relationships to the parties, also allowing them to influence their behaviour on a normative level. (ne of the key challenges of insiders is the tendency to be a bit partial than outsiders. Such partiality can come in 6 different ways' relational partiality, where the mediator has a closer relationship to one party compared to the other, based on personal, political or economic ties with one party0 process partiality, where the mediator guides the process in a way that is partial to one side compared to the other0 and outcome partiality, where the mediator drafts and shapes the agreement in a biased manner
vii

)t must be emphasi3ed, the Insider mediators required to engage in Boko Haram negotiation can be characterized by relational partiality, but never by process or outcome partiality. )t may hurt for the #igeria government to consider anything less than force against Boko aram but it promises to yield greater positive results.

berg, A, etc (2008) Unpacking the Mystery o Me!iation in A rican "eace "rocesses, Me!iation #upport "ro$ect coor!inate! by #imon % A Mason
ii

Albert &'( (2008)An Alternati)e *+planation o ,eligious -un!amentalism in .orthern .igeria' )saac (lawale .lbert is a 7rofessor of 7eace Studies at the 5niversity of )badan, #igeria and a resource person to several international organi3ations' Council for the &evelopment of Social Science 1esearch in .frica ,C(&8S1)., &akar, Senegal-0 +est .frican #etwork for 7eacebuilding ,+.#87-0 5#&7, 8)#1)C B(99 *(5#&.T)(# etc.
iii

A Massacre -ore/arne! in 0he 1er!ict accor!ing to (lusegun A!eniyi, the chairman e!itorial boar! o 0his!ay ne/spaper in .igeria'

iv

Borno 8lders of Thoughts ,B89T-. The elders are calling for a !genuine dialogue" with the Boko aram as a step in the process of stopping the !serial killing". &n 2oko 3aram4 A 5risis in #earch o #trategy /ritten by kayoe! komola e on the 2oko 3ara crisis'
v

Malan, %' (6778) 5on lict resolution /is!om rom A rica from the .frican Centre for the Constructive 1esolution of &isputes ,.CC(1&-

vi

0rans orming 5on licts /ith ,eligious 9imensions4 Metho!ologies an! "ractical *+periences' Conference report of the Centre on conflict, development and peacebuilding. ,CC&7- held from :;2:< .pril :==> in ?urich, Swit3erland
vii

Berghof *oundation for 7eace Support and Mason, S.@... ,:==>- publication called )nsider Mediators 8xploring Their Aey 1ole in )nformal 7eace 7rocesses published in %ermany.