Contextualizing Indigenous Knowledge in Africa and its Diaspora [1 ed.] 9781443881272, 9781443878401

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Contextualizing Indigenous Knowledge in Africa and its Diaspora

Contextualizing Indigenous Knowledge in Africa and its Diaspora Edited by

Ibigbolade Aderibigbe, Alloy Ihuah and Felisters Jepchirchir Kiprono

Contextualizing Indigenous Knowledge in Africa and its Diaspora Edited by Ibigbolade Aderibigbe, Alloy Ihuah and Felisters Jepchirchir Kiprono This book first published 2015 Cambridge Scholars Publishing Lady Stephenson Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2PA, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2015 by Ibigbolade Aderibigbe, Alloy Ihuah, Felisters Jepchirchir Kiprono and contributors All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN (10): 1-4438-7840-5 ISBN (13): 978-1-4438-7840-1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction .............................................................................................. viii Chapter One ................................................................................................. 1 Electoral System and its Impact on Democratization Process: A Comparative Analysis of Benin and Togo Edoh Agbehonou Chapter Two .............................................................................................. 29 Resolving Natives and Settlers Controversy as a Major Tool for Conflict Resolution and Good Governance in Africa: The Challenge for the Diaspora Avosetinyen Michael Sonayon Chapter Three ............................................................................................ 39 Preserving the Traditional Measures of Preventing Conflict in Africa Olateju Animashaun Rofiah Chapter Four .............................................................................................. 51 Traditional Rule (Chieftaincy) and Peace-Building in Ghana: Challenges and Prospects Joseph Kingsley Adjei Chapter Five .............................................................................................. 62 Traditional Morality and Governance: Oath-taking in Nigerian Politics— A Yoruba Example Olakunle Kehinde Coker Chapter Six ................................................................................................ 74 Post Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, Africa and African Diaspora: Perspectives on Religious Traditions’ Competitive Advantages and Disadvantages Ibigbolade S. Aderibigbe and A. O. Johnson-Bashua

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Table of Contents

Chapter Seven............................................................................................ 95 A Re-Interpretation of the Abolition of the Atlantic Slave Trade in Europe in the 18th century and New Trends in Nigeria Rotimi Omotoye Chapter Eight ........................................................................................... 108 A Religious Appraisal of the Christian Attitude to Traditional and Western Medicine in a Changing World: Evolving a Paradigm of Holistic Healing Afaor Dorothy Nguemo Chapter Nine............................................................................................ 121 Syncretising African Religion in the Candomble Faith Atinuke O. Okunade Chapter Ten ............................................................................................. 136 Religion and Terrorism in Black Africa: An Insight into the Boko Haram Phenomenon in Nigeria Sulaiman Muhammad Jamiu Chapter Eleven ........................................................................................ 148 A Retrospective Look at Nigerian Christians’ Experience of Religious Riots and Terrorist Attacks Lydia Bosede Akande Chapter Twelve ....................................................................................... 159 Village-Level Participatory Video for Documenting and Disseminating Agro-Indigenous Knowledge B. T. Isiaka, Tola Olujuwon and D. N. Ella Chapter Thirteen ...................................................................................... 178 Rethinking Teacher Education Curricula in African Universities through Indigenous Contents and Learning Experiences Saheed Ahmad Rufai Chapter Fourteen ..................................................................................... 195 Classroom Application of ICTs in a Developing Economy: A Roadmap for Capacity Building among Teachers Silas Eniola Egbowon

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Chapter Fifteen ........................................................................................ 205 The Importance of Training and Supervision of Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) in the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV in Africa Sotunsa John Obafemi Chapter Sixteen ....................................................................................... 222 African Sexual Ethics: A Panacea for the Prevention and Management of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria A. O. Johnson-Bashua Chapter Seventeen ................................................................................... 233 Workforce Education and Development Systems in Kenya Felisters Jepchirchir Kiprono Contributors ............................................................................................. 254

INTRODUCTION

A reading of Martin Bernal’s paper entitled ‘European Images of Africa: Tales of Two names, Ethiop and N’ reveals nothing but a pot pouri of abstract conjectures and stereotypical positions about Africa and its population by non-Africans and Eurocentric scholars. Another reading of Africa’s past in the direction of Bernal is that which presents Africa as worthy of pity and reinvention similarly misrepresents her past as if the problem with Africa is about her past. A third reading of Africa as a continent and people as good as the rest of the world, if not better, with reference to her glorious past and worthy of wholesale recapture is similarly fallacious. This much Frantz Fanon (1968; 168) in his “The Wretched of the Earth” debunks when he says “all the proof of a wonderful Songhai civilization will not change the fact that today the Songhais are underfed and illiterate, thrown between sky and water with empty hands and empty eyes”. What however is true of Africa, our own Africa is that it possesses a huge potential both in terms of human and natural resources. It is undoubtedly home to 12% of the world’s population, it is the second biggest continent on earth and its diversity is tremendous, enabling it to account for 46% of the world’s chromium, 48% of its diamonds and platinum and 29% of its gold. Africa accounts for 30% of the world’s languages with a total language count of 2,058. For very many reasons however, these huge heritage resources have not been translated into any meaningful qualitative development on the continent. Though African resources have contributed immensely to the development of other parts of the world, through coercion, bio - piracy and theft, the continent is still largely conceived as a receiver rather than a contributor to development. It is today no secret that, one out of every four poor persons in the world is an African. This is in addition to the fact that the continent has the lowest life expectancy and is uncontrollably ravaged by the HIV/AIDS scourge. It has very high child mortality, low literacy rates and very poor health indicators. At the intellectual level, even though Africa has top of the pack scholars scattered all over the world, no African University has made the list of the world’s top 100 Universities either in the Natural Sciences and Mathematics or Engineering Technology and Computers, Life and Agricultural Sciences, Clinical Medicine, Pharmacy

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nor the humanities. These challenges (and many more) have made it impossible for Africa to claim the 21st century with confidence. This book, “Contextualizing Indigenous Knowledge in Africa and its Diaspora” is a product of an International conference organized by the Institute of African Studies of the University of Georgia, Athens, USA which focused on the preservation of the unique identity of African Indigenous and Local Knowledge. That African Heritage resource has, and is being confronted and affronted by a number of challenges within the increasingly globalized and westernized World is today dated though, the International conference the theme of which was “Africa and Its Diaspora: Expressions of Indigenous and Local Knowledge” sought to stimulate and document ongoing scholarly discussion on the paradoxical dynamics of preserving this identity in the hope of instantiating African development. The academic conversations and exchange of ideas among Africa’s top scholars of different generations, identities and academic bearings are what has been summarized in this volume; an engagement of African Development from the perspective that Africa is yet to appreciate the repertoire of its knowledge systems and the imperative of foregrounding its development on these heritage resources. While not challenging the revisionist positions of Nyerere and his likes who glory in the fact that there are good elements in the traditional African experience and that it is necessary to understand the past in order to appreciate the present and project into the future, the general thread of the authors in this book is that Africa cannot be reinvented by a puerile idealization of Africa’s past but by a trado-epistemic system of its indigenous heritage resource. Captured in Seventeen Chapters, the Book, Contextualizing Indigenous Knowledge in Africa and its Diaspora offers a stimulating analysis of a philosophy of life that seeks a wholesale adoption of the African Indigenous Knowledge System (AIKS) as a paradigm for Africa’s renewal and de-entrapment from the whims of foreign interests. African Indigenous knowledge types argued in this volume involve the balance of short-term thinking and immediate gratification with long term thinking for future generations. It shifts the balance towards improving the quality of human life on earth. This volume argues the position that Africa has a lineage and decency beyond flags and geography and so she is the sphere of the interest of Africans themselves. They must therefore act from within the African heritage resource to cause development to ensue from within Africa. The book offers intensive exchanges between scholars, researchers, and technocrats from various disciplines working in Africa, the African Diaspora, the United States and other parts of the globe on issues that

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Introduction

straddle between Environmental Development, Democracy and Political Systems, Religion and Philosophy, Medicine and Healthcare Systems, Education and Knowledge Transmission, Family, Household & Community, Science and Technology, Arts and Culture, morality, sexuality and security matters among others. In all these, the authors are united in their call for a functional attitude of the collective and individual knowledge and spirit of the people in retrospective dialogue with the past, to awaken the African primal source, to find its way back to itself and to help Continental and Diaspora Africans by inner action to fight for their inner independence and to free themselves from the scourge of exploitation and underdevelopment. Here argued, the prophetic voice of Chinweizu speaks to Africans thus; “we must end our allegiance to white gods, white prophets, white religions and white ideologies, for these are psychological instruments of white supremacy; and we must return to black gods, black prophets, black religions and black ideologies of our African ancestors”. This book will enthrall anyone interested in development studies in the third world. It will in particular interest Eurocentric scholars who still glory in the negative logic of contemporaneous inclusion and exclusion, which has over the centuries been paraded in the bounded reasoning of globalization. This volume speaks to all of us that, solutions to Africa’s chronic developmental problems cannot be made from without. In this regard, the book answers the many unanswered questions about the why of African underdevelopment. This book will no doubt make a vital contribution to the ongoing search for viable answers to the challenges that face Africa today. The Editors August 2014

CHAPTER ONE ELECTORAL SYSTEM AND ITS IMPACT ON DEMOCRATIZATION PROCESS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF BENIN AND TOGO EDOH AGBEHONOU

Introduction In the early 1990s, Benin and Togo were the first African countries to convene Conférences Nationales Souveraines [Sovereign National Conferences (SNCs)] in Francophone Africa. These SNCs were intended to pave the way for smooth short-term democratic transitions and the emergence of strong political liberalization in these countries. While Benin’s democratic transition was successful, Togo experienced a painful transition, which ended with the re-emergence of an authoritarian regime despite the existence of a myriad of political opposition parties. In 2012, Freedom House’s report on fifty Sub-Saharan countries reveals that 12% of these countries, including Benin, are totally free, while Togo is still among the countries that are far from meeting democratic standards. What are the reasons for such a different outcome? This paper investigates the electoral system in both countries since the wave of democratization (i.e. 1990), and examines how the system may influence the democratization process in each of these countries. The chapter is structured in four sections. The first section provides a brief historical background of Benin and Togo. The second section discusses their respective electoral systems from 1990 to 2012 with particular attention made to their district magnitudes; the calculations of effective numbers of parties; the thresholds of representation and exclusion; and the calculations of disproportionalities. The third section discusses the findings. The last section provides some concluding remarks

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Chapter One

and recommendations on what can be done (based on the socio-political, economic, and cultural realities) in each country in order to either promote or consolidate democracy.

Historical Background of Benin and Togo Although both Benin and Togo were former French colonies and had embarked on a similar path on how to bring about democracy, they have had, however, different historical experiences when it comes to vibrant civil society. In Social Origins of National Conferences in Benin and Togo Heilbrunn (1993:298) contends that “In a society with a tradition of national associations, the state is constrained by the interests of organized groups since attempts to ignore particular concerns may result in unrest” Togo, unlike Benin, did not have these national associations to influence the new wave of democratization. From the early 1960s to 1990, military rule and a one-party system had been alternated with restricted democratic practices in Benin. Between 1960 and 1961, Benin was an emerging democracy. The Beninois nationalists formed three political parties—the Republican Party of Dahomey (PRD), the Dahomeyan Democratic Union (UDD), and the Democratic Movement of Dahomey (MDD)— during the liberation struggle. These parties had their representatives in the Territorial Assembly in 1959. However, during the December 1960 Presidential and National Assembly elections, the Dahomeyan Democratic Rally (RDD) of Hubert Maga, and the Dahomey Nationalist Party (PND) of Sourou-Migan Apithy, strategically coalesced and formed a strong political party called the Dahomeyan Unity Party (PDU), which won the elections. Because of the coalition, only the two parties (PDU and UDD) had dominated the political scene in Benin between 1960 and 1961. The following three years were marked by the imposition of a one-party system from 1961 to 1963 by the ruling PDU coalition government led by Hubert Maga and SourouMigan Apithy, respectively President and Vice President of the country, followed by an installation of a strong military regime (1963-1964) (African Election Database 2011). However, the need for the political liberalization engrained in the third wave of democratization during the 1990s, coupled with the late 1980s economic downturn in Africa constrained the Beninese authoritarian regime to open up to the political opposition and accept the instauration of a national forum (Heilbrunn 1993). Subsequently, the 1990 Constitutional Referendum, the 1991 National Assembly, and presidential elections, were held (African Election

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Database 2011). Since then, multi-party democratic elections have been held every five years without recourse to post-election violence. The political situation in Togo was quite similar to that of Benin in the early 1960s. Between 1960 and 1962, four political parties—Juvento [Justice, Union, Vigilance, Education, Nationalism, Tenacity, Optimism] (Togolese Youth Movement); the Union Démocratique des Populations Togolaises (UDPT); the Parti Togolais Du Progrès (PTP), led by Grunitzky; and the Comité de Unité Togolaise (CUT), led by President Sylvanus Olympio—dominated the political activities in Togo (U.S. Department of State, 2012). However, CUT, PTP, and a small party called Union of Chiefs and Populations of the North (UCPN) had their elected representatives in the 1958 Legislative Assembly (African Election Database 2011). With strong popular support, President Olympio banned other political parties and established a one-party system a couple of years after he was sworn into office. A brief period of democracy (from 1960 to 1962) was reversed by a bloody military coup d’état, which led to the assassination of President Olympio on January 13, 1963. A transitional government was formed and led by Nicolas Grunitzky from 1963 to 1967. The Togolese transitional government was soon overthrown in a second military coup on January 13, 1967 by the young Lieutenant Colonel Gnassingbé Eyadéma who established a strong military dictatorship with a one-party system until 1991. From the early 1990s to the present day, there have been over 20 political parties. The major ones include the ruling RPT, UFC (Union of Forces for Change), ANC (National Alliance for Change), CAR (Action Committee for Renewal), and CDPA (Democratic Convention of African Peoples). While Benin has been experiencing peaceful democratic elections since 1991, Togo has been experiencing post-election conflicts. Consequently, the political system in Togo is still termed “restricted democratic practice” (African Elections Database 2010). A comparative analysis of the political situations in these two countries from their political history, as indicated above, reveals that Benin had more democratic experience than Togo.

Discussion of Electoral Systems Electoral systems are very crucial in determining how the political system must function within a particular nation. Farrell contends that “electoral systems determine the means by which votes are translated into seats in the process of electing politicians into office” (Farrell 2011:4). Electoral systems basically determine who is elected and who is not;

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which political party gains power and which does not (Reynolds, Reilly, and Ellis, 2008). In fact, they are mechanisms set up to convert individual preferences into representatives, or some forms of decision-making groups. Designing such systems is a rational game and in order to win the game, parties have to understand the rules, Most often, parties do not understand the rules but play and lose. Understanding the rules means being able to analyze and interpret the key variables or components of an electoral system. These variables include: a) electoral formula (the type of electoral system used, and the kind of mathematical formula used to calculate the number of seats won by candidates or parties); b) district magnitude (the number of seats in each constituency or district); c) electoral threshold (whether legal or effective, thresholds are used to exclude extreme groups from the system); d) ballot structure (how do voters cast their ballots? Do they vote for a candidate, or a party, or both?); and e) district size and design (this deals with the population, territory, and ethnicity). The existing literature on electoral systems suggests the existence of four main electoral system families: plurality/majority systems, proportional representation (PR) systems, mixed systems, and other systems (Reynolds, Reilly, and Ellis, 2008); or five types of electoral systems: single-member plurality (SMP), majority electoral system - which includes the two-round systems and the alternative vote - list systems of PR, mixed-member systems, and the single transferable vote (Farrell, 2011). In order to assure simplicity in the use of terminologies, and put an emphasis on their outcomes, this paper classifies electoral systems into three main types— majoritarian, proportional, and mixed systems. In majoritarian electoral systems, either the candidate with the highest votes wins the election (plurality system), or the candidate with the absolute majority (greater than 50% of the votes) wins the election (majority system). They aim at maintaining and enhancing a stable government, a stable political system and what Lindberg (2005:44) calls “stable legislative majorities”. The majoritarian system is also believed to be simple and relatively easy to understand, and is used by voters compared to the other electoral systems. Another advantage is that each voter has a constituency Member of Parliament who can answer his/her concerns (Farrell, 2011). These systems are designed to favor bigger parties at the expense of smaller ones. In order not to have wasted votes, parties form strategic alliances. In practice, the majoritarian system leads to a two-party system in which elections are viewed in terms of zero-sum game where the winner takes all. Whenever parties start viewing elections strictly in terms of competition, they are open to anything including post-

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election political instability. This is one of the possible disadvantages of a majoritarian system. In addition, the implementation of this system, in many countries (especially in divided societies), leads to there being many wasted votes for minorities, for women, and for religious groups; these votes are not translated into seats. This situation makes it very difficult for small parties to be represented, with the exception of those cases in which they are concentrated in one region or constituency. Proportional representation systems are assumed to minimize the disproportionality between the percentage of votes, and the percentage of seats gained by a party in parliament. The distinguishing characteristic of PR systems is that they use multi-member districts; the higher the district magnitude, the greater its proportionality is. To ensure the representativeness of their population, countries using PR systems reserve seats for minorities and women. This is what Lindberg (2005:45) terms “representative justice”. This is the idea that the legislature should mirror the society (Reynolds, Reilly, and Ellis 2008). The ultimate goal of such systems is the reduction of conflicts by seeking input from different groups and parties. Reynolds, et al. (2008:29) argues, “Proportionality is often seen as being best achieved by the use of party lists, where political parties present lists of candidates to the voters on a national or regional basis” or “voters’ rank-order candidates in multi-members districts”. Party lists tend to lower the possibility of having wasted votes and increase the representation of small parties in the parliament, therefore, voters tend to vote sincerely. It is always assumed that the more permissible an electoral system is, the more policy alternatives will be generated. However, in PR systems, even though coalitions are formed after elections because of policy issues, they are in most cases unstable. Most often this situation leads to gridlocks in the legislative body of the government and to some extent their incapability of formulating and adopting appropriate policies. Mixed systems are sometimes used in emerging democracies, such as in Burkina Faso and Senegal. This is a combination of some elements of both the majoritarian systems and proportional systems. Reynolds, Reilly, and Ellis (2008:1) argue, “The choice of the electoral system is one of the most important institutional decisions for any democracy”. Battle and Seely (2007) also emphasize the importance of the choice of the electoral system in their article It’s all relative: Competing models of vote choice in Benin. Given that policymakers are the ones who determine the electoral laws, the party - or coalition of parties - in power always try very hard to choose the electoral system that can help them perpetuate their power. Therefore, the ruling parties will never opt for an electoral reform if their current electoral system is helping them to achieve

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their ultimate goal: of holding onto power for as a long as they can. Both Benin and Togo inherited the majoritarian electoral system from their former colonial power (France), and both countries used this system in the early 1960s during their first “democratic” elections. Although they maintained the colonial legacy of the majoritarian system on paper until the wave of the 1990s democratization, there was no room to actually practice it in both counties, as leaders in these countries had preferred the choice of military dictatorships and authoritarianism to democracy. On the one hand while the people power movements of the 1990s helped bring a dramatic change in the electoral system in Benin, they also helped resuscitate Togo’s majoritarian system.

a. Electoral Systems in Benin from 1990 to 2012 Benin led the democratization process in Africa as a whole, and in Francophone Africa in particular. The Sovereign National Conference in 1990 was very representative of all the socio-cultural, political and economic groups of the country (Nwajiaku, 1994; Creevey et al., 2005). According to Nwajiaku, participants at this SNC had only one objective: “to introduce a constitutional liberal democracy” (Nwajiaku 1994:429). This aim was successfully achieved by a series of negotiations leading to the adoption of an electoral system design comprised of - according to Creevey et al. (2005: 473) - a unicameral legislative, with 64 representatives elected by direct popular vote through the PR system using the Largest Remainder-Hare formula in all its multi-member electoral districts, and an executive president who was also elected by direct popular vote in a majoritarian Two-Round or Run-off system. While the president is elected for a 5-year term, renewable only once, the members of the National Assembly serve 4-year terms. It is very important to note that in 1991 there were six multi-member districts, which correspond to the six administrative districts. This number tripled in 1995 because of the redistricting of the six administrative districts. Prior to the 1999 elections, six additional administrative districts were added to the existing administrative districts. The 12 administrative districts were re-divided into 24 multi-member electoral districts (Creevey et al. 2005). These administrative districts include: Alibori, Libori, Atacora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Couffo, Donga, Littoral Mono, Oueme, Plateau, and Zou. The number of seats in the legislative body also increased from 64 in 1991 to 84 in 1995 and remained so until the 2011 National Assembly elections (African Election Database 2011). Since 1991, Benin has

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successfully held free and fair democratic elections (legislative and presidential). This paper focuses on the legislative elections. Since the representation of the population is one of the main indicators of democracy, I calculate the disproportionality in the parliamentary elections held in the 1990s, where the results were fully provided. This is what happened in 1991 parliamentary elections in Benin. I then hypothesize that the lower the value of disproportionality, the more the population is represented and the more likely a country will be democratic. Using Gallagher’s disproportionality index D = — (1/2 ¦ (si – vi)2), where “Si” represents the percentage of seats won by a party, and “Vi” the percentage of votes it received, the calculation of disproportionality in the 1991 legislative is approximately 3.94 (Table A about here). This disproportionality result is quite low and it indicates that the system is very fair and proportional. The election results; the calculations of effective numbers of parties; and the thresholds of representation and exclusion; are provided by Table B (see appendix A).

b. Electoral Systems in Togo from 1990 to 2012 The 1992 democratic constitution, approved by the Togolese voters through a constitutional referendum with 99.18% of the votes (African Election Database, 2011), was very clear regarding the country’s electoral system. Article 193 of the electoral code stated that both the president and members of the National Assembly must be elected by a direct popular vote using a Two-Round system, whereby the winner must receive the absolute majority (above 50% of the votes) for a 5-year term. While the president serves no more than two terms, members of the legislative body have no term limit. However, that constitution was modified multiple times after the 2002 mono-color National Assembly elections, which the coalition of the main opposition parties boycotted. The current constitution, which has become an object of contention between the political opposition and ruling coalition RPT/UFC, puts no term limit to the presidency. On the one hand, it profoundly changes the Two-Round majoritarian system of electing the president of the country, to the simple majority or plurality system (one round only). On the other hand, members of the National Assembly are elected by a direct popular vote, in singlemember districts, using a closed-list proportional representation with no threshold (African Election Database 2010, Election Guide 2010). Nevertheless, since the unilateral reform of the electoral system - by the governing party - no election has taken place. Two questions come to mind: First, how can a proportional representation electoral system be

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implemented in single-member districts? Second, if it is implemented, what will be the outcome? As the literature reveals, the larger the district magnitude, the more proportional and fair the system is, therefore, in single-member districts, only stronger and bigger parties are likely to win seats. The legislative and presidential elections are scheduled to take place in 2012 and 2015, respectively. If this new electoral reform is implemented in the forthcoming legislative elections, the outcome will be consistent with the SMP system, rather than the PR system the ruling party is promoting. Again, using Gallagher’s disproportionality index D = — (1/2 ¦ (si – vi)2), the calculation of disproportionality in the electoral system during the 2007 legislative elections in Togo is D = 18.01 (Table D ). This result is very high and more consistent with a plurality SMP system than a proportional one. Table B (see appendix A) provides the 2007 National Assembly election results. The calculations of effective numbers of parties, and the thresholds of representation and exclusion, are provided by Table E (see appendix A).

Discussion of the Findings In Benin, the threshold of representation is 3.62%, and the threshold of exclusion is 6.76%. This shows that it is possible for a party to win a seat under the most favorable conditions if it passes at least 3.62% of the votes. The threshold of exclusion of 6.76% implies that even if a party receives that percentage of the votes, it will not win a seat, however, if the party wins more than the 6.76% of the votes, it will be guaranteed a seat. In Togo, both the threshold of representation and the threshold of exclusion are very high (50% each); this means that smaller parties are less likely to be represented in the country’s National Assembly. The higher likelihood of the exclusion of smaller parties, minorities, and genders - in the majoritarian electoral system in Togo - is shown in the calculation of disproportionality. In fact, the disproportionality estimate in Togo is extremely high (D = 18.01) compared to that of Benin (D = 3.94). For example, in the 2007 legislative elections in Togo, under the SMP electoral system, the three main parties won the percentage of votes and the number of seats as shown in the table below:

Electoral System and its Impact on Democratization Process

Political Parties Rally for the Togolese People (RPT) Union of Forces for Change (UFC) Action Committee for Renewal (CAR)

9

Percentage of Votes 39.4

Number of Seats 50

37.0

27

8.2

4

Source: African Election Database, Published 2011

If the electoral system being used was a PR system in multi-member districts, using the quota systems for allocating seats, the election results would have been completely different. Many smaller parties would have won seats. Tables I and J (see appendix B) show how seats would have been proportionally distributed among bigger and smaller parties, in the 2007 legislative elections in Togo.

Concluding Remarks and Recommendations What are the findings? This paper has discovered that the electoral systems in Benin and Togo are built in with low and high disproportionality, respectively. There is also a higher level of representation in the legislative body in Benin, than there is in Togo. These findings seem to support our hypothesis that “the lower the value of disproportionality, the more the population is represented, and the more likely a country will be democratic.” In all, while Togo’s Freedom Score - which is the average of civil liberties score (4) and political rights score (5) - is 4.5, Benin scores 2, with 2 as the civil liberties score and 2 as the political rights score (Freedom House, 2011). These freedom scores classify Togo and Benin as partly free, and totally free, respectively. The free status given to Benin is a result of many factors, including the constitutional and electoral reforms in the early 1990s, and in respect of constitutional guarantees of freedom of press and speech, and freedom of assembly. These constitutional rights allowed the politicized Beninese press to be very critical of both the ruling coalition government, and the political opposition leaders. Because of the respect of freedom of assembly in Benin, “all political parties, regardless of ethnic or regional affiliation, operate freely throughout the country” (Freedom House, 2011). Since 1990, Benin has held six parliamentary elections using a party-list proportional representation system, and five presidential elections using a majority popular vote Two-Round system. Both the parliamentary and the presidential elections are relatively not

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only peaceful, but also free and fair. This feat has earned Benin the reputation of having a stable democracy. Unlike Benin, Togo is still struggling to meet the democratic standards that are among others free and fair elections. However, based on its history, the choice of the majoritarian electoral system did not allow the country to achieve that goal. The reason is that, in this electoral system, elections are always viewed in terms of the winner-take-all or in what I term here as: zero-sum thinking. With this in mind, in most cases, parties use any means just to win elections without thinking of the collective interests of their country. This has resulted in post-election violence in Togo since 1990, due to vote rigging, intimidations, and the repeated use of military, and security forces, to severely repress peaceful protests and demonstrations in the name of restoring security and order by the regime in place. The 1998, 2003, 2005 and 2010 post-election political unrests illustrate this well. In these elections, many voters felt that they were cheated, and therefore their votes were nothing but wasted. An electoral system in which elections are viewed as win-win situations, allowing a fair representation of various groups including both social groups and political parties, would be a better solution to prevent the post-election conflicts that are undermining the prospect of democracy in Togo. The 2007 legislative election results in Togo clearly shows how smaller parties are discriminated against in the SMP majoritarian system (see Table C). Therefore, this paper recommends that Togo use a party-list proportional representation in multi-member constituencies for its legislative elections. To ensure that this PR system mirrors the Togolese population, the quota systems can be used as a tool for transferring votes into seats (see Tables I and J). Smaller parties, such as the Democratic Convention of African Peoples; the Patriotic Pan-African Convergence; the Party of Democrats for Renewal; and many others, that were not able to win seats under the SMP system; gained seats when both the Hare Formula-Largest Remainder and the Droop Quota systems were applied in the 2007 elections in Togo. To be more specific, Togo may now adopt the PR electoral system and use the Largest Remainder-Hare formula to allocate seats in order to prevent future post-election political instabilities (one of the main hindrances of democracy). The main reason is that, as Farrell puts it, “lower quotas result in more seats to parties receiving a full quota and fewer being allocated by remainders, and therefore somewhat less proportional results” (Farrell (2011:69). Given that the Largest Remainder-Hare formula has the largest quota, smaller parties may not necessarily win seat(s) during the “full quotas” distribution stage, but they have another good chance of getting seat(s) allocated by the remainders.

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11

According to Creevey et al. (2005: 473), Benin has been using the Largest Remainder-Hare formula. Given that, during the 2011 elections (parliamentary and presidential), there were reports of minor irregularities and incidents, there is also a need for Benin to continuously seek to improve its electoral system. Comparing the results of how the two quota systems address the issue of equitability in allocating seats using the 1991 parliamentary elections in Benin as an example (see Tables F and G), Benin will still be better off if it maintains its current Largest RemainderHare formula. In order to strengthen its democracy, there should be no immediate need for Benin to change its formula for translating votes into seats. However, it may want to look carefully at how elections are being monitored and managed in order to increase the people’s trust in Beninese electoral institutions. The more people feel that elections are properly managed in their country, the lower the likelihood for that country to experience post-election conflicts, or instabilities.

Works Cited “Election in Benin.” African Election Database. African Election Database, 30 May 2011. Web. 10 March 2012. “Election in Togo.” African Election Database. African Election Database, 4 December 2010. Web. 8 February 2012. Battle, Martin and Jennifer C. Seely. “It’s all Relative: Competing Models of Vote Choice in Benin.” Afrobarometer Working Paper No. 78 (November 2007). Carr, Adam. (2012). “Togo: Legislative election-National Summary and Voting by Prefecture” Carr Adam’s Election Archives. Carr Adam’s Election Archives. October 2007. Web. 16 March 2012. CIA World Factbook “Africa: Benin” CIA World Factbook . CIA World Factbook. 8 February 2012. Web. 19 May 2012. Creevey, Lucy, Paul Ngomo, and Richard Vengroff. “Party Politics and Different Paths to Democratic Transitions: A Comparison of Benin and Senegal.” Party Politics 11.4 (2005): 471-493. Farrell, David M. Electoral Systems: A Comparative Introduction. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. “Sub-Saharan Africa” Freedom House. Freedom House, 19 January 2012. Web. 8 February 2012. Heilbrunn, John R. “Social Origins of National Conferences in Benin and Togo”. The Journal of Modern African Studies 31.2 (1993): 277-299.

12

Chapter One

Kerr, Nicholas N. “Perceptions Versus Reality: Assessing Popular Evaluations of Election Quality in Africa.” Afrobarometer Working Paper No. 137. (November 2011). Lindberg, Staffan I. “Consequences of Electoral Systems in Africa: A Preliminary Inquiry.” Electoral Studies 24 (2005): 41-64. Mozaffar, Shaheen., James R. Scarritt, and Glen. Galaich. “Electoral Institutions, Ethnopolitical Cleavages, and Party Systems in Africa’s Emerging Democracies.” The American Political Science Review 97.3 (2003): 379-390. Neto, Octavio A. and Gary W. Cox. “Electoral Institutions: Cleavages Structures, and the Number of Parties.” American Journal of Political Science 41 (1997): 149-174. Nwajiaku, K. “The National Conferences in Togo and Benin Revised.” The Journal of Modern African Studies 32.3 (1994): 429-447. Ordeshook, Peter and Olga Shvetsova. “Ethnic Heterogeneity, District Magnitude, and the Number of Parties.” American Journal of Political Science 38 (1994): 100-123. Powell, JR., Bingham G. (2000). Elections as Instruments of Democracy: Majoritarian and Proportional Visions. Yale University Press, 2000. Reynold, Andrew, Ben Reilly, and Andrew Ellis. Electoral System Design: The New International IDEA Handbook. Stockholm: International IDEA, 2008. “Background Note: Benin.” U.S. Department of State. U.S. Department of State, 10 September 2012. Web. 3 November 2012.

% of Votes

18.86%

11.72%

9.84%

12.08% 10.13% 8.40%

7.08%

Party/[Coalition]

Union for the Triumph of Democratic Renewal [UTRD]

National Party for Democracy and DevelopmentDemocratic Renewal Party [PNDD-PRD]

Social Democratic Party-National Union for Solidarity and Progress [PSD-UNSP]

National Rally for Democracy (RND)

Our Common Cause (NCC)

National Movement for Democracy and Development-Movement for Solidarity, Union, and Progress-Union for Democracy and National Reconstruction [MNDD-MSUP-UDRN]

Union for Democracy and National Solidarity (UDS)

Table A: Calculation of Disproportionality in Benin

Appendix A

7.8125%

9.375%

9.375%

10.9375%

12.50%

14.0625%

18.75%

% of Seats

-0.7325

-0.975

0.755

1.1425

-2.66

-2.3425

(% of Votes-% of Seats) 0.11

Electoral System and its Impact on Democratization Process

0.53655625

0.950625

0.570025

1.30530625

7.0756

5.48730625

0.0121

(% of Votes-% of Seats) squared

13

1.5625% 1.5625%

3.76%

3.07% 1.99%

Alliance for Democracy and Progress-Democratic Union for Social Renewal [ADP-UDRS]

National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP) Popular Republican Union-National Labor Party [URP-PNT]

100

100

D = — (1/2 ¦ (si – vi)2) = —1/2(30.9860581)=

0%

1.49%

Builders and Managers of Freedom and Development (BGLD) Total

0%

2.51%

Democratic Union for Social and Economic Development (UDES)

3.125%

4.6875%

3.47%

Alliance for Social Democracy-Bloc for Social Democracy [ASD-BSD]

6.25%

5.62%

Chapter One

Rally of Liberal Democrats for National Reconstruction (RDL-Vivoten)

14

1.49

2.51

0.4275

1.5075

0.635

-1.2175

-0.63

3.936118526

30.9860581

2.2201

6.3001

0.18275625

2.27255625

0.403225

1.48230625

0.3969

0.03556996 0.01373584

0.00968256

0.01459264 0.01026169 0.007056

0.00501264 0.00315844

18.86% 11.72%

9.84%

12.08% 10.13% 8.40%

7.08% 5.62%

Union for the Triumph of Democratic Renewal [UTRD] National Party for Democracy and Development-Democratic Renewal Party [PNDD-PRD] Social Democratic Party-National Union for Solidarity and Progress [PSD-UNSP] National Rally for Democracy (RND) Our Common Cause (NCC) National Movement for Democracy and DevelopmentMovement for Solidarity, Union, and Progress-Union for Democracy and National Reconstruction [MNDD-MSUPUDRN] Union for Democracy and National Solidarity (UDS) Rally of Liberal Democrats for National Reconstruction (RDLVivoten)

(% of Votes)Squared

% of Votes

Party/[Coalition]

Table B: Calculation of Effective Number of Parties in Benin

4

5

6 6

7

8

9

12

Number of Seats (64)

6.25%

7.8125%

9.375% 9.375%

10.9375%

12.50%

14.0625%

18.75%

% of Seats

Electoral System and its Impact on Democratization Process

0.00390625

0.006103515625

0.0087890625 0.0087890625

0.01196289

0.015625

0.019768

0.035156

(% of Seats)Squared

15

0.0063001 0.0022201

2.51% 1.49%

N=1/S

0.0039601

1.99%

8.09

0.12359282

0.0094249

3.07%

Total (S)

0.00141376

3.76%

Alliance for Democracy and Progress-Democratic Union for Social Renewal [ADP-UDRS] National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP) Popular Republican UnionNational Labor Party [URP-PNT] Democratic Union for Social and Economic Development (UDES) Builders and Managers of Freedom and Development (BGLD)

0.00120409

3.47%

Chapter One

Alliance for Social DemocracyBloc for Social Democracy [ASDBSD]

16

0

0

1

1

2

3

0%

0%

1.5625%

1.5625%

3.125%

4.6875%

7.88

0.126945481

0

0

0.00244140625

0.00244140625

0.009765625

0.002197265625

Electoral System and its Impact on Democratization Process

Laakso-Taagepera Index 1.

Effective Number of Parties LEGISLATIVE PARTIES (SEATS)N = 1/¦ si2 N= 1/0.126945481 = 7.88 b. ELECTORAL PARTIES (VOTES) N = 1/¦ vi2 N = 1/0.12359282 = 8.09

a.

2. The Threshold of Exclusion a. Upper Threshold = 100% /(M + 1), with M = 13.8 = 100% /(13.8+1) = 100%/14.8 =6.76% 3. The Threshold of Representation (Inclusion) a. Lower Threshold = 100%/(2M), with M = 13.8 = 100%/(2*13.8) = 100%/27.6 = 3.62% 4. The Effective Threshold (Teff) Teff = (Upper Threshold + Lower Threshold)/2 = (6.76% + 3.62%)/2 = 10.38%/2 = 5.19%

17

Chapter One

18

Table C: The 2007 National Assembly Election Results in Togo Parties

Votes

# of Seats 50

% of Seats

922,636

% of Votes 39.4

Rally for the Togolese People Union of Forces for Change Action Committee for Renewal Democratic Convention of African Peoples Patriotic PanAfrican Convergence Party of Democrats for Renewal Others Total

867,507

37.0

27

33.33

192,618

08.2

4

4.94

38,347

01.6

0

0

43,898

01.9

0

0

24,260

01.0

0

0

254,842 2,344,108

10.9 100

0 81

0 100

Source: Psephos Adam Carr's Election Archive. Retrieved from http://psephos.adam-carr.net/countries/t/togo/togo2007.txt

61.73

Electoral System and its Impact on Democratization Process

Table D: Calculation of Disproportionality in Togo Parties

% of Votes- % of Seats

Rally for the Togolese People Union of Forces for Change Action Committee for Renewal Democratic Convention of African Peoples Patriotic PanAfrican Convergence Party of Democrats for Renewal Others Total

-22.33

(% of Votes- % of Seats)squared 498.6289

3.67

13.4689

3.26

10.6276

1.6

2.56

1.9

3.61

1

1

10.9

118.81 648.7054

D = — (1/2 ¦ (si – vi)2) = — (1/2 (648.7054) = 18.01 D= 18.01

19

Chapter One

20

Table E: Calculation of effective Number of Parties in Togo Parties Rally for the Togolese People Union of Forces for Change Action Committee for Renewal Democratic Convention of African Peoples Patriotic Pan-African Convergence Party of Democrats for Renewal Others Total

% of Votes 0.394

(% of Votes) Squared 0.155236

% of Seats 0.6173

(% of Seats) Squared 0.38105929

0.37

0.1369

0.3333

0.11108889

0.082

0.006724

0.0494

0.00244036

0.016

0.000256

0

0

0.019

0.000361

0

0

0.01

0.0001

0

0

0.109 1

0.011881 0.311458

0 100

0 0.494589

1.

Effective Number of Parties LEGISLATIVE PARTIES (SEATS)N = 1/¦ si2 N= 1/0.494589= 2.02 b. ELECTORAL PARTIES (VOTES) N = 1/¦ vi2 N = 1/0.311458= 3.21

a.

2. The Threshold of Exclusion Upper Threshold = 100% /(M + 1), with M = 1 = 100% /(1+1) = 100%/2 =50% 3. The Threshold of Representation (Inclusion) Lower Threshold = 100%/(2M), with M = 1 = 100%/(2*1) = 100%/2 = 50% 4. The Effective Threshold (Teff) Teff = (Upper Threshold + Lower Threshold)/2 = (50% + 50%)/2 = 100%/2 = 50%

Electoral System and its Impact on Democratization Process

21

Appendix B The 1991 Parliamentary Elections in Benin HARE FORMULA - LARGEST REMAINDER Quota = Total Votes Cast/Seats, and the total number of seats = 64 Quota = 1,030,017/64 Quota= 16,094 Table F: Calculation of Number of Seats Using Hare Formula-Largest Remainder Party/[Coalition] Union for the Triumph of Democratic Renewal [UTRD] National Party for Democracy and DevelopmentDemocratic Renewal Party [PNDD-PRD] Social Democratic Party-National Union for Solidarity and Progress [PSDUNSP] National Rally for Democracy (RND) Our Common Cause (NCC) National Movement for Democracy and Development-

Number of Votes 194,213

120,705

Full Quotas

Remainder

Seats + Remainder

12

1085

12 + 0 = 12

7

8047

7+1=8

4784

6+0=6

101,348

6

124,392

7

11734

7 +1 = 8

104,347

6

7783

6+0=6

86,556

Chapter One

22

Movement for Solidarity, Union, and ProgressUnion for Democracy and National Reconstruction [MNDD-MSUPUDRN] Union for Democracy and National Solidarity (UDS) Rally of Liberal Democrats for National Reconstruction (RDL-Vivoten) Alliance for Social Democracy-Bloc for Social Democracy [ASD-BSD] Alliance for Democracy and ProgressDemocratic Union for Social Renewal [ADPUDRS] National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP) Popular Republican Union-National Labor Party [URP-PNT]

72,899

5

6086

5+0=5

4

8523

4+1=5

3

9570

3+1=4

2

3512

2 +0 = 2

2

6496

2+0=2

1

15507

1+1=2

1

4396

1+0=1

57,852

35,700

38,684

31,601

20,490

Electoral System and its Impact on Democratization Process

Democratic Union for Social and Economic Development (UDES) Builders and Managers of Freedom and Development (BGLD) Total

23

1

9799

1+1=2

0

15337

0+1=1

57

112,659

64

25,893

15,337

1,030,017

DROOP QUOTA Quota = Votes/(Seats + 1) and the total # of seats = 64 = 1,030,017/(64 + 1) = 1,030,017/65 A= 15,846

Chapter One

24

Table G: Calculation of Number of Seats Using Droop Quota System Party/[Coalition] Union for the Triumph of Democratic Renewal [UTRD] National Party for Democracy and DevelopmentDemocratic Renewal Party [PNDD-PRD] Social Democratic Party-National Union for Solidarity and Progress [PSDUNSP] National Rally for Democracy (RND) Our Common Cause (NCC) National Movement for Democracy and DevelopmentMovement for Solidarity, Union, and ProgressUnion for Democracy and National Reconstruction [MNDD-MSUPUDRN] Union for

Number of Votes 194,213

120,705

Full Quotas

Remainder

Seats + Remainder

12

4061

12 + 0 = 12

7

9783

7+1=8

6272

6+0=6

101,348

6

124,392

7

13470

7 +1 = 8

104,347

6

9271

6+0=6

5

7326

5+0=5

86,556

72,899

Electoral System and its Impact on Democratization Process

Democracy and National Solidarity (UDS) Rally of Liberal Democrats for National Reconstruction (RDL-Vivoten) Alliance for Social Democracy-Bloc for Social Democracy [ASD-BSD] Alliance for Democracy and ProgressDemocratic Union for Social Renewal [ADPUDRS] National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP) Popular Republican Union-National Labor Party [URP-PNT] Democratic Union for Social and Economic Development (UDES) Builders and Managers of Freedom and Development (BGLD) Total

25

4

9515

4+1=5

3

10314

3+1=4

2

4008

2 +0 = 2

2

6992

2+0=2

1

15755

1+1=2

1

4644

1+0=1

1

10047

1+1=2

0

15337

0+1=1

57

126,795

64

57,852

35,700

38,684

31,601

20,490

25,893

15,337

1,030,017

Chapter One

26

The 2007 National Assembly Elections in Togo Table H: The 2007 National Assembly Election Results in Togo Parties

Votes

Rally for the Togolese People Union of Forces for Change Action Committee for Renewal Democratic Convention of African Peoples Patriotic PanAfrican Convergence Party of Democrats for Renewal Others Total

# of Seats 50

% of Seats

922,636

% of Votes 39.4

867,507

37.0

27

33.33

192,618

08.2

4

4.94

38,347

01.6

0

0

43,898

01.9

0

0

24,260

01.0

0

0

254,842

10.9

0

0

2,344,108

100

81

100

Source: Psephos Adam Carr's Election Archive. Retrieved from http://psephos.adam-carr.net/countries/t/togo/togo2007.txt HARE FORMULA - LARGEST REMAINDER Quota = Total Votes Cast/Seats, and the total number of seats = 81 Quota = 2,344,108/81 Quota = 28,939

61.73

Electoral System and its Impact on Democratization Process

27

Table I: Calculation of Number of Seats Using Fare Formula-Largest Remainder in Togo’s 2007 Election Results Parties

Votes

Remainder

922,636

Full Quotas 31

25,527

Seats + Remainder 31 + 1 = 32

Rally for the Togolese People Union of Forces for Change Action Committee for Renewal

867,507

29

28,276

29 + 1 = 30

192,618

6

18,984

6+1=7

38,347

1

9,408

1+0=1

43,898

1

14,959

1+ 0 = 1

Democratic Convention of African Peoples Patriotic PanAfrican Convergence Party of Democrats for Renewal Others

24,260

0

24,260

0+1=1

254,842

8

23,330

8+1=9

Total

2,344,108

76

144,744

81

DROOP QUOTA Quota = Votes/(Seats + 1) and the total # of seats = 81 Quota = 2,344,108/ (81+1) Quota = 28,586

Chapter One

28

Table J: Calculation of Number of Seats Using Droop Quota System in Togo’s 2007 Election Results Parties

Votes

Remainder

922,636

Full Quotas 32

7,884

Seats + Remainder 32 + 0 = 32

Rally for the Togolese People Union of Forces for Change Action Committee for Renewal

867,507

30

9,927

30 + 0 = 30

192,618

6

21,102

6+1=7

38,347

1

9,761

1+0=1

43,898

1

15,312

1+ 0 = 1

Democratic Convention of African Peoples Patriotic PanAfrican Convergence Party of Democrats for Renewal Others

24,260

0

24,260

0+1=1

254,842

8

26,154

8+1=9

Total

2,344,108

76

144,744

81

CHAPTER TWO RESOLVING NATIVES AND SETTLERS CONTROVERSY AS A MAJOR TOOL FOR CONFLICT RESOLUTION AND GOOD GOVERNANCE IN AFRICA: THE CHALLENGE FOR THE DIASPORA AVOSETINYEN MICHAEL SONAYON

Introduction The major problem that confronted most African states after independence was the ethnic crisis, which led to open discrimination among different ethnic groups. Among each ethnic group, the question of settlers and natives continues to arise unabated, which further compounds the ethnic crisis. Different ethnic groups ascribe to themselves a native status while others, within the same community, are referred to as the settlers, irrespective of the number of years of existence in that area. This position has pitched most ethnic groups, against one another. The native and settler issues were responsible for most major conflicts within the continent; it has also been used to determine who holds on to political power. This chapter attempts an examination of the protracted intricacies among different ethnic groups, who find it very difficult to be united, as a result of the fact that some ethnic groups ascribe to themselves native status to the detriment of others. It further identifies the major factors responsible for such positions after decades of independence. Finally, it suggests ways of resolving the dichotomy created by the native and settler construct among different ethnic groups, and further recommends how both acclaimed ’’natives’’ and ‘’settlers’’ could live in harmony for the promotion of peace and good governance within and outside the continent. The controversy that surrounds natives and settlers’ issues in Africa has continued to generate more unanswered questions, and if appropriate

30

Chapter Two

steps are not taken to address the problem, the continent will continue to witness continuous conflicts unabated thereby stultifying every meaningful development within the continent. Historically, there is no ethnic group or race across the globe that can lay claim to the fact that their ancestors were created in their present abode. Therefore, the migration of people from one place to another is as old as history. For instance, the African`s origin and existence has been traced to two broad racial groups, which are Caucasoid and Negroid - as noted by Hallett (1978:30). According to him, the original homeland of the Caucasoid was probably western Asia. From there they moved in a steady series of migrations extending over a period of at least ten millennia into much of the northern half of Africa, from the Horn to the Western Sahara. The most prominent peoples of Caucasoid stock are the descendants of the ancient Egyptians, the Berbers, the Arabs, the Amhara, the Galla and the Somali. Their most characteristic physical features are light or medium brown skin, a narrow nose, thin or medium lips, and straight or wavy hair. People of Negroid stock according to him dominate the rest of Africa. There has been much controversy about the original homeland of the Negroes. The most likely location for the evolution of Negroid features is in the Savannah country, to the north and west of the Equatorial Forest. From this homeland, one group of Negroid peoples—the speakers of Bantu languages—moved southward to populate most of Central, Eastern and Southern Africa. Other groups spread over the Savannah lands of the Sudan, and penetrated the forests of West Africa. Dark brown skin, broad noses, thick lips and tightly curled hair represent their most defined characteristic features. Between both the Caucasoid and Negroid, considerable variations in physical features are found. Sometimes, this can be ascribed to intermarriage between people of different racial stocks. Some of the Southern Bantu, for example, clearly possess physical features of Bushmanoid origin. Again, the basically Caucasoid characteristics of many of the Fulani of West Africa or of the ``Hamites`` of East Africa— the Hima of Ankole, or the Tutsi of Rwanda—have been modified by intermarriage with other people of Negroid stock.(ibid). More so, modern day Rome was formed by various tribes who came from the Danube basin and began to settle on the Italian peninsula as far back as 1000 BC. They were Indo-European tribes who were known collectively as Italians; two of these Italian tribes, the Latins` and Sabines’, settled in Latium on the left bank of the Tiber. They lived in a number of small settlements and engaged in agriculture and cattle rearing. Some of these settlements were on the hills in the area where Rome was

Resolving Natives and Settlers Controversy

31

later built. However, the inhabitants of these hill-settlements formed an alliance and they gradually obtained a powerful position in Latium. It was easy to cross the Tiber at this spot, so the alliance was able to control the trade between the left bank of the Tiber and the Etruscans on the right bank. The Etruscans ultimately founded Rome. (Alga 1993:4). It was also assumed recently that the Etruscans came to Italy from Asia Minor - about 900-800 BC - and settled initially on the coast of modern Tuscany. They settled in Italy much earlier than this and they formed a complex of eastern, continental and indigenous elements. (ibid). Furthermore, history had it that the Nguni speaking people `trekked’ all the way from South Africa - to the area that is now known as the United Republic of Tanzania - settled and became (ethnic) strangers-cumnatives. The present day Israelites, whose fore fathers were led out of Egypt thousands of years ago, migrated to Egypt before they were led out to their present abode. African countries comprise of different ethnic groups who migrated from one place to another for different purposes. The above short history succinctly attests to the fact that migration from one place to another is part of the human trait, right from the beginning of creation. It further reaffirms that a native/indigene or settler/non-indigene of a place must have once been a migrant i.e. his/her ancestors must have migrated from one place to the present abode, but the question one needs to ask here is that during such migrations, were they received by some people in their present abode? If not, did they meet some settlement on their arrival? These are pertinent questions that need to be answered, which can be used to address the native/indigene and settlers/non-indigene problem within the continent. Therefore, this paper examines the controversy that surrounds the indigeneship and settler issues in most African countries, which has led to a series of violent conflicts that have claimed millions of lives, has displaced many people, and has led to the destruction of properties. It will also suggest ways of addressing the menace of this situation in order to promote a peaceful co-existence between, and among, various groups in most countries of the continent.

Who is the Native/Indigene, and Settler/Non-indigene? The fact that an individual or group of individuals ascribes to themselves an indigeneship status, and to others non-indigene status, does not really mean that such groups meet the criteria. The Plateau Peace Conference defines indigenes as “People who are the first to have settled permanently in a particular area, and who are considered traditional

32

Chapter Two

natives” (2004:3). It further sampled a number of opinions as to what should constitute an “indigene” and the following harmonized definition emerged: “Indigeneship should be peculiar to a people who are the first to have settled permanently in a particular area, and who are often considered as ‘natives’. Such people have rights to their lands, traditions and culture”.

The conference further cited examples of the Australian Aborigines, and the American Red Indians, to buttress their arguments. The Fiberesima Commission of Inquiry Report in respect of who is an indigene of Jos, Plateau state in Nigeria, is as follows: An indigene of Jos is one whose ancestors were natives of Jos, beyond living memory. This does not include any person who may not remember from where his father or grandfather left his native home for Jos as a fixed home, and domiciled there as a choice for the rest of his life; or who is ignorant about from where his family moved to Jos permanently in the quest for a better living, or because of the promotion of his business. The above definition was corroborated by Mamdani (2005:10), narrating his experience in Kivu Province in Congo. According to him, in North Kivu, there were two Kinyarwanda-speaking groups: Banyarutshuru and Banyamasisi. The former were considered indigenous, the latter were not. When he asked why this was, he was told that the Banyarutshuru presence in the area predated Belgian colonization, while the Banyamasisi had only moved to the Congo in the colonial period, as labour migrants. This implies that an indigene, or native of a place or community, is the first settler in that area. In other words a native, or indigene, must have first been a settler before becoming an indigene. Similarly, Kwaja (2011:2) defines indigenes - based on Nigerian experience - as "original" inhabitants of a local government area, or members of those ethnic groups that can trace their lineage back to the area. All others are considered "settlers" or immigrants. An indigene, as noted by Iroanya (2005:7), is a member of a community within the geographical space of an ethnic group. Indigeneship is biologically determined and discriminates first against members of the same ethnic group, and second against members of other ethnic groups. In this sense, according to him, an indigene of a particular community in a country is a member of an ethnic group, and a citizen of the country. Thus, he or she has dual citizenship; a "non-indigene" of that community is only a citizen (civic citizen) of the country. For instance, a Bayanmulenge is a citizen of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), but not an indigene of the Kivu Province of the country because he is regarded as a "settler". (ibid)

Resolving Natives and Settlers Controversy

33

The genesis of the indigene and non-indigene dichotomy in Africa is part of the defect of colonialism in the continent. Mamdani (2005:5) noted that during indirect rule in Africa, only natives were said to belong to ethnic groups; non-natives had no ethnicity. Non-natives were identified racially, not ethnically. The colonial state divided the population into two: races and ethnicities; and each lived in a different legal universe. The Colonial law made a fundamental distinction between two types of persons: those indigenous and those not indigenous; in a word, native and non-natives. Natives had to live according to custom. Not only that, only groups officially acknowledged as indigenous were entitled to a native authority, and with it the right to a tribal ‘homeland’ administered by chiefs appointed from within their own ranks. Not only were nonindigenous groups denied this right; they were required to pay tribute to ‘indigenous’ chiefs in the native authority where they lived. The colonial system thus rested on a dual system of institutionalized discrimination dressed up as cultural difference; by race in the cities, and tribe in the countryside. The native authority system continues today to create suspicion and animosity between the two politically defined groups—one indigenous, the other not – and to set the scene for violence. (Mamdani 2011:1). However, to corroborate Mamdani’s position above, at the demise of colonialism in Africa, indigeneship became an instrument to determine who controls state resources at the exclusion of the non-indigene. This act was responsible for most of the violence witnessed across the continent. For example, in Nigeria there is continuous violence in Jos, Plateau State over who is indigene and who is settler, which has claimed many lives. In 2001, an estimated 1000 to 3000 people were killed over the appointment of a local administrator of welfare allowance; churches and mosques were burnt. Sporadic attacks continued throughout 2002-2003, killing hundreds of people and destroying 72 villages. By 2004, there was violence that led to the killing of more than 1000 people, and over 250 thousand people were displaced. In January 2010, over 500 were killed in four days and many villages and homes were destroyed. Two months later, over 500 people also lost their lives in violence. (Kwaja 2011:5). More so, the ethnic clashes between the Tiv and Jukun groups in Wukari, Taraba State, Nigeria - between 2001 and 2002 - left hundreds of people dead, which also attest to the intricacies between indigene and non-indigene in African societies. The Jukun people regard themselves as original inhabitants or ‘indigenes’ of Taraba State and refer to the Tivs as ‘non-indigenes’ or ‘settlers’. The Tivs contest this categorization on the basis that they are first and foremost Nigerian citizens (constitutional), and having lived

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among the Jukuns in the region for several generations, they must no longer be referred to as settlers but indigenes. On that basis they claim they are entitled to equal rights with the Jukuns, and this claim is constantly responsible for frequent clashes between both ethnic groups. They often complain that they are denied employment, farmlands and better housing. They assert further that they are not represented in the Wukari Traditional Council, and that they are denied political appointments in the Taraba State Government. The Jukuns also claim that their people, who are in a minority in the neighbouring state of Benue where Tivs are in a majority - are marginalized. Since the advent of colonialism, these two ethnic groups have found it difficult to tolerate each other and live in peace. This situation gave rise to sporadic fighting between them, in 1964, 1976, and 1991-1992; the 2001-2002 clashes were the bloodiest. (Iroanya 2005:7) Furthermore, in eastern DRC, in 1992, about 200,000 Baluba were expelled from Shaba to Kasaii because they were settlers or ‘nonindigenous’ to Shaba. Several of them died along the way (Mamdani 2000 quoted in Iroanya 2005). In October 1992, Kenya also witnessed the killing of Luo and Kikuyu people in a rift Valley of Kenya by the Kalenjis, because they were non-indigenous residents of the State. Also, the Igbos in Nigeria, living in other parts of the country, are regarded as settlers irrespective of their years of residence, even within the eastern region; aside his/her home State he/she still remains a settler. For instance, the Eastern region of the country comprises of five federating units (States), which are Abia, Anambra, Imo, Ebonyi and the Enugu States. A Nigerian from any of these States of the Federation is regarded as an Igbo. However, if they hail from Imo and lives in Anambra, they are not considered an indigene of Anambra; this includes any children conceived by them who may be born there. They are regarded as ‘settlers’ in Anambra State. This implies that, with settler status, a person cannot aspire to rule the State nor exercise citizenship rights regarding pensionable employment, free medical care, and enrolment into the Armed Forces and Police services. They cannot benefit from other services the state provides for its indigenes such as free education, scholarship grants, etc. in spite of years of residence, payment of taxes and discharging other civic responsibilities as provided by the constitution of Nigeria. This discrimination against non-indigenes was further displayed in 2011 when the governor of Abia State, Theodore Oji, ordered the non-indigenes in the state civil service to go back to their home State. This was immediately followed by the retrenchment of non-indigenes in the state public service

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that had spent over 20-30 years in service without benefits. This further portends more dangers for non-indigenes in the Nigerian federal system. To this end, indigeneship, as noted by Elias (quoted in Iroanya 2005:8), is a discriminatory policy employed by State, regional or provincial governments to protect their so-called indigenous populations’ rights to political power, employment, and resources of the regions. However, the reasons for situations that usually lead to conflict between indigenes and settlers are in two parts: Firstly, while the indigenes/natives seek exclusive control of existing social and political rights at the expense of the latter, settlers seek to resist their exclusion. For instance, in Nigeria - which comprises of many ethnic groups in which most Nigerians live outside the social-political space within which they can affirm their indigeneity - non-indigenes suffer exclusion and are exposed to all kinds of humiliation. While some have endured deprivations in passivity, others have contested their exclusion, leading to a spate of communal conflicts. The second fold is colonization, in which the white colonizers imposed some ethnic groups over the others; as in the case of the Tutsi who were turned into settlers by the Colonial State (Chambi 2009:2). It should be noted that indigenes and settlers are different from conquerors. While native/indigene and settlers can become a conqueror, a conqueror cannot become a native/indigene.

Resolving Native and Settler Dichotomy for Good Governance in Africa The problem of native and settler dichotomy can easily be resolved when every ethnic group has the notion that every native was once a settler. By this, we refer to the earlier position that there is no human race that has not migrated from one place to another; although, it is not unusual that in some communities certain individuals and groups distort history, concerning land ownership, for selfish reasons and cause confusion, as witnessed in the Jos crisis in Nigeria. Therefore, every community leader across the continent should tell the truth about land ownership to the younger generation, and the youth should not change the facts handed over to them by re-writing history. Respect for each group culture within every State, to some extent, will suppress conflicts. Each groups culture, either native or settler, must be respected - provided such culture is in conformity with the laws of the State. However, conflicts in Africa can be best resolved if the citizenship status of every country within the continent is accepted by every member of that country. Citizenship refers to rights ascribed and attributable to the

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individual as a member of a particular State. It applies to, and endows a person with, full political and civil rights within the context of the modern State. It is a common phenomenon among Africans to refer to themselves as citizens of their respective States outside their countries, but within their countries, the natives and settlers’ sentiments always set in. In most cases such sentiments are displayed for the subjugation of one particular ethnic group over the other; such a trend cannot promote development, rather, it will continue to stultify the desired development within the continent. Therefore, every State within the continent must instill and educate the people about the need to embrace and accept the citizenship status of their State, irrespective of their ethnic affiliation. This will further entrench unity between the natives and settlers, as witnessed in other developed countries. Also, it has been observed that in most cases, group rights are more protected than individual rights. Therefore, there is need to strengthen individual rights and accord them more importance than the group rights. Adesoji and Alao: (2009:160) noted: “The reason being, that efforts at protecting and promoting group rights has been directly responsible for the escalation of indigene versus non-indigene problems, including the most numerous crises witnessed across the continent. Towards this end, it is suggested that citizenship rights should be tied to either place of birth (different from one’s ethnic groups), or residence, so that anyone who has lived in any part of his/her country for a certain numbers of years (depending on the constitution of each country) should enjoy full residency rights, which must include all rights normally available to the traditional indigenes of the State. There is need for African States to incorporate ‘’Residency Rights’’ in their constitution - as practiced in most developed countries - with specific criteria, such as the number of years residency, which can be five or twenty years; payment of taxes; and performance of civic duties as required by law of the land. Residents should be entitled to all rights and privileges of the State and, as such, indigenes must be defined as those who meet the residency requirements of that country within the continent. Furthermore, colonialism in Africa has pitched some ethnic groups one against the other, in which some minority groups were imposed on the majority; this situation continues to be responsible for most conflicts witnessed across the continent. It is high time that African leaders should have a rethink on the need to foster unity within each country, in order to promote the development of the continent.

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Conclusion Good governance and conflicts resolution in Africa can be achieved when both natives and settlers in each State of the continent see themselves as citizens of their respective States rather than a native or settler of a particular community or ethnic group. Therefore, the government of every African country should be conscient of, and re-emphasize the need for, the embracement of the citizenship status of every individual in the State who has satisfied every criterion as stipulated by the constitution of the State, rather than to the parochial affiliation to an ethnic group or tribe. The African in Diaspora needs to take up the challenge - in collaboration with African leaders, civil society groups and human rights groups - to meet the need for every African to see themselves as citizens of their respective countries, rather than as natives or settlers of a particular State or settlement. This can be achieved through the mass-orientation of the people in different States within the continent; through seminars, workshops, conferences, and mass campaigns through the media on the need for the African to see themselves as citizens of their State. More so, there is the need for every African leader to re-orientate their citizens on the historical antecedence of human history, which emphasized migration as part of the evolving human race. Not only that, we need to understand the fact that by virtue of a human race without settlers, there can never been an indigene or native. Therefore, every indigene or native was once a settler. It is for this reason that Africans should explore historical facts and creatively apply them in seeking peace, unity, stability and desirable good governance within the continent.

Works Cited Adesoji, Abimbola and Alao, Akin. Indigeneship and Citizenship in Nigeria: Myth and Reality. The Journal of Pan African Studies, Vol.2, no 9, March (2009). Akintoye, Adebayo. A History of the Yoruba People. Senegal: Amalion Publishing. (2010). Chambi, Chachage. When do ‘settlers’ or ‘natives’ become ‘citizens’? www.google.com (2009). Danfulani, Utman. The Jos Peace Conference and Indigene/Settler Question in Nigeria Politics. www.devifinder (2009). Dolleh, Varfley. Settlers’ and Natives’ question: The need for sincerity and New Attitide. www.devilfinder (2010).

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Hallett, Richard. Africa To 1875. London: Heinemann Educational Books. (1978). Iroanya, Richard. Citizenship-Indigeneship Contradictions and Resource Control in Africa: A case for The African Tradition of Ubuntu. Being a Conference paper presented at the 7th Annual Africa Day Conference at the University of South Africa, Pretoria South Africa, 2 June (2005). Kwaja, Chris. Nigeria’s Pernicious Drivers of Ethno-Religious Conflict. Africa Security Brief: A Publication of the Africa Center for Strategic Studies. No14, July (2011). Mamdani, Mahmood. (1996) Citizen and Subject: Contemporary Africa and the legacy of late colonialism. United Kingdom: Princeton University Press. —. Political Identity, Citizenship and Ethnicity in Post-Colonial Africa. [email protected] (2005). —. Congo and Sudan: Lesson for Nigeria. A Journal of Constitutional Development. Vol. 10, No. 1, March (2010). —. The Invention of the Indigene. www.pambazuka.org (2011). Olga, Tellegen-Couperous. Short History of Roman Law. New York: Routeledge Publication. (1993) Onwubiko, Kenneth. History of West Africa. Anambra: Africana Educational Publishers. (1967). Umar, Habeeb. The Jos Conference and the indigene/settler question in Nigeria Politics. www.devilfinder.com (2006)

CHAPTER THREE PRESERVING THE TRADITIONAL MEASURES OF PREVENTING CONFLICT IN AFRICA OLATEJU ANIMASHAUN ROFIAH

Introduction How do we preserve the traditional measures of preventing conflict in post-colonial Africa? This question becomes imperative in the light of the devastating impact of globalization, and its attendant imposition of Western values on non-western societies. The uniquely African conflicts require the application of traditional African conflict resolution methods. Specific attention is paid, first, to steps taken at the level of the African continent towards promoting the measures of preventing conflict in the region; second, on the need to preserve the indigenous peace model, which can still impact on the dynamism of cultural development in post-colonial Africa. This chapter addresses the issues relating to the ways of solving conflicts by the traditional chiefs in African society, as this is not totally alien to the cultures and values of Africans. It is deeply rooted in their thought pattern and experience. The chapter also focuses on the dynamism of conflict resolution in traditional Africa; the pattern of conflict resolution in colonial Yoruba society; conflict resolution institutions; and devices against the prevalence of conflict, as well as the challenges attendant on conflict prevention in indigenous traditional Africa. Conflict is one of the defining features of the modern world. Since the end of the Cold War, there have been countless conflicts that have involved the deaths of millions of people, and the suffering and displacement of millions more. It is impossible to accurately quantify human suffering due to conflict. To take one indicator – it has been suggested that, in the last ten years, over two million children have died in conflicts; more than one million have been orphaned; and more than six million have been disabled, or seriously injured. One striking factor is the growth in the number of

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conflicts, which have fundamentally corroded the ability of the State to care for its citizens. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has analysed 59 ‘major’ armed conflicts occurring since the end of the Cold War. In this case ‘major’ means that they involved in excess of 1,000 battle-related deaths in one year. Of these, the majority were intraState. As a result of these prolonged conflicts many States have effectively collapsed, or are very fragile. There is no rule of law; public services and facilities have been wrecked or plundered, and populations displaced. Such conflicts exacerbate poverty, bring massive human suffering, destroy the environment, displace substantial numbers of people and create enormous problems for the international community (Coser, 1956:62). Conflict had already been prevalent in traditional African society, and had often had its origin in many aspects of their cultural life. It is obvious that conflict is a natural phenomenon in human society, except that the approach to its perceptiveness, nature and management, varied from society to society. Even the pattern and phases of conflict vary from community to community. In traditional African societies, the understanding of conflict - and its corruption - was anchored on the disaffection between the human being and the supernatural (Zartman, 2000:14). Thus, unless an ontological balance is maintained between the two parties, peace conflagration remained uncontainable. From this point, it is important to stress that conflict, from whatever perspective, is inevitable. The first party in the conflict (human being/Africans imperfect people) and the supernatural (supreme being, deities and ancestors – perfect spirit) as the other party in conflict, have quite a significant role to play in dislodging whatever might be responsible for the conflict. Thus, established here, is not just the inevitability and phenomenology of conflict, but also the highly placed (the supernatural) and the so lowly (human beings) often had occasion for disagreement and disaffection (Zartman, 2000:21). Traditional conflict management mechanisms in Africa tend to focus on whole communities as parties to a dispute, as opposed to individuals. The aim of conflict management mechanisms is to restore social relationships and harmony; and to provide restitution through apology and compensation. The benefits of adopting local mechanisms are that they facilitate ownership and have greater resonance in societies than Western conflict management approaches. They may also be more effective in strengthening group unity (Nwolise, 2001:18). Disadvantages, however, are that they may exclude key groups such as women, children and the youth. In addition, they are limited in their ability to address more farreaching conflict between local communities and outside actors that follow

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different traditions and customs, such as State authorities or multinational enterprises. The existence of numerous different parties engaged in the conflict in Nigeria, for example, has resulted in complex conflict management approaches. The most effective method adopted is considered to be the development of a non-adversarial, participatory approach that allows the various stakeholders to share information and opinions and to engage in joint problem-solving (Zartman, 2000:22).

Nature of conflict prevention in Africa Conflict was adjudged energy sapping and time consuming (even though it was result oriented), while war was considered endemic in traditional African societies. Nevertheless, the Africans always preferred peace to conflict or war. It was when the latter became so naturally necessary and invented (by any means) that Africans resorted to it with a degree of protecting the status quo of the society. Even at that stance, conflict resolution was always upper most in the psyche of parties to the conflict. Thus, there were channels of conflict prevention in pre-colonial African societies (Olaoba, 2008:20). The matrices of conflict prevention in pre-colonial African societies, however, became elastic and durable whenever the principles of conflict resolution were resorted to in a resounding manner (Whylie, 1969: 11). Thus, the lexicon for conflict prevention at the indigenous level of operation included: • Dialogue; • Diplomacy; • Consultation; • Meeting; • Apology; • Friendly disposition; • Adherence to customs and norms occasioning peace and harmony; and • Justice drive. The prevention of conflict and conflict resolution, for the culture based and relevant Africans were two sides of the coin; one side pleading for the non-existence of conflict (perhaps ingrained in an early warning system) and the other side wiping out all destructive elements, which the eventual collapse of the conflict situation would have orchestrated. This again suggests that no African had the natural disposition to fight or quarrel with

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their neighbour, or kith and kin, and when conflict was inevitable there was an adequate mechanism to restore peace and normalcy of relationship. Preventive measures are tailored towards exhibiting necessary modalities for development to take place in the society. There are factors which necessarily facilitated peace and entrenched harmony in traditional African societies. The Africans designed preventive measures a long time ago, to address future conflicting situations and these therefore promoted mutual understanding and living. Preventive measures deterred the breakdown of law and order, as well as war. It ensured the next stage of development in traditional African societies, as the Africans had been known for their innovative team spirit and peace initiatives. (Olaoba, 2008:21). Conflict prevention was quite desirable in traditional African societies to the degree that it gave a sense of direction towards the development process in cultural milieu. Conflict prevention therefore signaled the magnitude of articulating the development agenda in traditional African societies. This suggests that conflict was never a permanent feature of African cultural heritage. Conflict prevention has certain significant features; it was quite popular, and understandable, by the large majority of people in traditional African societies. Since the prevention derived from the customs and norms, it was part and parcel of the people’s psyche for its proper operation (Gluckman, 1955: 32). The people usually preferred peace to conflict with a view to exhibiting their cultural wealth, and development orientation. The adoption of conflict prevention was on two levels in traditional African societies. The first level was the supernatural, while the second was the physical level. In order for the continuity of the peace process to be enhanced on earth, the supernatural deities usually monitored the scene of conflict resolution to ascertain compliance, with the principles associated with it to avoid misunderstanding. In the physical earthly realm, however, the peace practitioners not only conform to the divine directives (so as to avoid confusion and the wrath of the supernatural), but also to follow the customary principles of conflict resolution. The maintenance of ontological balance between the deities and the human beings often forestalled the conflicting situation. This was part of the essential characteristics of conflict prevention in traditional African societies (Zartman, 2000:17).

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Perspectives of conflict prevention and social stability in African society Conflict preventions were upheld in pre-colonial African society as unique precautionary measures, the results of which produced stability in the society and mutual understanding that engineered solidarity. This was why traditional etiquette was sinequa non of peace education in traditional African societies. Indeed, the concern of African parents was to give thorough home training to their children, from adolescence to maturity, which was often regarded as good character building - and a method of confidence orientation - in order to promote mutual understanding and a sense of good communal living, devoid of rancour and acrimony (Afisi. 2008:9). Religious inclination and indoctrination produced fairness in handling other people’s religious adherence and practices. A case study to buttress this point is the character of African traditional religion, which has the indices of peace and non-violence. For example, no adherent of ATR tries to proselytize others and convert them to their own particular form of the religion. Rather there was tolerance and accommodation of other people’s dynamic means of approaching religious faith. This was why no one could cast aspersion on the other’s religion on the ground of noticeable differences and peculiarities in the mode of worship. With this in place, conflicts were preventable. Indeed, African Traditional religion exhibited truth and transparency, which informed the African principle of conflict resolution (Sofola, 1973:14). The thesis of reasonability, which involved respect for the dignity of mankind and its personality; philosophical paradigms; early warning directives to ward off unethical mannerism; and the concern for taste or interest of others; anchored the desirability of the Africans for peacebuilding and mutual understanding, which are pre-requisites for averting conflict. For a conflict not to ensue, it is necessary to understand that the parties to the conflict must be reasonable, and demonstrate a sufficient capacity for maintaining peace (Olaoba, 2008:14). Adoption of dialogue and showcasing diplomatic relations had, from time immemorial, prevented both intra and inter-communal conflicts in traditional African societies. This art was always demonstrated at the end of wars, where the States involved saw reason for dialoguing and ending the intriguing feud. (Alexander & Olson, 2003:22). These traditions are not only of historical significance; they can be of great practical value to anyone who is dealing with conflict, and in helping others to deal with conflict.

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Indigenous mechanisms for managing and resolving African conflicts Most African countries today have no mechanism for managing and resolving conflicts between groups, especially politically instigated conflicts, except through the use of military force. It is prudent today for countries to assume that they are likely to have several types of conflict, which their judicial systems cannot deal with, and that resorting to the military may not be the wisest course of action. Hence, it may be useful for countries to think of having a permanent mechanism for dealing with such conflicts (Zartman, 2000:12). It is our view that countries have several options including the following: An independent arbitration council: The first option is for a country to set up an independent arbitration council, which could be made up of up to ten elderly and wise individuals from across the country and walks of life. A Secretariat and a pool of experts should support such a council. The State and the private sector, especially wealthy nationals of the country, should contribute and provide it with adequate finance. Guarantees to enforce agreements should be an essential method of resolving conflicts. However, the moral authority of the council, rather than the military force of the State, should back its decision. Military force should only be used as a very last resort. Outside mediator: A second method of resolving such conflicts is to involve a mediator from outside the country – a wise man or woman who would be acceptable to both parties of the conflict. Again, moral authority and agreement between the parties should back the decision of the mediator, rather than military force of the State. Both these methods of resolving conflicts should involve civil society groups as much as possible – their role being that of witness to the proceedings and decisions, and also to informally persuade the protagonists of the necessity to resolve their conflict through negotiations, rather than through force. Their collective moral pressure could play an important role in the process of resolving a conflict. They could also play an important role in the implementation of the agreement reached. Reform of judicial system: Thirdly, it is suggested that the judicial system of most countries should be reformed, and their capacities augmented in order to enable them to deal with these types of conflicts (between groups fighting over land, or politically instigated conflicts between groups, or between one or more groups and the state itself!). In these situations, the part of the judicial system dealing with such conflicts should be seen to be independent, and if the State is seen to be willing to

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listen to grievances through a third party - and to accept a decision, which may go against it - it will go a long way towards creating a climate conducive to resolving conflicts through negotiations. The use of a trigger happy military has never resolved conflicts; it generally suppresses it for a while until it re-surfaces again, with deeper grievances (Smith, 1989:7). Even if a country has not initiated long-term strategies and policies to tackle fundamental causes of internal conflicts, such as Burundi and Sierra Leon, among others, such countries should seriously contemplate setting up mechanisms for resolving conflicts along the lines suggested above. Other mechanisms could be just as useful. The important issue here is to create a framework and an ideology of reconciliation and confidence amongst the people as a whole, but more so amongst the conflicting parties that the government is serious about resolving conflicts with, and addressing grievances of those in conflict (Perry, 1974:18).

Integrating traditional and contemporary methods An integration of traditional and present-day methods cannot be attempted in a superficial way. The crucially important issue of compatibility has to be discussed until real understanding is reached and appropriately implemented. The inherently African semantic field of ubuntu provides a good example in this regard. It signifies a socially caring and sharing way of thinking and living, which is captured well in the rhyming Xhosa expression, “Umntu ngumntu ngabantu”. Literally this means that a human being is a human being, through human beings. Or, paraphrased, a human being becomes a true human being, through her/his relationships with other human beings. Similar or comparable expressions are found all over Africa, and therefore the issue of old and new ways of dealing with conflict cannot properly be addressed if ubuntuminded people are not involved in the planning from the beginning (Sofola, 1973: 20). One striking example of a well-intentioned, but unsuccessful, attempt to combine incompatible elements was the UN’s way of using the Somali tradition of Shir (gatherings). This tradition is a bottom-up, inclusive process, supported and sponsored by the community. The parties enjoy equal representation. Elders that are chosen are experienced mediators, and the community trusts them. Traditional methods of problem solving are used, and the talks proceed according to an open timetable. Agreements are reached through consensus, and are regarded as social treaties (xeer). The elders are entrusted with the authority and power to ensure the implementation of agreements. The UN version of Shir,

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however, was a top-down process, held outside the country. There was unequal representation, and a lack of confidence in the representatives. Politicians were involved, and not elders. There was a lack of understanding of the problems, and a short timetable was used. No common xeer was reached (Murithi 1999: 53/54).

Taking time to talk things out Talking things out is surely one of the most essential parts of dealing with a conflict. There may be important differences, however, between the ‘talking’ in current ways of negotiating or mediating and ancient ways of really talking things out. In times past, talks that continued over days or weeks were not uncommon. Participants were usually granted the opportunity to say what they wanted to, without being cut short. Furthermore, people from an extended family, a neighborhood, or a community, were allowed to take part. When talks took place under trees, there were no doors or walls to could keep people out. While much time was spent in talking, it seems as if usually little time was wasted before the talks began. In cases when the talking started soon after warning signals were noticed, and at the place where such signals happened, conflicts could even be prevented from arising. If the social environment were upholding the traditional value that the society is greater than the individual, the people involved would have been strongly oriented toward social harmony (Coser, 1956:20). The obvious truth that prevention is better than cure must have been discovered by our early ancestors, and integrated into their methods.

Dealing with root causes of conflicts Another essential part of dealing with any conflict is in penetrating to its root cause, or causes. African’s using such traditional methods seem to have taken this crucially important, but potentially difficult, starting point seriously. As the metaphor root indicates, the act of searching for the invisible, underlying causes may require digging to significant depths. In some cases the inclusion of the neighborhood, or community, in traditional talks might have facilitated this process, but in other cases rumors, gossiping, blaming, or partisanship might have complicated everything. Typical causes of violent conflict were (and in many instances still are) land issues (for instance, trespassing), animal issues (mostly robbery), and personal issues (such as rivalries). Due to the temporary or permanent scarcity of food or other resources, poverty

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always was, and still is, a major reason for competition and conflict (Afisi, 2008:17). In modern times, poverty and bad governance are time and again highlighted as root causes. For today, the deeper roots of bad governance are also mentioned: ethnocentrism, clanism, greed for power, prestige, and/or wealth.

Being oriented toward consensus The process in which conflicts are talked out is usually a comprehensive one that explores the context in which the conflict originated, and works toward a consensus about a fair and satisfactory agreement. Traditionally, the talking probably proceeded without fixed procedures; the elders or chiefs could use their discretion in playing certain roles, or switching to others. It could be a passive or low-key role; a facilitating or an advisory role; or even a pressurizing or manipulating one. The guilty party could be expected or forced to repent, apologize, ask for forgiveness, and pay compensation. However, through the entire process, the main responsibility of the leading figures was to guide the talks toward an agreement that would reflect, as inclusively as possible, the consensus of the entire group of relatives, neighbors, friends, and acquaintances.

Taking traditional methods seriously One should duly acknowledge the cultural context of a potential or actual conflict situation. The cultural loyalties, affinities, and sensitivities of the parties concerned are always of crucial importance. If only one culture is involved, the interaction may be less complicated, but not necessarily. If the situation is cross-cultural or multicultural, several aspects should be taken into consideration from the very beginning. For instance, the various ways of thinking and behaving; the need for mutual understanding; and the need for a culturally inclusive team of facilitators; should all be given due consideration. One should commit oneself to as much preventive problem solving as possible. When it is clear that a particular clue is not an unfounded suspicion but a real warning signal, something should be done as soon as possible, and as close to the problem as possible (Gluckman, 1955:9). If this can be done in the mode of pragmatic problem solving, so that conflict need not even be mentioned in the name of the method, so much the better. We should responsibly and creatively use the best available practices. Although the various groups we belong to have respected traditions from a

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significant past, we happen to be living in the world of today where very relevant current practices are at our disposal. These inevitably form our main frame of reference, and from these we can choose the most appropriate approach for each unique situation. We have to remember, however, that no method should ever be applied as if it were a prescriptive recipe (Zartman, 2000: 13). Open-minded receptivity to the needs and interests of the parties concerned, and innovative flexibility and creativity, are always of crucial importance. Wherever appropriate, we should integrate meaningful traditions into our work. Applying traditional methods, or incorporating traditional elements that are of lasting value, can have very important advantages. It may provide a sense of ownership, and strengthen our commitment to work toward consensus and coexistence. Moreover, these methods are usually simple and easily understandable and they tend to allow flexibility and creativity. They are not expensive, and the community often willingly shares the costs involved. Finally, they may add an ancient, ancestral endorsement to the work we are doing nowadays (Nwolise, 2001:10). We should internalize the mind-set of fellow-human togetherness and interdependence. If this way of thinking and living has become part of us, conflict-preventing and peace-building attitudes, approaches, and actions, may follow spontaneously. For instance, groups and individuals can then feel free to be who they happen to be; to belong where they happen to belong; but also to allow others to do the same from their side (Ladoucaur, 1972: 13). A particular field in which such interdependence has to be propagated is the relations between governmental authorities and traditional chiefs and elders. We should remain committed to a particular and general conflict transformation. If we understand conflict as an everyday social phenomenon, which is always based on some reason or perceived reason, we will not try to escape to a utopian retreat. We will remain willing to listen without being shocked, and to talk out whatever has to be talked out. We will not avoid issues such as poverty and bad governance, and their root causes. We will promote, according to the circumstances, structural changes and attitudinal changes. In whatever the context, from local to international, we will work toward consensual agreement that will not only resolve the conflict concerned, but will also contribute to the most cordial or otherwise appropriate relationships for the future (Sofola, 1973: 21). Traditional ways of dealing with conflict can indeed encourage and inspire us. In spite of the shortcomings they might have had, they have functioned in conflict-preventive, peace-building, and reconciliatory ways throughout the ages (Zartman, 2000: 28).

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Conclusion The need to preserve preventive measures of conflict has become so pertinent, in order to ensure adequate knowledge and the demonstration of measures that will bring individuals and communities towards the facilitation of peace and harmony in contemporary African society. Development thrives in an atmosphere of peace and orderliness. For a society to measure her growth, she must look towards actualizing preventive measures of conflict in order to prevent incessant conflict (Smith, 1989: 10). Finally, in contemporary African societies, individuals must be ready; the society must be prepared; various institutions should intensify efforts; and the Government must give sufficient support towards the preservation of the preventive measure of conflict. There were mechanisms, institutions and methodologies at various levels of the traditional African societies, which were means of preventing, managing and resolving conflicts. No doubt, they were a veritable mechanism in preventing, managing and resolving violent conflicts, and were different from what is obtainable in the contemporary world. It is clear that military solutions to violent conflicts have not provided the needed peaceful solution in the world. The United Nations Organizations’ has also not been successful in averting, resolving or managing conflicts in the global arena. It is therefore our submission that the African indigenous models for conflict resolutions, some of which are discussed above, should be integrated into contemporary means of conflict resolutions and prevention.

Works Cited Afisi O.T, “Rethinking the African Identity Crisis” in Nnamdi Azikiwe J. Philosophy 1: 2. (2008): 9, 10, 16, 17. Bamikole L. Agba (Elder) As Arbitrator: A Yoruba Socio-Political Model for Conflict Resolution, Paper presented at the Afolabi Olabimtan Memorial Biennila InternationalConference held at the College of Humanities, Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijagun, Ijebu-Ode, 22nd-25th September. (2008): 1. Basden G. T. Niger Ibos, London: Heinemann Publishers. (1996): 4. Coser, L. The functions of social conflict Glencoe IC, The free Press. (1956): 19, 20, 62. Gluckman, M. Custom and conflict in Africa Oxford: Basil Blackwell. (1956).

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—. “The reasonable man in Barotse Law”, Journal of African Administration, 8 (2). (1955): 4, 7, 8. Ladoucaur, P. “The Yendi Chieftaincy dispute and Ghanaian Politics”, Canadian Journal of African Studies 6 (1). (1972):13. Nwolize OBC. The Fate of Women, Children and the Aged in Contemporary Africa’s Conflict Theatres, Paper delivered at the Public Annual lecture of the NationalAssociation of Political Science Students, University of Ibadan. (2001):10, 12. Olaoba, O.B. Quest for the preservation of preventive measures of conflict in post colonial Yoruba society. Institute of African studies, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. (2008): 5, 14, 17, 18, 20, 21. Perry M. Man’s Unfinished Journey: A World History, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. Rwenzori Forum for Peace and Justice: (2007). Traditional African Mechanisms of Conflict Resolution: Causes and responses to conflict in the Rwenzori region of Uganda. (1974):18. Smith, R.S. Warfare and Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West African second edition London: James Currey. (1989): 7, 10. Sofola, J.A. African culture and the African Personality, Ibadan: African Resources Publishers Co. (1973):14, 20, 21. Wade, A. “Should Africa develop its own positive Law?” Presence Africanize, Nos. 8 10, June November. (1965). Whylie, K.C. “Innovation and change in Mende chieftaincy 1880-1896”, Journal of African History, 10 (2). (1969): 11. Zartman, I.W. (ed). Traditional Cures for Modern Conflicts – African Conflict‘Medicine”, United kingdom: Lynne Renner Publisher, Inc. (2000)

CHAPTER FOUR TRADITIONAL RULE (CHIEFTAINCY) AND PEACE-BUILDING IN GHANA: CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS JOSEPH KINGSLEY ADJEI

Introduction A major imperative for the establishment and continued existence of traditional rule (chieftaincy) in the Gold Coast (now Ghana), was the high expectation that the institution would protect the people and ensure a peaceful environment for sustainable development. To this end, traditional rule, as the only source of power and authority before the advent of colonialism had, as its primary responsibility, to build peace among the ruled. The territory now known as Ghana, was made up of independent States headed by powerful chiefs or kings and their sub-chiefs (commanders of the traditional army formation), including queen mothers. Together, they constituted what is today known as chieftaincy. Unfortunately, the advent of colonial rule - and the subsequent introduction of self-styled modern governance systems, and related institutions - damaged, and in some cases, usurped the power and authority of the chieftaincy institution. The situation did not improve after independence, as the new Ghanaian governments continued to pass laws that limited the space for traditional rule to operate. Though the chieftaincy institution has survived the many attempts by governments to abrogate the institution (it is given recognition by Ghana’s current constitution), its role in peace-building is not well defined, or recognized. This may be unfortunate, especially when viewed against the fact that traditional rule operates among the grassroots Ghanians, who are the main drivers of conflict. There is general consensus among many writers that, as the main custodians of culture have so much influence at a local level, traditional authorities in Africa should play a greater role in

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local development (Ray 2003; Sharma 2003; Kendie and Guri 2004; Alhassan 2006; Abotchie 2006). Development, no doubt can only occur in a peaceful environment. As Nicolas Stern, then vice-president of the World Bank, put it, “civil war, is development in reverse” (Collier et al. 2003:27). Thus, if Ghana is reputed today to be a relatively peaceful and Lower Middle Income country in its development process, then the role of chieftaincy cannot be glossed over. Indeed, traditional rulers are reputed to hold the secrets of peace-building, cultivated from centuries of custom and usage before the disruption caused by colonialism (Zartman 2000). This paper therefore examines how traditional rulers (chiefs) in Ghana perform their peace-building functions, and explores the practical challenges they encounter. It also explores prospects for improving the system, and possible collaboration between the chieftaincy institution and modern governance system in peace-building. The paper is structured in five parts. Following this introduction, the paper delineates the concept of traditional rule. It also discusses peace-building and follows it up with how traditional rulers operate within the purview of peace-building. The paper then identifies and discusses the challenges and prospects of peacebuilding by traditional rulers, and concludes with some suggestions for collaboration between legal-rational, and traditional rule, in the pursuit of peace in Ghana. To put this paper in a proper context it is imperative to indicate that the ethnic and linguistic differences among the communities of Ghana, and their cultural diversity, are reflected in their social and political organization. These differences are also discernible in the role of chiefs, or traditional rulers, and the institution of chieftaincy in the diverse parts of Ghana. To that extent, and for that reason, it is somewhat presumptuous to lump all traditional rulers in Ghana into a single chieftaincy institution (Kludze 2000). However, there are such common features of the institution that, by focusing on the largest ethnic group, a fairly general but reliable account of chieftaincy and peace-building in Ghana can be given. Therefore, this paper uses the Akan ethnic group that constitutes 44% of the population of Ghana as a model.

The Concept of Traditional Rule “Traditional rule” or “traditional leadership” is defined as including “those political, socio-political and politico-religious structures that are rooted in the pre-colonial period, rather than in the creations of the colonial and post-colonial states. By these key considerations, traditional leaders can include kings, other aristocrats holding offices, heads of

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extended families, and office holders in decentralized polities, as long as their offices are rooted in pre-colonial states and other political entities” (Ray 2003:5). The term encompasses also the norms, values, beliefs and worldview, which guide social interaction in traditional institutions. It is a type of domination based on the sanctity of tradition and custom, age-old rules, and inheritance. Those who rule belong to a special group of people called ‘royals’. The claim of traditional rulers to legitimacy derives from three major sources. Historically, a person automatically became a chief if he successfully led a group of people to be the first settlers of a territory. The territory - then occupied - was appropriated as his State. This was during the periods of external and internal migrations, when groups searched for suitable and peaceful places to settle. In addition, during the pre-colonial tribal wars, a person became a chief through conquest and then the conquered group came under the authority of the leader of the victorious group. A person could also become a chief through military distinction and gallantry in times of war, or because of leadership skills displayed during times of natural disaster, such as famine, drought, and floods. Such individuals were deemed extra-ordinary ambassadors of peace. Their names were immortalized in oral traditions and, in most cases, they were rewarded with the highest honor as chiefs. In Ghana, the umbrella indigenous institution of traditional rule is the chieftaincy institution, and its related lower institutions. Chieftaincy operates under two systems, centralized and acephalous. In the centralized system, each of the chiefdoms is headed by a supreme ruler who owes his position through hereditary succession - either as with the Akan ethnic group, through maternal lineage or among the other ethnic groups, such as the Ewe and Ga-Adangbe of southeastern Ghana through the paternal lineages (Buah, 1980). Apart from the supreme ruler, there has developed over time sub-chiefs who complete the hierarchy. Among the Akan, there is the Krontihene who commands the army in the absence of the chief at war, with the Akwamuhene as the second-in-command. Other commanders include the Nifahene and Benkumhene, responsible for the right and left flanks respectively. The Twafohene leads the advance guard; the Adontenhene commands the main fighting body; and the Ankobeahene leads the chief’s personal bodyguard. Others are the Kyidomhene, commander of the rear-guard, and the Gyasehene who controls the attendance at the palace. Notably, these are all chiefs of particular settlements within the territory in which they render military or other services, to the supreme ruler or King. Customarily, a chief is forbidden to speak directly to the people; he does so through an Okyeame - an individual with powerful oratory skills (Nukunya, 1992).

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Apart from the centralized system of traditional rule, there is also the acephalous system. This system operates in societies without obvious power-holders beyond the level of family groupings, known as ‘clans’ or ‘lineages’. The Tallensi, Dagare and Konkomba - all in the northern part of Ghana - practiced this system before colonial rule (Arhin, 1985). It must be noted that whether the system is centralized or acephalous, it is the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana that gives legitimacy to a chief. The 1992 Constitution defines a chief, in Article 277, as “a person, who, hailing from appropriate family and lineage, has been validly nominated, elected or selected and enstooled, enskinned, or installed, as a chief or queen mother in accordance with the relevant customary law and usage” (Constitution of the Republic of Ghana 1992:168).

Delineating Peace-building The term ‘peace-building’ was first used by Johan Galtung in a 1975 essay in which he defined the term as one of three approaches to peace: peace-making, peace-keeping and, and peace-building (Galtung 1975). Galtung (1990) subsequently expanded the meaning of the term to incorporate the goals of both negative peace - or the absence of physical violence - and positive peace, which refers to the absence of structural violence. The term ‘peace-building’ was popularized after 1992, when Boutros Boutros-Ghali - then United Nations Secretary-General presented the report, An Agenda for Peace, in which he defined peacebuilding as a range of activities meant to identify and support structures of good governance (Boutros-Ghali 1992). In the liberal peace project tradition, peace-building refers to the full spectrum of intervention designed to facilitate the establishment of durable peace and prevent the recurrence of violence. Such intervention includes peacekeeping, peace support operations, disarmament, demobilization, rehabilitation and reintegration (Francis 2008). Peace-building seeks to address the root causes and effects of conflicts by restoring broken relationships, promoting reconciliation, institution-building and political reform, as well as facilitating economic transformation (Ramsbotham et al, 2011). Francis extends peace-building activities to include “conflict prevention, conflict management, negotiation, mediation, peace-making, advocacy, humanitarian assistance, emergency management, development work and post-conflict reconstruction” (2008:116). From this view, the purpose of peace-building, according to Francis is “to facilitate the establishment of sustainable peace by preventing the re-emergence of

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armed violence by addressing the fundamental causes and impact of conflict” (Francis 2008:116). Thus, peace-building can be achieved through establishing processes of reconciliation, institution-building, and political, social, and economic transformation, through initiatives that are anchored on State-building. To achieve this, scholars agree on the application of transformation and structural approaches. Dugan (1997) and Lederach (2003) concur that the transformative approach is anchored on reconciliation, which is aimed at bringing individuals, and groups at odds with each other, together to facilitate a peaceful coexistence. On the other hand, structural approaches to peace-building focus on removing structural violence, such as deliberate policies and structures that cause human suffering, harm, and death (Francis 2008). It must be noted that from the literature, peace-building is conceptualized within the purview of Western approaches without recourse to traditional/indigenous approaches. This leaves a gap since it presupposes that traditional rulers have no mechanisms to build peace in their societies. Yet before the advent of colonialism, and the subsequent introduction of modern governance structures, traditional rulers built and maintained peace. Hence, this paper conceptualizes peace-building, and its approaches, as the use of recognized traditional power and authority to create structures that enforce harmony; that create opportunities for all and seeks to improve the human condition; that accepts democratic tenets as the rule of life; that seeks to remove structural violence in society and settle disputes without resorting to physical violence.

Traditional Rulers’ Approach to Peace-Building The role of the chieftaincy institution in peace-building predates the advent of colonial rule in Ghana. Their role was manifested in the functions of the institution in general and the chief in particular. Chiefs performed legislative, administrative, judicial, and developmental functions. The efficient performance of these functions constituted the foundation for peace. In the first place, the fundamental obligation of a chief was to maintain internal peace, domestic tranquility, and security. In this regard, he and his Council of Elders had to maintain law and order, and as the States grew larger, each State created positions for a number of sub rulers; each State had a court of justice presided over by the king; the sub-rulers also ruled over local courts; and the metropolitan courts had jurisdiction over major matters, and were courts of appeal for the provincial courts. A court official carried a gold-plated sword-like staff, or

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horsetail, as a display of his authority or warrant, and delivered summons relating to both civil and criminal cases. It was a damnable offence for any accused to refuse or fail to attend to such summons. The individual could be banished from the kingdom or locality as the case may be. The king or chief and his counselors - as well as any citizen who cared to be present (Buah 1980) - attended the courts. Fines ranging from drinks to money were imposed on the guilty party, and such fines were commensurate with the degree of seriousness of the case, and the age and status of the guilty party. Settlements were usually capped by an acceptance speech from the guilty party who then shook hands with the innocent party. Chiefs were also responsible for defending and protecting their people against external aggression. In fact, the chief was the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. He physically led his people in war and became the primary target for the enemy; his capture meant a defeat and surrender of his military forces. This way, he protected and built peace in his jurisdiction. Furthermore, the chief’s legislative and administrative functions were all geared towards peace-building. The chief’s legislative power derived from his position as the legal embodiment of the community, and as either the founding father - or representative of the founding father - of the community or kingdom (Kludze 2000). Consequently, the person who was the chief could not be accused of mistakes, or defaults, because such accusations would reduce him to the level of an ordinary citizen, and would pierce the aura around him. The social and political cohesion of his subjects was a major preoccupation. Consequently, he presided over a council, which made laws with the sole aim of protecting the people both in their internal and external relations in order to retain peace. The chief’s administrative function primarily focused on the land; this was because a lapse in land administration could disturb the peace of the people. It must also be noted that the chief’s position was inextricably tied to land ownership. Among the Akans and the Gas for example, the paramount title - or allodia title - to lands was vested in the paramount stool. Disputes over land ownership were quickly settled to ensure peace, and in the process of land administration, chiefs also protected the land from natural disasters such as famine, drought, land degradation, and distorted climatic conditions in general, which affected the peace of their subjects. In this regard, certain regulations that found expression in taboos with severe sanctions were laid bare to all the people in the community, chiefdom or kingdom, as the case was. For example, apart from instituting sacred days that forbade people from working on the land, some sacred forests were carved out. Entry into these forests was forbidden and

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anybody who entered them either faced the pain of instant death in the forest, or severe physical and spiritual sanction. On a larger scale, a chief was responsible for the spiritual purification of his town - or territory - for spiritual peace, on specified days and periods. This is because many taboos such as rape, homosexuality, sexual intercourse in the bush, fighting in the bush, and adultery, may have occurred secretly but equally defiled the land; in such cases not even, the death of the transgressor removed the stain. Therefore, the earth had to be purified and the gods and ancestral spirits propitiated; this way, spiritual peace was ensured.

Challenges The challenges posed to traditional rulers in peace-building began with the advent of colonialism. The British who colonized the Gold Coast (now Ghana), took measures that directly, or indirectly, weakened the powers and functions of chiefs and the chieftaincy institution in general. In the first place, the colonialists established strategic political, legal and military structures, which weakened the powers of chiefs and their elders. Politically, the office of the District Commissioner was established; this was an effective instrument of colonial domination. As Nukunya puts it: “the District Commissioner became the most powerful individual in the district, and his white helmet reminded both the chiefs and their subjects of their servitude to colonial rule” (Nukunya 1992:114). True to this, activities undertaken by traditional rulers came under strict supervision of the colonial authorities, headed by the District Commissioner. Secondly, colonial courts of law were set up to deal with law and social control. The subjects were thus enabled to ignore the chief’s courts and settle their cases in colonial courts. Thirdly, a new police force and an army, modeled on the British equivalent institution, were formed. Additionally, prisons were established to complement these instruments. Perhaps the most significant instruments that took the chieftaincy institution to the hangman’s noose were Christianity, Islam and classroom education. These did not only establish their presence but attacked and destroyed long-standing cultural traits on which the chieftaincy institution rested. Thus, with these powerful institutions exerting their presence on traditional institutions, the power of chiefs, and their elders, to build peace diminished. After independence in 1957, the power to enforce or keep peace rested on those who had power over the Ghanaian nation. Obviously, legalrational rule - headed by an executive President - held sway over traditional

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rule. It is observed that the ability to influence peace efforts also depends on sound economic status. The basis of the chief’s economic power was land, and unfortunately the Convention Peoples Party, which came into power immediately following independence, passed many acts - which to a large extent, deprived the chiefs of Ghana of their lands - and hence reduced their economic power and influence over their subjects (Buah 1980). Though the current Constitution of Ghana (1992) recognizes chieftaincy in Article 270, it is the National Peace Council (also created by the same constitution), which is made up of eminent personalities of the state, whose mandate it is to maintain peace in the country. In addition, there are the Regional Security Coordinating Councils in all the ten regions; these are complemented by 138 District Security Coordinating Councils. At the local level, it is the Metropolitan, Municipal or District Assembly, as the case may be, that are resourced to deal with conflicts and keep the peace. Their capacity is strengthened by security coordinating bodies, and these constitutional bodies are resourced by the state to prevent conflicts; enforce peace in case conflicts break out; and build peace in post-conflict situations. They are empowered to work with the military and police personnel when they deem it is appropriate. Thus, the role of chiefs in peace-building has gradually been relegated to the background. However, the chieftaincy institution cannot be presented as an innocent lamb without conflicts of its own. The various land and succession disputes by chiefs have led to violent conflicts that, in some cases, have had devastating effects including the death and maiming of many of their subjects. These circumstances have contributed, in large measure, to their unpopularity and inability to maintain peace. In other words, by its own acts of omission and or commission, the institution is largely perceived as troublesome and not peaceful.

Prospects Though traditional rulers face many challenges that blur their roles in peace-building, on the sidelines, the future is bright for them. This is so because they continue to maintain law and order in towns and villages. People usually take their disputes on land; in marriage; and other quarrels over customary issues; to traditional rulers to settle. In fact, traditional rulers’ peace-building role is felt more in rural communities, where the absence of State institutions provide them space, than in the cities where the state is prominently present with the police, military, and modern courts of law, among others. About 50% of Ghanaians live in rural areas

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(Ghana Statistical Service 2011), therefore, traditional rulers will continue to be an imperative in the peace-building equation. In addition, the annual festivals observed by chiefs, and the people of their traditional areas, unite the people; the great gatherings on these occasions bring some excitement into the otherwise dull environment of their rural lives. They are occasions for parties, public dances and general rejoicing (Arhin 1985). In addition, the people exchange gifts with their chiefs, and among themselves, as a display of kindness. Above all, disputes and quarrels between individuals, or families, are settled. In sum, all the activities of the festivals are aimed at building peace among the people. Furthermore, traditional authorities continue to exert a greater mobilization capacity than the State. Even when formal recognition by the State is lacking, the State has to consult and convince the traditional authorities in order to reach and/or mobilize the people, which is one of the reasons why political leaders in many countries have started to recognize and work with traditional leaders. To enhance the traditional role that traditional rulers play in peacebuilding, the first thing that this writer considers most appropriate is for the State to recognize the pivotal role that the institution of chieftaincy can play in governance, and in matters relating to peace-building in particular. In this regard, it is suggested that chiefs should be given part of the District Assemblies Common Fund - to be known as the ‘Royal Fund’. The District Assemblies Common Fund is provided for in the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana. Article 252 (1) and (2) provides that: “There shall be a fund to be known as the District Assemblies Common Fund. Subject to the provision of this Constitution, Parliament shall annually make provision for the allocation of not less than five percent of the total revenues of Ghana to the District Assemblies for Development; and the amount shall be paid into the District Assemblies Common Fund in quarterly installments.” The Royal Fund, as proposed, can be disbursed in similar manner. This way, chiefs can acquire the resources required to take part in meaningful development that can restore their power and authority in the peace-building process. Furthermore, National and Regional Royal Colleges should be established to give periodic training on modern forms of the peacebuilding process. In addition, the rudiments of development and the pivotal role of peace in development, customs, and usages, should be included in the ‘royal curricula’ of the colleges.

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Conclusion The foregoing discussion has demonstrated that before colonialism, the chieftaincy institution was the sole governing institution for the States across the territory now known as Ghana. The ability to maintain peace was not only a pre-requisite for qualification as a chief, but it also indicated the goodwill of the candidate towards his people. The arrival of the Europeans on the soil of the Gold Coast (now Ghana), and the resultant colonialism, subjugated the chieftaincy institution through varying degrees of calculated official neglect and usurpation of the power of the institution. Thus, the chief’s capacity to build peace was taken away. The institution did not fare any better under independence. Many of the Acts passed in respect of chieftaincy sought to subjugate the institution. Consequently, the institution has been alienated from mainstream governance and its popularity has been forced to pale into notoriety with conflicts or disputes being its major characteristics. To reverse this trend and make the institution more relevant, there is the need for the State to recognize the need for a symbiotic relationship between legal-rational rule and traditional rule. In this regard, resources that are given to legal-rational structures, to enhance their capacity to maintain peace, should be extended to traditional rulers to make them more relevant to modern governance. This way, the chieftaincy institution would not only win back its power but also its authority to enforce and maintain peace.

Works Cited Abotchie, Chris. “Has the Position of the Become Anachronistic in Contemporary Ghanaian Politics?” Chieftaincy in Ghana: Culture, Governance and Development. Accra: Sub-Saharan Publishers, 2006. Alhassan, Oswald. “Traditional authorities and sustainable development: Chiefs and Resource Management in Ghana”. Chieftaincy in Ghana: Culture Governance and Development. Accra: Sub-Saharan Publishers: 2006 527-546. Annan, Kofi. An Agenda for Development. New York: United Nations, 2004. Arhin, Kwame. Traditional Rule in Ghana. Accra: Sedco Publishing Limited, 1985. Beall Jo and Ngonyama Mduduzi. Indigenous Institutions, Traditional Leaders and Developmental Coalitions: The Case of Greater Durban, South Africa. South Africa: University of KwaZulu, 2009.

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Boafo-Arthur, Kwame. Paper Presented at a Symposium “Chieftaincy and Modern Politics: Chieftaincy and the New Local Government”. Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, June 7, 2000. Boutros-Ghali Boutros. Agenda for Peace. New York: United Nations, 1995. Buah, Francis Kwame. A History of Ghana. Macmillan Education Ltd, 1980. Collier, Paul, Lani Elliott, Havard Hegre, Anne Hoeffler, Marta ReynalQuerol, and Nicholas Sambanis. Breaking the Conflict Trap: Civil War and Development Policy. , New York, Oxford University Press, 2003. David, Francis. Peace and Conflict in Africa. Zed Books, London, 2008. Dugan, Mairie. A Nested Theory of Conflict: Women in Conflict. Washington DC, 2007. Galtung, Johan. “Violence and Peace” A Reader in Social Studies, New York: Pergamon Press, (1975): 9-14. Ghana Statistical Service. Population Stabilization Report. Accra: National Population Council, 2011 Kendie, Stephen and Goo Yobo. Indigenous Institutions as Partners forAgriculture and Resource Management. DCC and CIKOD, Accra, 2004. Kludze, Kodzo Paaku. Chieftaincy in Ghana. Oxford: Austin and Winfield Publishers 2009. Lederach, John Paul. The Little Book of Conflict Transformation: Clear Articulation of the Guiding Principles by a Pioneer in the Field. Good Books, Intercourse, PA, 2003. Mamdani, Mahmood. Citizen and Subjects: Contemporary Africa and the Legacy of Late Colonialism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1996. Nukunya, Godwin Kwaku. Tradition and Change: An Introduction to Sociology. Accra: Ghana Universities Press, 1992. Ramsbotham, Oliver, Woodhouse Tom, and Miall Hugh. Contemporary Conflict Resolution: The Prevention, Management and Transformation of Deadly Conflicts. Polity Press, London, 2011. Ray, Donald. “Rural Local Governance and Traditional Leadership in Africa and the Afro-Caribbean: Policy and Research Implications from Africa to the Americas and Australasia”. Grass-roots Governance? Chiefs in Africa and the Afro-Caribbean. Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 2003. Sharma, Keshav. “Traditional Leadership and Rural Local Government in Bot-swana.” Grassroots Governance? Chiefs in Africa and the AfroCaribbean. Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 2003. Zartman, I.W. Traditional Cures for Modern Conflicts: African Conflict “Medicine”. , London: Lynne Reinner, 2010.

CHAPTER FIVE TRADITIONAL MORALITY AND GOVERNANCE: OATH-TAKING IN NIGERIAN POLITICS— A YORUBA EXAMPLE OLAKUNLE KEHINDE COKER

Introduction Over the years, Nigeria has been facing moral, social and political disintegration, due largely to the underlining influence of foreign religious sentiment to the detriment of its own traditional religion. Despite the abundance of both human and natural resources, the slow pace of the country’s social political development is because of the social ills that have forced the nation to her knees. These include nepotism; injustice; bad leadership; corruption; exploitation; ethnic rivalry; political assassinations; the abuse of citizens’ fundamental human rights; the insecurity faced by the people of Nigeria and concern for their properties; and the recent bomb blasts by Boko Haram militants of Nigeria’s major cities and churches. Because of the prevalence of dehumanization, poverty; disease; a high rate of illiteracy; violence; hostage–taking; and kidnapping; are now commonplace occurrences in Nigeria Yet, Nigeria is a multi-religious society preaching against sin and for love, peace and good neighborliness. On a daily basis, churches increasingly spring up at an alarming rate. There are mosques on every street and public place in the towns and villages, and yet the political leaders, public officers, and civil servants, are members of - or at least worship in - these religious institutions where love, peace and good neighborliness is preached. Ironically, it is they who constitute the major culprits of the political vices mentioned above. This paper posits that traditional oath-taking in governance, if sincerely and properly practiced in accordance with its tenets and injunctions under the potency of such Divinities as Sango, Ogun and Ayelala, among others,

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will restore sanity and morality in the corrupt ridden democratic government. This paper therefore, contends and repositions Yoruba oathtaking as a basis for renewing the hitherto lost morality in the political culture of Nigerian polity and governance at large.

The Concept of Traditional Morality The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English defines morality as principles concerning right and wrong, or good and bad behavior. (Hornby: 2000) This can be a matter of public or private issue according to moral principles. Omoregbe in a way corroborates the above assertion by postulating that, “morality is the sense of right and wrong in human behavior. (Omoregbe, 2003:381) It can, therefore, be explained further that morality is the consciousness that certain ways of behavior, and certain kinds of actions, are wrong and should be avoided while some other ways of behavior and other kinds of actions are right and should be encouraged. Oyeshile, in his contribution, opines that “morality in every human society arises from the need to distinguish right or good conduct from wrong or bad conduct so as to ensure harmonious living in society” (Oyeshile, 2004:137) Traditional morality can therefore be viewed within the context of the Yoruba religion, as expressed by Bolaji Idowu. He contends that God has implanted the sense of right and wrong in every man, irrespective of whether he realizes this fact or not. (Oyeshile, 2004:137) The argument is stressed further to the effect that what the Yoruba usually regard as eewo (taboo), are what have usually been disapproved of by Olodumare (God in Yoruba belief). The implication of this is that what Olodumare has not sanctioned is regarded as bad, wrong or morally pernicious. Premised on the above, Albert Schweitzer submits: “The prosperity of a society depends on the moral disposition of its members.”(Schweitzer, 1961:76) To a very large extent, the truth of this statement is reflected and confirmed by the glaringly deplorable situation currently witnessed in Nigeria today where the low level of prosperity - in terms of the abject poverty of the masses in the midst of the country’s wealth - reflects the low level of morality in the country, especially, the immoral disposition of her corrupt leaders. Nigeria as a nation, from the time she won her independence until now, has continually been bedeviled with bad rulers. No wonder, Chinua Achebe, in his book The Trouble with Nigeria,

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concludes unequivocally that Nigeria’s greatest problem is squarely a leadership problem. (Chinna, 1983:27) Characteristically, some of these infamous self-seeking tyrants have come in military uniforms; others have come as civilians as we presently have them. For fifty-one years, Nigeria nation state has only been able to pride herself with material achievements rather than the moral and spiritual growth of the people; the reason for this is not too far fetched. Western civilization, though a by-product of foreign religious influences, to a greater degree has down played the much-cherished traditional values found in traditional morality. With the emergence of western civilization, traditional morality ceased to play the guardian roles in the Nigerian traditional cultural heritage. The result of this is what the naked eye can see, as the society has been plagued by moral degeneration, corruption, luxury, and enslavement to a few cabals at the helm of its affairs. Omoregbe describes the situation in these words: “Remove morality, remove honesty, and public accountability, and what are governments but gangs of thieves and treasure looters”. (Omoregbe, 2003:389) It is a statement of fact; any government made up of dishonest and fraudulent people, whose main purpose of coming to government is to enrich themselves - as in the case of Nigeria over the years - is not a government but a gang of thieves and treasure looters.

The Phenomenon of Oath-Taking in Governance Governance in this parlance is contingent on the democratic form of government as currently practiced in Nigeria. The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English defines government, among other things, as the group of people who govern a country, or state; a form of system of government; or the process or way of governing”. (Longman Dictionary, 2003) In a similar manner, Webster’s New World Dictionary gives the impression that ‘government’ has to do with the “exercise of authority over a state, district, organization, institution, etc.” (Neutfeldt, 1998) Also, the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English explains ‘government’ as a particular system, or method, of controlling a country; the activity, or the manner, of controlling a country”. (Hornby: 2000) It can therefore be seen that embedded in the concept of governance is the idea of control rule, direction, guidance and above all, management of people and their resources for the common good.

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It is pertinent to note, though, that there exist various kinds of government, such as traditional monarchical, military or dictatorial, and democratic systems of government. By choice, Nigeria’s experience is a democratic government. Democracy, by definition, is “a system of government in which every citizen in the country can vote to elect its government official” or “a country that has a government, which has been elected by the people of the country”. (Hornby: 2000) In this kind of system, every one is equal and has the right to vote and be voted for. It is based upon the principle of the rule of law, equal rights and opportunity with the power to rule residing in the people; it is a government by the people’s mandate and therefore participatory and representative. The significance of the foregoing phenomenal understanding of good democratic governance, contrary to what obtains in Nigeria, forms the crux of the matter. The moral disposition of these government officials really matters. In order to achieve good moral disposition of government officials in Nigeria, what role does oath-taking perform in governance? Like elsewhere in the world, oath-taking in Nigeria, for example, is a common feature of the law courts, which is common and varied. However, the type in question is the oath-taking administered before assuming government offices, with special reference to political office holders. (A Daily Times Publication, 1979:126-128) In his attempt to define oath-taking, Ilesanmi sees oath-taking as a “religious, moral and psychological enforcement of an act over an agreed situation or a confirmation of the truth by naming something held sacred, a statement or promise confirmed by an appeal to a sacred higher being to enforce the attracted sanction”. (Ilesanmi, 2004:128) Here the missing gap is that over the years, in the history of the political culture of Nigeria, leaders - upon assuming public offices - have had to swear indiscriminately and unceremoniously to affirm their faithfulness to the offices, to be occupied with the ultimate goal of keeping truthfully to the confidence to be reposed in them by the electorate. In fact, without value, oath-taking has so saturated the entire socio-religious system of Nigeria that one begins to wonder whether it has any serious value after all, especially in the absence of an adequate potency to enforce its sanction. On the whole, most of these self-seeking leaders are either of the Christian religion or the Islamic religion and as such, the oath so taken is administered either with the Bible or Qur’an respectively, and these are Holy Scriptures with a high level of potency. As against the promises made before assuming offices, the end result is usually marked with naked greed; dishonesty; the stealing government or public money; and the

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ability to become a millionaire within the shortest possible time when in government. The quagmire of corruption has degenerated to a level that anyone who finds he is in such a position to enrich himself, through corrupt practices, but refuses to do so is regarded as a fool who has missed or wasted an opportunity to help himself. The oath of office administered is done in such a manner that those swearing on oath often place their hands on a Bible or on the Qur’an, depending on their religions inclination, and conclude their oath with the words, “so help me God”. Theologically, an oath taken by a Christian official with his hand placed on the Bible has no validity in the will of Christ as such; all oaths taken in the name of Christianity are null and void, and would not bind any true Christian in conscience. (Ilesanmi, 2004:128) This stems from the fact that Christians are supposed to be free in Christ Jesus who, in strong terms, prohibited the taking of an oath in any form. Jesus Christ decried oath-taking when He said... “But I say this to you; do not swear at all, either by Heaven since that is God’s throne, or by earth since that is his footstool. Or by Jerusalem, since that is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your own head either, since you cannot turn a single hair white or black. All you need say is “Yes” if you mean ‘Yes’, “No” if you mean ‘No’, anything more than this comes from the evil one” (Mt 5:34-37). (Holy Bible KJV).

In fact, it is only logical that for any case to be right in the conclusion, it has to be right in the premise. This is because, if it is wrong from the beginning, or in the middle, then the end cannot be right. Christians have no justification and moral right for using the Bible as the emblem of oathtaking, since it is in the same Bible that Jesus prohibits oath–taking. Christ Himself has legislated against the use of the Bible for oath–taking as such; it is worthy of note that all the oaths so far taken in this mannerism are tantamount to self-deception, and insincerity to humanity. Certainly, in such a practice there cannot be a potent sanction for any defaulter since the superior Being, who is expected to affect the sanction, has initially shown His non-involvement in the oath-taking administered. In the case of the Islamic religion on the other hand, there are some justifications for oath- taking. Such an oath is authorized only for the keeping of the tenets of Islam. The concept of reward and retribution are attached to the oath so that those who subject themselves to the religion would always, as Ilesanmi puts it, “hold the religion above the world”. The fact remains, though, that no true Muslim would see all forms of oathtaking, particularly that of public office and governance, as a general Islamic practice. It is only where there is a communion of Islamic faith

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that can there be a potent sanction in the practice of oath-taking involving a Muslim. (Lahore, 1931:373-377) In Islam, calling Allah to bear witness in a given oath is equivalent to swearing with any of His attributes or the Holy Qur’an. This is because the Holy Qur’an is the eternal word of Allah, without beginning or end. Thus, holding the Qur’an with the right hand and swearing to uphold the Nigerian constitution cannot be regarded as deception. It is an oath as valid as swearing to protect the Qur’an. This is because what are basically enshrined in the Nigerian constitution are truces and agreements as to how to live together as a nation. Thus, Islam requires that if you must make an oath, you must fulfill it as a matter of serious obligation. So also, you should never take a false oath with Allah as a witness. Allah says: “Do not make your oath a means of deceiving one another or your foot will slip after it was firmly placed and you will taste evil for barring access to the way of Allah and you will have a terrible punishment”. (Qur’an, 16:92) The phenomenon of oath-taking in governance over the years in Nigeria has been grossly bastardized. Even when the oaths, so taken, were always administered under the overwhelming influences of the Bible and the Qur’an, they never yielded the desired result. In the fourth republic, 2003 general election - as witnessed in Anambra and Oyo States corruption was entrenched. In these states, semi-literate ‘godfather’ figures had invested their money and time on politics, so much so that they almost became the de facto governors. In the case of Anambra State, the ‘godfather’, Chris Uba had wanted to appoint all the commissioners, as well as the personal assistants, to the ‘dejure’ governor in the person of Dr. Chris Ngige. The most absurd flagrant display of political ‘godfatherism’ was the abduction of an elected executive governor of Anambra state, Dr. Chris Ngige. The reason for the bizarre abduction of this brilliant medical doctor, who could not mobilize the billions required for the election of a governor, was that he was made to sign a resignation letter ahead of the election if he - within the first three months of being in office as a governor – “failed to pay some unspecified billions of naira to his ‘godfather figure’, Chris Uba”. (Theovoethin, 2004:65) In fact, the Anambra case became a thing of shame as Chris Uba was quoted by the press in an interview; while accounting for how they ensured the electoral victory for Ngige, he remarked that, “I have graphic details of how we won and how we didn’t win elections in Anambra State (Guardian, July 18th 2003). The Anambra saga was between two Christian personalities: Chris Ngige, the Governor, and Chris Uba, the ‘godfather’. While in the Oyo State scenario, it was between two Muslim personalities: Rasheed Ladoja,

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the Governor, and Lamidi Adedibu the ‘godfather’; who also had wanted to appoint notable commissioners and special assistants for the governor. While the Anambra State Governor was abducted, Lamidi Adedibu, the strong man of Oyo state, was also alleged to have avowed to make the state ungovernable for the Governor. Adedibu was quoted to have said that the Governor “was an ingrate, who would not want to take instruction from his mentor that spent his time and money to ensure the formers victory at the polls”. (Chijioke & Aderibigbe, 2004:114) The animosity between Adedibu and Ladoja was displayed during the electioneering Campaign for the March 27, 2004 local government election where the thugs that were loyal to Adedibu, and those loyal to Ladoja, became entangled in different clashes; dangerous weapons were used out in the open. Now, the moral question to be asked is, if these so-called ‘godfathers’ really find their way through and prevail upon these Governors to have their commissioner nominees sworn into these portfolios - using either the Bible or the Qur’an - as exemplified in Anambra State and Oyo State respectively, where will their loyalty tilt? Is it to the Governor who epitomizes the State or to the ‘godfathers’? Adeyemi-Suenu described political ‘godfathers’ as “political contractors who play the same roles in politics as business contractors do in the economy; they execute political jobs for which therein they are paid.”(Adeyemi-Suenu, 2004:114).

The Evil of Conventional Oath-Taking in Nigeria Institutional Governance The conventional oath-taking, as has been administered in Nigeria over the years, is ineffective. Nigerians take an oath of office and yet purposely, and with impunity, ruin the economy of the nation. Financial embezzlement has become the order of the day. Oath-taking, particularly in public governance, has not been able to affect the desired faithfulness in Nigeria; on the contrary, it has rather paved the way for the perpetuation of social vices. Most Nigerian politicians are excited at the time of taking the oath of office, particularly during the State and National inauguration ceremonies. They do not consider oath-taking as anything to go by; indeed the politicians are prepared to take as many oaths as are required of them, provided they will get what they want. To a large extent they have watered down the very essence of oath-taking to a mere ceremonial procedure. In Nigeria today, the leaders have turned oaths into a means of deceiving the masses, knowing full well that deception is a dangerous

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killer of not only democracy, but also any system. Nigeria is currently degenerating and suffering from moral disorder as a result of falsehood, deception and injustice. All of these are predicated on the oaths, falsely taken, by the public office holders who rather than serve the masses enrich themselves. It is not an understatement to describe Nigeria in her present state as an immoral society. Moreover, in the words of Omoregbe, “an immoral society is also a sick society” (Omoregbe, 2003:387). In the thinking of Omoregbe, by an ‘immoral society’ he means, “a society permeated with corruption, dishonesty, fraud, selfishness, embezzlement of public funds, and other immoral acts.” (Omoregbe, 2003:387) The critic stressed further that, such a society is sick and cannot be in sound order and as such, its organ cannot function properly, because its pipes are not in a sound healthy condition. The Nigerian experience is an eyesore, where in the midst of plenty life becomes increasingly difficult, insecure and unhappy for the masses. Nigeria is in dire need of moral regeneration so that there may be meaningful development in its sick society; the moral and spiritual development of its citizens must precede other aspects of development, otherwise the process of development would be obstructed by the immorality of the citizens.

Positive Alternative to Conventional Oaths Taking Yoruba Example Prior to the advent and spread of external forces of change orchestrated by colonialism, civilization, commerce, and the emergence of Christianity and Islamic missionary activities, most ethnic groups of sub-Sahara Africa, wherein lies Nigeria, lived in stable, though largely, small-scale and homogeneous communities with their traditional religion as a typical religion which had structure. This is especially true of the Yoruba people of Nigeria. Their religion underpinned every facet of the lives of the people as it tended to promote in them a sense of communal-living and values within their cultural heritage such as oath-taking, which served as a springboard for the sustenance of their traditional morality. In Nigeria today, the situation has drastically changed owing to the experience of colonialism, and Christian and Islamic religious campaigns, which have given rise to a radically different socio-political and religious background. For example, colonialism created Nigeria as a nation state out of the numerous ethnic groups, with diverse language and cultural identities, within the sphere of the former Northern and Southern protectorates. The people of Yoruba presently dominate the Western part

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of Nigeria and can be found in Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti States, and partly in some areas of Edo, Kogi, and Kwara States. Apart from these areas mentioned, their language is also spoken in some parts of the Republic of Benin and Togo. While it is true that the Yoruba religion still has considerable influence in the life and culture of the peoples, it no longer enjoys exclusive dominance and control over the vast majority of the population; the obvious reason for this being that the prevailing social and political order now reflects more the state of affairs in European countries. Above all, plurality of religions is now the existing order in the continent of Africa; Nigeria, in particular, with Christianity and Islam being the dominant faiths. This, in a way, has serious implications for the traditional religion of the people. There are vast majorities of norms, taboos and prohibitions that are directed towards protecting the community, and promoting peace and harmony. Oath-taking is one of such norms; to protect economic interest as in the case of stealing. It is in fact an abomination to steal things relating to people’s vital life, interest and occupation, as we currently witness in Nigeria among the political party leaders and political office holders. The bandwagon effect of this is that corruption has negatively changed the orientation and the thinking of an average Nigerian to the ideology of getting rich quick. “Under this precarious situation, public accountability and morality in governance, especially in the context of Nigeria’s system, has drastically dwindled under the stress and strain of the overwhelming pressure of corruption”. (Omoregbe, 2003:387) In the Yoruba religion, it is often stated that the gods forbid some forms of behaviours; for instance, we can say that Ogun (god of iron) does not allow stealing, while Ayelala (God of oaths) forbids the telling of lies, and Sango (god of thunder) wastes no time in punishing any violator of the moral norms of the community. Though, it is not in the scope of this paper to dwell on the nature of these Divinities, however it is of the utmost importance to emphasize their significance and relevance to the Yorubas. The traditional Yoruba religion believe that spiritual beings, especially the gods (Divinities), guarantee the ethical code of the community and they can invoke severe divine sanctions on any one who would try to oppose or disobey a promulgated law or any norm of morality. Here lies adequate potency to enforce the sanction the community by the Divinities as in the case of oath-taking, which the Yoruba people give premium to under the guidance of Divinities such as “Sango”, “Ogun” and “Ayelala”, etc. In the Yoruba religion, the divinities play a distinctive role as the ultimate source of supernatural power and authority that sanction and

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reinforce public morality. It is a common belief, among the people, that the divinities are creatures of Olodumare (God) and the purpose of this process is to assist in His theocratic governance of the world. (OguntolaLaguda, 2001:24) They serve as ministers with different portfolios. “Sango” represents the wrath of God and is the minister that disperses justice, while “Ogun” is the god of iron and he abhors stealing. Ayelala is the minister of oath-taking. Any oath taken in her presence carries a potent sanction. Largely, they act as agents of social control by which the conducts of individuals and communities are regulated. (Oguntola-Laguda, 2001:24) This therefore seems to be corroborated by some scholars, such as Bolaji Idowu, who argues for the religious origin of moral norms. He contends that, “morality is basically the fruit of religion and that to begin with, it was dependent upon it” (Idowu, 1962:246). This suggests the fact that there exists in the Yoruba religion, a connection between religion and morality. In addition, perhaps the strong link of religion with morality, in the traditional Yoruba belief system, is as a result of what Omoyajowo describes as the “spiritual affinity between God and man” (Omoyajowo, 1977:70). This affinity is said to embrace the whole personality of man. By this, we mean the whole of man’s endeavour, of which morality is an essential aspect. This seems to account for the belief that character is very important in man’s dealing with one another, and is very important even in the worship of the divinities and Olodumare in Yoruba culture. Good character, according to the Yoruba belief system, has been the major source of a happy destiny, a good life, and a life of fulfillment, as against the current prevailing situation in Nigeria where, despite the numerous conventional oath-takings, administered in public offices, the leaders remain indomitably committed to falsehood and unfaithfulness. However, the lack of an adequate potency to enforce sanctions - on the part of the Christian God or Muslim Allah - on breakers of oath-taking is out of patience, and people tend to capitalize on this to wreak havoc believing that God is a forgiving God who is ever-ready to forgive any repentant evil doer. For this reason, people can afford to take an oath and still act contrarily to what they have sworn in the oath.

Conclusion Nigeria cannot boast of achieving the desired dividends of democracy arising from false oaths purportedly taken by the public office holders. The paper posits that the more moral principles that are observed by the people living in a society; the more peaceful; the more comfortable; the more secure; and the happier life would be, in that society. Governance in

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Nigeria at present is largely devoid of discipline, truthfulness and morality because the conventional forms of oaths being administered - with either the Bible or the Qur’an - are a mere expression of statements that lack the potency of sanctions. Since the Yoruba moral system abhors selfishness, wickedness, greed and such other moral vices, these vices could be curbed - if not totally eradicated - if, we alluded to the Yoruba means of oathtaking for prospective public office holders, with the use of traditional elements such as ornaments made of iron, for example, the axe and cutlass, which are symbols of “Sango” and “Ogun” respectively. In addition to this, suspects who have embezzled public funds should be made to drink “Ayelala” water, to accentuate a quicker confession, because the sanctions of these divinities are more responsive than could be imagined. More still, the awareness of the presence and the invocation of these divinities will instill fear in the mind of any potential office holder and, by and large, morality will once gain return to the political terrain of Nigerian democratic polity.

Works Cited Chinna, Achebe. The Trouble with Nigeria. Enugu: Forth Dimension, 1983. Coker, Kehinde, “The Church and Ethical Challenges to the Problems of Corruption in Governance: Nigeria Experience in Religion, Governance and Development in the 21st Century” Ade, Dopamu (ed) A Publication of the Nigerian Association for the Study of Religions (NASR). Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, 2006. Hornby, A.S. ed. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. Jimmy, O. Chijioke and Adejare M. Aderibigbe. “Ethics and Godfatherism: The Nigerian Experience” Maduabuchi, Dukor (ed.) Essence; Godfatherism in Nigeria’s Politics: An Interdisciplinary International Journal of Concerned African Philosophers. No 1. Lagos: Essence Library 2004. Hornby, A. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. Idowu, Bolaji. Olodumare: God in Yoruba Belief. London: Longman, 1962. Ilesanmi, T. “Oath-Taking as the Psychological of Mutual Mistrust in Nigeria” Orita: Ibadan Journal of Religious Studies XXXVI/1-2 (2004):128. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. Essex: Pearson Education Limited, 2003.

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Muhammed, Tufali. The Ahmadiyaah Movement by Ahmadiyah Anjuman Isha’at Islam. Lahore, 1931. Neutfeldt, V. (ed) Webster’s New World Dictionary of American English. Cleveland: Simon and Schuster INC, 1998. Oguntola-Laguda, Danoye. Divinities in West African Religion. Lagos: Debo Prints, 2001. Omoregbe, J.I, Intellectual Giants but Moral Dwarfs: an Examination of the role of Morality in Education in Maduabuchi Dukor (ed.) Philosophy and Politics: Discourse on Values, Politics and Power in Africa. Lagos: Malthouse Press Limited, 2003. Omoregbe, J. “Recognizing Ethics as a Path to National Greatness” Maduabuchi, Dukor (ed) Philosophy and Politics: Discourse on Values, Politics and Power in Africa. No. 1. Lagos: Malthouse Press Limited, 2003. Omotajowo, J. “The Concept of Man in Africa” Pobee, J. (ed) Religion, Morality and Population Dynamics. Legon: University of Ghana Press, 1977. Oyeshile O. A., Religious and Secular Origin of Morality within the Yoruba Framework: Implications for man and Society, in Orita Ibadan Journal of Religious Studies. XXXVI/1-2 (2004):137. Schweitzer, A., Civilization and Ethics. London: Union Books, 1961. Theovoethin, P. “Godfatherism and Democratic Consolidation in Nigeria: Issues and Perspective” Madhabuchi, Dukor (ed.) Essence; Godfatherism in Nigeria’s Politics: An Interdisciplinary International Journal of Concerned Africa Philosophers. No. I Lagos: Essence Library, 2004. Wale Adeyemi-Suenu, “Godfatherism and Political Development: Understanding its Impact on Nigeria’s Emerging Democracy” Maduabuchi, Dukor (ed.) Essence; Godfatherism in Nigeria’s Politics: an Interdisciplinary International Journal of Concerned Philosophers. No. 1. Lagos: Essence Library, 2004.

CHAPTER SIX POST TRANS-ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE, AFRICA AND AFRICAN DIASPORA: PERSPECTIVES ON RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS’ COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES IBIGBOLADE S. ADERIBIGBE AND A. O. JOHNSON-BASHUA

Introduction The Trans-Atlantic Slave trade had an immense impact on the religious competitive space of the African Continent and its Diaspora. Three religions, African Indigenous Religion, Christianity, and Islam, constituted the major “dramatis Personae” of this experience. Without any doubt, the three religions had different levels of competitive presence in the preTrans-Atlantic slave trade of Africa. However, the propensity of the dynamics of the trade changed and perpetually institutionalized advantages, and disadvantages, that were substantial departures from the religious context of the pre Trans-Atlantic trade of Africa, and the African Diaspora. Within this context, the Christian religion, through the activities of missionaries and the collaboration of various colonial authorities, became competitively advantageous. At the opposite end, the African indigenous religion suffered the most, not only through the depopulation of its adherents by the slave trade, but also - and more formidably -through the onslaught of the Christian missions. However while the advantage of Christianity, and to some extent Islam, became extensively permanent in the post Trans-Atlantic slave trade of Africa, the Indigenous religion(s) of Africa - as African derived religions - have succeeded in preventing the “liquidation” of the African

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religious identity in the “New World” (The Americas/Diaspora). Today, these religions have become the bastions of the sustainability of the African religious beliefs and rites; though syncretic formats exist as NeoAfrican Religions. The major questions raised here are: (1) which of the religions were positioned to, and did, benefit the most because of the trans-Atlantic slave trade? (2) What were the nature and processes employed for dominance? (3) Which of the religions suffered the greatest loss? (4)What were the nature and implications of that loss? (5) What measures, or strategies, of redress became available for the most disadvantaged religion and how far have these succeeded?

Historical Bylines The rationale for the Trans-Atlantic slave trade has historically been expressed in economic terms. For example, the emerging global capitalists’ powers were in need of an abundant labor force to produce goods and services. Also, from the capitalists’ point of view, the labor force had to be of the cheapest costs. The only available “avenue” that could ensure these “double benefits” was slavery. When the original slaves, made up of imprisoned Europeans and Native Americans, became inadequate due to health and other social issues, the African continent became the perfect population base for the slave trade. The destinations of the African slaves were Europe and the Americas through the Portuguese and British slave traders. The first number of slaves to be taken out of Africa to the Americas, for example, was about 1,522. These replaced the Red Indians. By 1650, the number had risen to 5,000. The number of slaves headed for the Americas and Europe then began to rise astronomically, so much so, that by the 1700’s and early 1800’s, when the Trans-Atlantic slave was at its peak, a yearly average of 75,000 - 80,000 Africans were transported as slaves out of Africa. As would be expected, many of the slaves died in the processes of being captured; during transportation to the coast; and the passage overseas (Richardson, 1989). Indeed, because of the inability to account for these fatalities, the number of slaves transported by the Portuguese must have been underestimated by 50%, and that of the British by 35% (Walter 1965). There has been no dispute whatsoever that the trans-Atlantic slave trade did a lot of harm to the African continent. Not only did it constitute demographic challenges to Africa in terms of population loss, but it also changed the settlement patterns; epidemiological exposure; and the reproductive and social development dynamics of the African people –

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forever (Owen’Alik Shahadah, 2010). Indeed the aftermath effects of the slave trade were not limited to events on the African continent; they also reverberated in the lands in which the slaves found themselves - the Diaspora. Both on the continent and in the Diaspora, the African family system suffered a brutal disconnection. Families were summarily destroyed (Boyd-Franklin, 2006). Family and community harmony, which used to be generation norms, were jeopardized and were replaced with alienation and chaos (Aldridge, 2000). The effects of the slave trade could be summarized as not just physical persecution, but more significantly, a human tragedy that sought to redefine African humanity to the world, thereby destroying past, present and future African relations with other peoples of the world. It damaged the truly human relations that should exist among different peoples in different parts of the world (Karenga, 1993). In the 1800’s, sugar plantations sprung up all over the Caribbean as a major resource for cash flow. With the high demand for sugar, thousands of workers were required to tend to the fields. The Cubans required an external source of labor, which came in the form of slaves newly transported from Africa. Cuba’s economy was mostly based on sugar, thus the African slave populations were of great significance and made up the majority of the island’s population. Naturally, the slaves brought their customs with them to the new world, however, it would prove to be a struggle to maintain traditional religious practices.

Religious Tradition That Benefited Most – Theoretical and Practical Processes Within the context of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and its aftermath, there is no doubt that the Christian religion benefited most. The competitive advantage of Christianity was made possible arguably through the activities of missionaries and the collaboration of various colonial authorities. In gaining the upper hand in the competition for the religious space, of particularly Sub-Saharan Africa, Christianity depended largely on first, the theoretical rationale of theological and traditional “teachings” on the African (color), slavery, sin and redemption. Secondly, Christianity through the missionaries from various organizations who pursued aggressive and practical campaigns of regional evangelical conquest, which were sometimes camouflaged in social and humanitarian services.

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Theoretical Rationale Christian involvement with the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and the consequent religious domination resulting from it, found a rationale in a number of assumptions, which were mostly unfounded. One such assumption was the claimed scriptural moral designation of the African ancestry linage traced to Ham, in Genesis 9:20-27. The story spoke of the curse placed on Ham’s son Canaan by Noah. The curse stated “cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.” Inadvertently, and without clear indication as to its origin or verification, Ham’s sons and their descendants were believed - by biblical genealogists - to be the people of Africa. The assumption was also made that Ham must have actually been born black (Priest, 1852). Unfortunately, a contrary reading of this biblical passage as late as the 19th century suggested that if such a curse had occurred at all, the race involved could have been traceable to the Europeans, just as to Africans. However, this did not persuade the pro-slavery Christian minds otherwise. Thus, this oblique and sinister claim was used to rationalize the slave trade through a process of designating a people (Africans) to be sentenced to slavery, by the virtue of moral dispositions of ancestral genealogy. For example, some historians have alluded to the fact that in the 19th century, European-America - particularly in the southern United States - used Ham’s story to justify African slavery. Indeed according to Benjamin Braude, as quoted by Felicia R. Lee: “The curse of Ham became a foundation myth for collective degradation, conventionally trotted out as God’s reason for condemning generations of dark-skinned peoples of Africa to slavery” (Lee, 2003).

Another such rationale that is also substantially derived from the first one is the equation of blackness with the darkness of the soul – a sinful portrait. Holding this notion denoted that the black color was a product of the sin of African ancestors. Slavery could then be regarded as a just punishment for the generational sin. Evidence has shown that though this line of rationalization was at first sporadic, it increasingly became fashionable in the 18th and 19th centuries, when the Trans-Atlantic slave trade was at its peak to use it as a cogent, and most significantly was the religious justification for dastardly acts (Evans, 1980). One other form of rationale was the belief that had to do with the Christian theological position which declared the Africans were heathens without a “revealed salvific religion,” and who had to be saved through conversion to Christianity. Incidentally, both supporters and opponents of

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the slave trade employed this rationale. On the one hand, the supporters of the slave trade argued that by being brought to the new worlds, the slaves would have the opportunity of having contact with Christianity and consequently would be saved – redeemed from their sins. This was then regarded as a “providential design” (Reddie, 2007). On the other hand, opponents of the slave trade (abolitionists) argued that by ending the trade, Christians would have the moral justification by demonstrating the “love of your neighbor” principle of Christianity to convert the heathen Africans to recognize and acknowledge the spiritual superiority of the Christian faith over other faiths, including the African indigenous religion. Even in locations, in Europe and the Americas, called the “New World” in regard to the slaves, the main reasons for conversion to Christianity were first, to reinforce and maintain dominance by the slave masters and total obedience from the slaves (Ellberb, 1995). Secondly it was employed to uproot them from their religious heritage, and by so doing, deprive the African slaves of their cultural identity and any motivation they may have had to revolt and preserve this identity (Karenga, 1993). Perhaps the Christian justification for slavery, including African slaves both in Africa and in locations in the “New World”, is unfortunately summed up in the words of Jefferson Davis, who was the president of the Confederate States of America, in his Inaugural Address as provisional president when he said: “Slavery was established by decree of Almighty God…. It is sanctioned in the Bible, in both Testaments, from Genesis to Revelation… it has existed in all ages, has been found among the people of the highest civilization, and in nations of the highest proficiency in the arts” (Jefferson, 1861).

Practical Process of Domination The records must be put straight, that in the contemporary setting of religious competiveness and domination in Africa, which has stimulated the near total eradication of African indigenous religion on the African continent, both Christianity and Islam share culpability. However, since our point of reference here is the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, and its aftermath, our focus is centered on the Christian activities - as occasioned by the slave trade – which were of a disadvantage to the indigenous religion of Africa. It must be clearly stated that Christianity pre-dated the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and its aftermath in Africa. Indeed, the continent’s association with Christianity, dated centuries before missionary engagements in Africa. This association(s) in narratives, which

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are both scriptural and historical in nature, occurred at different periods, before the transatlantic slave trade and the advent of Christian missionaries thereafter. The first mention of Africa, in scriptural narratives, is in the story surrounding the birth of the founder of the Religion - Jesus. The infant Jesus, to escape the murderous intentions of King Herod, was taken to Egypt in North Africa. In addition, it is most probable that the ministry of Jesus, actually spread to regions in North Africa, which at this time, just as in Palestine - where Jesus lived and carried out his ministry - was under Roman rule. The good network of roads and other systems of commutation made accessibility between Palestine, and regions of northern and NorthEastern Africa, quite possible. Indeed the conversion of the Ethiopian Eunuch, as reported in the Act of the Apostles, strongly indicates this contact (Act 8:38). The second association of Christianity with Africa, which is historically based, indicated that shortly after the death of Christ, and some centuries thereafter, Christianity was prominent in North Africa in areas such as Egypt and Nubia. In addition, some Africans became key figures in Christianity, and as theologians they contributed immensely not only to the propagation of Christianity in North Africa but also in the shaping of Christian theology universally; today they are referred to as the African Church fathers. However, not only did Christianity fail to make any in-road in the SubSaharan regions, but indeed, by the 7th century, Christianity was virtually wiped out of Northern and North-Eastern Africa, with the exception of Ethiopia and Egypt by the rampaging Islamic movement. Thus, the re-introduction of Christianity to Africa, particularly the SubSaharan Africa, had to wait until the attempt by Portuguese traders between the 14th and 15th centuries. This attempt was not only limited to the coastal regions of mainly West Africa, but also met with dismal failure to the extent that when the post-Trans Atlantic slave trade missionaries arrived in Africa they had to begin evangelization from “scratch.” It is this facet of Christian enterprise, that took place between the late 19th and early 20th centuries (Brandt, 1981), that actually took the advantage, and benefited most, in the competition for the religious space of the African continent - and certainly became most culpable in the campaign for the eradication of the African Indigenous religion. The practical strategies adopted by the Christian missionaries in making this enterprise a “success story” rested enormously on first, the painstaking efforts of different Christian missions in Europe, who not only pioneered, but also helped to sustain missionary evangelism in different parts of

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Africa, by making both the finance and the personnel available. The second was the actual missionary engagements of the different Christian Churches, through their missionaries travelling, evangelizing, and opening both religious and social facilities in different parts of both Western and Eastern regions of Africa. The third was the deployment of freed slaves from American and European nations, who settled in different parts of Africa, particularly, in West Africa, and became great catalysts for the propagation of Christianity. The fourth was of course, the coinciding of this period with the colonization of the African continent. Indeed, colonial governments contributed significantly, through various means and at different stages, to the Christianization of Africa. Boosted by agencies enumerated above, the Christian systematic conquest of Sub-Saharan Africa advanced rapidly across regions of West, Eastern and Sothern Africa. In West Africa, for example, missionary activities first started in Sierra-Leone, which thereafter, in 1804, became the outreach for missionary activities to other West African countries. Christian missionary activities, started by the Christian Missionary Society (CMS), were later strengthened with the subsequent arrivals of other Christian missionary organizations, such as the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mission, in 1855. Also, the United Brethren in Christ took over the missions of the American Board of Commissioners, and remarkably, have been applauded as one of the first missions to spread the gospel into the interior of Sierra-Leone. In 1842, Nigeria, yet another country targeted in West Africa, came in contact with Christianity. The principal figures of evangelization in the area were the liberated slaves who were of the Yoruba community from Sierra-Leone; they settled in Abeokuta, and later sent for missionaries from Sierra-Leone. A wide range of missionaries of other Christian organizations, comprising the Wesleyan Methodist, the Anglican (CMS), the Presbyterian, and the Catholics, soon joined these missionaries. Through sometimes aggressively competitive but highly committed efforts, Christianity was propagated all over the coastal and interior regions of Southern Nigeria. The missionaries could not however penetrate the Northern region, due to the strong resistance of Islam that had overwhelmingly established itself in the region. Another significant area that Christianity took over in West Africa was the Gold Coast (now Ghana). Here the principal missionary activates have been credited to the Wesleyan Methodists’ pioneered mission activities, led by William De Graft, in 1830 and who was later complemented by the coming of Thomas Freeman. The Basel Mission later complemented the

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Christian missionary enterprise in the Gold Coast; this mission planted Christianity in the hinterland i.e. places like Aburi and Abokobi. The efforts paid off, and by 1868, the entire Bible had been translated into two languages. In addition, by 1869, there were eight church districts with twenty-four local churches, and a total membership of 1,851 worshippers. Turning to South Africa, Christian missionary work began in the region, particularly around Cape Town, in 1792, where new missionaries attempted to Christianize the area. Three missionaries of the Moravians Mission, who came to re establish again the work already begun by George Schmidt, led the enterprise at the very place he had built a school, and a church. They even found a woman whom George Schmidt had led to the Lord; she was more than eighty years old, but still strong in her faith. Thereafter, many more missionaries, from different Christian organizations, flocked to the region to fully establish a Christian domination. Principal Christian organizations, and personalities involved in the enterprise, included the London Missionary Society (LMS); the Protestant Missionary Societies; the Wesleyan Methodist missionaries; and one of the bestknown London Christian missionaries - David Livingstone. Their combined missionary efforts planted and sustained Christian centres in Bechuanaland - known today as Botswana - Cape Town, Kuruman, and Mabotsa. Thus by 1840 the gospel had reached many parts of South Africa, and the region was able to record not less than eighty-five protestant mission stations, and also thirteen centres of the Dutch Reformed Church. The Eastern region of Africa also came under Christian domination through the activities of the Christian missionaries. Here again the pioneering work was done by Ludwig Krapf, his wife, and John Rebmann, who were Germans sent to Africa by the Church Missionary Society (CMS) in May of 1844. Even with the death of his wife, Krapf persevered, and by 1846, he had succeeded in not only learning the Kiswahili language but also within two years, he had translated the New Testament into the language. Again, other missionary organizations, such as the Roman Catholic Church, and the United Methodist Church, began the second phase of missionary work in East Africa; establishing mission stations on Zanzibar Island. The Galla area of Malindi was given a considerable amount of money by the French government to build churches. In no time, the missions reached across the mainland. The third phase of Christianising the Eastern region of Africa began in 1872. David and Henry Stanley were the principal catalysts of this era of Christian propagation in the region. Indeed by 1878, though, the gospel had not reached very far into the area of East Africa, now called Kenya

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and Tanzania; it had however reached Buganda. Through the efforts of Henry and Darlington Mufta - though not a missionary, Darlington was a freed slave and a Christian from the Malawi area who assisted Henry Christianity was propagated in Zanzibar, Kabaka and in the Lake Victoria area. They then crossed the mainland, with the objective of reaching Lake Victoria. The Church Missionary Society joined the fray beginning in June, 1876, on a courtesy visit and continued later in 1877 when the first two missionaries arrived in Mutesa’s capital. The coming of the Church Missionary Society changed so many things in Buganda, particularly because of their ability to win over the chiefs and servants, as well as the king’s household, by encouraging them to attend church services. From the exposition above, it is quite evident that by the beginning of the twentieth century, nearly every segment of the African Continent had been penetrated by Christian missionaries, with different degrees of success. However, it is very significant to point out that this period coincided with the height of colonialism in Africa. Indeed the history and effectiveness of different Christian missionaries and their activities in all parts – West, South, and East Africa - were more often than not, tied with the colonial expansionist program. Such was the bond between the colonials and the Christians that the Anthropologist, Jacques Maquet, actually referred to Christian missionary activities in Africa as ‘religious commando attacks’; supposedly initiated or abated by colonial masters (Jacques Maquet, 1985). Whichever way the missionaries and their activities were viewed, there is no denying the fact that they provided the practical strategies that “catapulted” Christianity to a position of dominance in comparison to Islam and the African Indigenous religion in Africa, particularly sub-Saharan Africa.

The Social Services Decoys One other practical strategy employed by Christian missionaries in propagating Christianity, and in ensuring its advantageous position, was the establishment of social facilities, such as, formal schools, vocational centres and health centres, purportedly created to cater for the welfare of local communities around the mission stations. However, while the positive contributions of these facilities to the overall wellbeing of their beneficiaries remain commendable, the overall intents and functionality, as a means to an end, have always made them susceptible. For example, Christian missionaries - between 1804 through 1914 - strategically established schools such as, the famous Fourah Bay College in SierraLeone; the Castle School in Cape Coast, Ghana; Loyola College in

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Nigeria; Alexander High School in Monrovia, Capital of Liberia; Maseno Secondary School in Kenya; to mention but a few, among many others scattered around the African continent. However, the curricular of the schools clearly depicted that the overall interest of the missionaries was to advance the course of Christianity, in the first place, by attracting local communities through attendance as incentives for conversion. Secondly, the schools were useful in training local teachers who were at the same time catechists, providing the literary ability to read the Bible. Christian missionaries also established hospitals and maternity centers. In Nigeria, for example, the Roman Catholic Church built St. Mary’s Catholic Hospital and Eye Centre, located in Eleta in Ibadan; the Oluyoro Catholic Hospital located in Yemetu town of Ibadan; and the Sacred Heart Hospital, Abeokuta in Ogun State. So many such-like health facilities were built, not only in different parts of Nigeria but all over Africa, where the missionaries had mission stations. However, the greatest snag in all is the leading negative factor of the partnership between the African colonial masters and the Christian missionaries. This obviously portended a strategic spiritual enslavement. The spiritual or religious enslavement theory is further strengthened by the attitude of the missionaries towards Africans, and their culture, in which religion was a fundamental part. Most Christian missionaries regarded Africans as savages - usually referring to them as heathen’s. Thus, the perceived commitment of the missionaries was not only to evangelize, but to also civilize. Thus, it can be argued that all the greatness attributed to Christian missionary activities, in planting and nurturing Christianity to adulthood on the African continent, constituted strategies that ultimately placed Christianity as the religion that benefitted the most.

The Most Disadvantaged Religion Nature and Implications of loss At the opposite end of Christianity’s most beneficial position, the African indigenous religion suffered the most and was the most disadvantaged. This submission becomes quite evident if the positions occupied by the three religions, in the year 1900, are compared with the ones they now occupy beginning with the consequences of the TransAtlantic slave trade. Though Islam was also the target of especially the post Trans-Atlantic Christian missionary efforts, the Islamic faith was able to hold its own by its dominance in the area of Northern Africa and its relatively strong presence in West Africa. Thus, it was never an endangered religion in West Africa, as the Indigenous religion. From a

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position of the most practiced religion on the African continent in the year 1900 (63 million followers, or 58% of the total population), compared to Islam (34.5 million or 32% of the population), and Christianity (10 million or 9.2%) by 1984, the African Religion has become the least practiced with approximately 7 million followers or 2% of the total population of Africa. (Mbiti, 32-33). Currently, the African religion can hardly boast more than 0.5% of the African population. This situation can be traced mainly to the onslaught of the Christian missionaries. The immediate physical consequence of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade on the African continent is the high rate of de-population. This situation, without any doubt, affected the followers of the African religion, who obviously constituted almost exclusively those who were exported as slaves. However, apart from the physical deprivation of followers, other strategies employed in this destruction enterprise were not only multifaceted, but also consciously programmed to desecrate the African religion and by so doing to strike at the very root of the African cultural identity. In a way, the groundwork for this Christian missionary enterprise was prepared by a number of European scholars who had visited Africa, and who had - without any justification whatsoever - declared Africans a people without belief or knowledge of the Supreme Being - God. For example, Frobenon, who was a German explorer, wrote that before he visited Africa he read from a Berber journal that the Africans were introduced to a genuine faith, and higher culture, by the Arabs, and that Africans - strictly speaking - had no religion of their own (Aderibigbe and Aiyegboyin (eds,): 2001). Also, in the opinion of E. B. Ellis, the Supreme Being was a borrowed idea from the missionaries. In the case of Ludwig (an anthropologist), he could not imagine the untutored Africans having a concept of God; to him, the concept was too philosophical for the Africans to formulate because they were savages. (Aderibigbe and Aiyegboyin (eds.): 2001) Unfortunately, the negative attitudes of Christian missionaries not only reinforced but also reechoed these positions. If anything else their own were even more damaging. The African religion, along with all its beliefs and practices, was totally rejected. Indeed the ingredients that made the African religion, and its spirituality, existentially meaningful were regarded and dismissed as abominations (Aderibigbe, 2001). The Christian missionaries became so prejudiced against the African religion to the extent that they began to use offensive and negative terminology, such as “paganism”, “heathenism”, “idolatry”, among others, to designate the religion.

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Essentially, Christian missionaries regarded the African religion as invalid, and the people practicing it as uncivilized. Thus, they considered themselves armed with a God-given commission to achieve the dual missions of not only civilizing them, but also converting them to the only true religion where salvation is obtainable (Aderibigbe, 2001). Overall, the hospitality and religious tolerance of the African people was taken for granted, and was abused with a repayment of cultural, religious arrogance, and a disdain that was hard to understand. This perhaps gave justification for the missionaries attempt not only to change the religion of the people, which is of course all encompassing, but actually to change their whole personal identity – an outcome that would make a “white-man” out of the African, in all manner of ways, except by his color. To achieve this singular purpose, the missionaries introduced measures that would bring fundamental changes in the thinking, attitude, customs and traditions of the African converts. The attempt at eradicating the African religion is summed up pungently by Adewale (1986) “The missionaries saw nothing good and preservable in the religion of the people they were converting and in their struggle to make converts of all the people they attempted to wipe out other religions everywhere they went throughout the country (Africa). In their preaching campaigns, the Christians used provocative and obnoxious languages. They ridiculed the adherents of other religions, called them names and practically demonstrated the nothingness of their religious objects”.

Even away from the African continent, and in various locations in Europe, South and North America, the slaves who survived the cruel march from the hinterlands to the coast - the awaiting gun and the gruesome sea voyages - also faced conscious and determined campaigns to strip them of their native religion - the African religion. For instance, the enslaved Africans in Europe were, so to say, required to submit to a divine ethno-social dynamic, which legitimized the white slave masters. Not only did Christianity excuse this rhetoric, but also seemed to have subscribed to the notion that it was only by becoming Christians that the African slaves would be delivered from a more degrading religious slavery, that of heathenism and savagery as represented in the Indigenous African religion (Conser, 1993). Also, on arriving in the “new world”, African slaves were subjected to processes that would make them compliant. The most functional process was thought to be that of ensuring the slaves forsake their Indigenous religion and become Christians, to imbibe the Christian biblical and theological justification for slavery. In addition, African slaves erroneously thought that conversion to Christianity would earn

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them their freedom. This evidently happened when slaves from South Carolina struggled to escape to Florida, where the Spanish prince promised them their freedom as a reward for conversion to Christianity. Consequently, a law had to be passed, for example in 1667, by the colony of Virginia that conversion to Christianity would not change the status from being a slave to becoming a free person (Sambolb-Tosco, 2004).

Strategies and Success of Redress Available for the Most Disadvantaged Religion For the African indigenous religion, the strategies to seek redress and redeem itself from the status of the most disadvantaged religion, have always been both continental and Diaspora based. In addition, they have often been multifaceted and at different levels and stages of contact and relations with Islam, and particularly Christianity, coming out of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and its aftermath.

On the African Continent African traditional religion has, no doubt, continued to exist on the African continent as one of its three main religions, though with a huge reduction in those who follow it. Consequently, its disadvantage in competitive religious affiliation has become obvious. However, what is of interest to us here is the response of those converted to Christianity, in the context of their paradoxical strategies of religious existence. While accepting the new faith, some African Christians are still committed to the preservation and relevance of the indigenous religion. Perhaps the motivating factor(s) for these responses were consequential on the convert’s experiences about Christianity, compared to their “old” religion. First, their old religion - the indigenous religion practiced before Christianity - was an all-life involving religion. It took care of all aspects of the life of the people, be they social, political, economic or religious. Indeed, all societal morals were inseparably tied to its values, denoting a total immersion of the facets of the people’s lives who were involved with it. Unfortunately, missionary Christianity could not meet this standard. It was discovered to be a “Sunday-Sunday” affair that failed to address the existential problems of the converts, such as sterility; the illnesses associated with witchcraft and other evil forces; marital difficulties; famine; and economic woes, among others. Secondly, as the converts would soon find out, missionary Christianity lacked the rich, spontaneous and all-embracing religious qualities that were the hallmarks of the

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indigenous religion. It was then obvious that the functional and pragmatic spirituality of the indigenous religion contrasted sharply with the repetitive, lukewarm and stereotyped liturgy of missionary Christianity. The dynamics of the responses, based on these revelations, was actualized at two stages and in two forms. The first stage and form was when Christianity was still taking root in different African communities. The continued influence and relevance of the indigenous religion was demonstrated in the mixture of double loyalty and syncretism. For instance, the Yoruba community of South-Western Nigeria could be used a model for these dispensations. For example, it became necessary for the converted Yoruba to adjust to the reality ‘on the ground’. He had to seek a cultural identity that best suited the new religion he had taken on, which in practical terms did not completely satisfy his mundane and spiritual needs, and his old religion, which served him practically in all his endeavors. The second stage emerged when Christianity had finally taken root. The form of response was the conviction that for the Yoruba Christian to resolve his dilemma of identity, the Christian faith within him had to be acculturated. We are particularly concerned about the first stage and form of response. This is because it is at this stage and form that the ‘identity’ and ‘preservation’ of the African religion remained values to be protected and practiced, at worst, in parallel with Christianity, and maybe even Islam. At the second stage and form, the acculturation, or enculturation, of Christianity - by injecting “minimal” elements of African beliefs into the Christian practice - still substantially placed Christianity at an advantageous position in sharing African religious space. In the attempt to validate this dual affiliation, the new Yoruba convertChristian sought justification for his double loyalty and syncretism in Yoruba philosophical sayings such as: 1. Oju kan ko loja ni Translated: It is not only an entrance that leads to the market. 2. Oju orun to eye fo lai fara gun ra won Translated: The sky is wide enough for all kinds of birds to fly There are also traditional songs that gave support to this dual affiliation. For example:

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1. Awa o soro ile wa a o Awa o soro ile wa o Igbagbo o pe ka wa ma soro. Awa o soro ile wa o Translated: We shall celebrate our traditional rites; Christianity does not prevent us from celebrating our traditional rites. We shall celebrate our traditional rites. 2. Igbagbo o ni ka ma sode (2c) Ba ba ti sosi de a gbebon wa Igbagbo o ni ka ma sode Translated: Christianity does not say we should not hunt When we come from the church we shall go to hunt. Taking refuge in the above sayings and songs, the typical new Yoruba convert saw nothing wrong in attending the Christian service on Sunday, and on subsequent days of the week engaging in the traditional religion. Thus, he could seek the efficacious solutions to his problem - spiritual, economic, health, etc. at the feet of herbalists who provided protection and cures. In addition, he could take part in various traditional festivals, such as Egungun, Oro, and others, to venerate different gods. He did all these, whilst not minding the brimstone condemnation of such activities by the preacher on Sundays. he discussion on the continued presence of African indigenous religions, on the African continent, cannot be concluded without pointing out that despite the acclaimed abandonment of the African religious beliefs and practices - by overwhelming numbers of African Christians and Muslims - a very large percentage of them still return quite often to the “forsaken” religion. Though this may be done secretly, when the going gets tough and Christianity and Islam seem not to be able to offer the needed solution(s), the Indigenous religion becomes the proverbial stone; once rejected it becomes the corner stone. In addition, not a few Christians and Muslims return to their ancestral towns and villages to partake of various annual traditional festivals.

African Diaspora The strongest statement and strategy to preserve the African Indigenous religion, particularly amongst the Diaspora, almost exclusively belongs to the ‘new world” of South America. This is because although in North America the slaves and their freed descendants injected elements of the indigenous religion into the Christian religion, the product has been so

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immersed in Christian beliefs and practices that the best gain of the African religious component in it is the presence of black theology that essentially still constitutes a branch of Christian theology. On the other hand, the Syncretic product of the combination of African religious beliefs and practices and Christian beliefs and practices, particularly in the Catholic veneration of saints, has produced distinct religions across the Caribbean and Latin America that are in substance virtually preservations of the Indigenous African religion. When they reached the new world, the slaves were faced with the reality of being forced to convert to Christianity. They were in dilemma of the strategy to employ so as to be able to keep their traditions alive, and at the same time convince their masters of being obedient and practicing their (Masters’ religion - Catholicism). The slaves reasoned that they were in need of spiritual resources capable of sustaining their broken spiritual and physical enslaved conditions, and were convinced that such spiritual succor could only be provided by the Indigenous religion that was rooted in the African Cosmology. It was therefore expedient to evolve a religion consonant with their existential realities of slavery and the demand of the slave Masters to be converted to Christianity. It should also be a religion that would have the resilience and pragmatism to withstand and ultimately survive attacks, ridicules, misunderstanding and derogation as an invalid religion. The slaves found the answer in the practicing of their indigenous religion through the venerations of African deities under the guise of Catholicism. The slaves prayed to Catholic icons and appeared to support Christian ideals, however, this was only in appearance as they were merely using the Catholic saints as symbols or representations of their African traditional deities. This is vividly demonstrated, for example, in the Santeria religion of Cuba where for nearly every orisha there is a correlating Catholic saint based on associations made by the slaves between the mythology of the orishas and attributes or qualities identified with Catholic saints, particularly as perceived in the iconographic representation of the latter in the statues and chromolithographs that were an important element of colonial popular Catholicism and religious instruction. Changó, the Yoruba orisha of fire and thunder, for example, was identified with Santa Bárbara, the patroness of Spanish artillery, due to her iconographic representation in chromolithographs in which she dressed in red – Chango’s symbolic color – and her identification with the thundering artillery cannons. (Olmos & Gebert 34). What then developed was a syncretic dynamic that produced Neo African Religions all over the Caribbean and Latin America. This phenomenon, as a strategy in preserving African traditional religion, has

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become a subject of interest in scholarship located in the transplantation and transcontinental interplay of different religious traditions. Within the context of the African Diaspora, the transplantation of African religious traditions in the “New World” - through the unfortunate involuntary trafficking of Africans as slaves, between the 14th and 18th centuries - has become significant in the establishments of the Neo - African religions that have continued to reflect the very basic peculiarities of African religious textures. A study of the composition and prevalence of these religions in the South American region clearly indicates a dominance of Yoruba religious devotion to orishas. This is not to suggest that the religious beliefs and practices of slaves from other parts of Africa are absent. Out of the five groupings of syncretic religions in the different countries of the Caribbean and Latin America, these Neo - African religions are currently predominantly practiced in the countries as shown: 1. Santeria (Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico & North America). 2. Voodoo (Haiti, North America) 3. Shango (Trinidad, Grenada) 4. Candomble (Brazil). It is important to point out that these religions drew from similar African backgrounds and then borrowed from the Catholic devotion to saints, to produce the syncretic religions. In addition, the religions have unmistakable common features, which consist of the sustenance of the African traditional religious components from which the religions came. These features are still practiced among devotees of the African (Yoruba) Religion on the African Continent. They include healing (both physical and spiritual); rituals and sacrifices in religious ceremonies; communication with Deities and Ancestors; divination; and spirit possession, through which devotees seek to have knowledge of the future and go through the process of being “mounted” by the divinities. Also, very central to all the religions is the concept of “Ase”, regarded as the Divine (Olodumare) force, or energy, dispensed through the agencies of the divinities. It is worth noting that these religions have not only become predominant in the regions of Latin- America and the Caribbean, but in addition are now practiced in many cities of North America. Their visibility is relevant in shaping the religious worldviews of the areas where they originated, and other parts of the world to which they have spread. This has given justification for their being competitive in global religious

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space. Indeed, while not diminishing the reality of the continued presence and practice of the African religion on the African continent, it can safely be predicted that the ultimate future of the African religion - and its search for advantageous redress against other religions, particularly Christianity depend on these religions as Neo - African religions. Our position is evidenced by the fact that the religions have succeeded in preventing the “liquidation” of the African religious identity in the “New World” (The Americas). Consequently, they have become the bastions of the sustainability of the African Religious worldview.

Conclusion and Final Reflections The Trans-Atlantic Slave trade had immense impact on every aspect of Africans on the African continent itself, and the African Diaspora communities that were by-products of the enterprise of human transportation across the ocean. Many people, institutions and agencies have been identified as culpable for the trade and its aftermath, however, this paper focuses on placing a form of this culpability within the context of religious configurations arising from both its immediate and subsequent consequences of the slave trade. The major questions raised in addressing this culpability are: (1) which of the religions was positioned to, and did, benefit from the most because of the trans-Atlantic? (2) What were the nature and processes employed for dominance? (3) Which of the religions suffered the greatest loss? (4)What were the nature and implications of the loss? (5) What measures or strategies of redress became available for the most disadvantaged religion, and how far have these succeeded? These questions are essentially associated with the impact of the slave trade on the religious competitive space of the African continent, and the Diaspora. Three religions: the African indigenous religion, Christianity, and Islam, constituted the major “dramatis Personae” of this experience. The three religions had different levels of competitive presence in the pre- Trans-Atlantic slave trade of Africa. However, the propensity of the dynamics of the trade, and its aftermath, changed and perpetually institutionalized advantages and disadvantages that were substantial departures from the religious status of the pre Trans-Atlantic trade of Africa. Within this context, the Christian religion, through the activities of missionaries and the collaboration of various colonial authorities, became competitively advantageous and became culpable in the attempt to annihilate the African religion in both Africa and the African Diaspora.

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At the opposite end, the African indigenous religion suffered the most, not only through depopulation of its adherents by the slave trade, but also and more formidably - through the onslaught of the Christian missions in ensuring the conversion of Africans and African slaves in the new world. However, while the advantages of Christianity, and to some extent Islam, became extensively permanent in the post Trans-Atlantic slave trade of Africa, the African religion - both in its purity and parallel practices with Christianity and Islam - has continued to struggle for survival on the African Continent. On the other hand, the African religion, which “accompanied” the slaves to the new world, has not only metamorphosed into African Derived Religions, in the Americas, but has also become significantly competitive for global religious space. They have substantially prevented the intended “liquidation” of the African religious identity and going into the future, they definitely represent the dynamics of sustainability of the African religious beliefs and practices in defiance of the overwhelming advantages of other religious traditions.

Works Cited Adewale, S.A.. “The African Church (Inc.): A Protest against Imperialism in the Church of Nigeria Before God” in Mala, S. B. (ed.) Religion and Development. Ibadan: NASR. 1986 Aderibigbe, Gbolade and Aiyegboyin, Deji. (eds.) Religion: Study and Practice. Ibadan: Olu Akin Press. 2001 Ayandele, E. A. African Historical Studies. London: Frank Cass. 1979. Ajayi, J.F.A., Christian Mission in Nigeria, 1841-1892: The Making of New Elite. Hong Kong: Commonwealth Printing. 1965. Beidelman, T. O. Colonial Evangelism: A Socio- Historical Study of an East African Mission at the Grassroots. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. 1982. Boyd-Franklin, Nancy. Black Families in Therapy: Understanding the African American Experience 2006. Clark, Mary Ann. Where men are, wives and mothers rule: Santería ritual practices and their gender implications. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida. 2005. Comaroff, John. of Revelation and Revolution: Christianity, Colonialism, and Consciousness in South Africa. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 1996. De La Torre, Miguel A. Santería: the beliefs and rituals of a growing religion in America. Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co. 2004.

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Goldernberg, D. M. The Curse of Ham: Race& Slavery in Early Judaism, Christian. Princeton University Press. 2005 Hastings, Adrian. The Church in Africa: 1450-1950. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1996. Idowu, E. B. Olodunmare: God in Yoruba Belief. London: Longman. 1962. —. African Traditional Religion. London: SMC. 1974. Lovejoy, Paul & Richardson, D. Competing markets for male and female slaves: Prices in the interior of West Africa, 1780-1850. The International Journal of African Historical Studies. 1995 (28.2). Mason, Michael Atwood. Living Santeria: rituals and experiences in an Afro-Cuban religion. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. 2002. Nelson, Jack E. Christian Missions and Social Transformation: A History of Conflict and Change in Eastern Zaire. New York: Praeger Publishers. 1992. Nunn, N. & Wantchekon, L. The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and the Origins of Mistrust within Africa. MA: Harvard University Press. 2008. Oduyeye. M. O. "The Planting of Christianity in Yorubaland", in Christianity in West Africa, Nigerian Story. Kalu O. U. ed. Ibadan: Daystar. 1978. Olmos, Margarite Fernández and Paravisini-Gebert, Elisabeth. Creole religions of the Caribbean: an introduction from Vodou and Santería to Obeah and Espiritismo. New York: New York University Press. 2003. Oliver, Roland. The Missionary Factor in east Africa. London: Longman Green. 1952. Opoku, Asare. "Conversion and Religion Pluralism in Africa." Dialogue Alliance. 2. Peabody, Sue. “A Nation Born to Slavery”: Missionaries and racial discourse in Seventeenth-Century French Antilles. Journal of Social History. (2004), 38.1. Priest, Josiah. 1852. Bible Defence of Slavery: And Origin, Fortunes, and History of the Negro.1852. Reis, Joao J. “Slave resistance in Brazil: Bahia, 1807-1835.” LusoBrazilian Review. (1988), 25. Richardson, David. 1989. “Slave exports from West and West-Central Africa, 1700-1810: New estimates of volume and distribution.” The Journal of African History. (1989), 30.1.

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Sandoval, Mercedes Cros. Worldview, the Orishas, and Santería: Africa to Cuba and Beyond. Gainesville: University Press of Florida 2006. Schwartz, Marie J. “Family life in the slave quarters: Survival strategies.” OAH Magazine of History. (2001), 15.4. Schmidt, Bettina E. “The Creation of Afro-Caribbean Religions and their Incorporation of Christian Elements: A Critique against Syncretism.” Transformation. (2006), 23.4. Spear, Thomas. “Neo-traditionalism and the limits of invention in British colonial Africa.” The Journal of African History. (2003), 44.1. Strayer, R. T. The Making of Mission Communities in East Africa London: Heinemann, 1978. Wiethoff, William. Enslaved Africans’ rivalry with White overseers in plantation culture: An unconventional interpretation. Journal of Black Studies. (2006), 36.3. Wedel, Johan. Santería healing: a journey into the Afro-Cuban world of divinities, spirits, and sorcery. Gainesville: University Press of Florida.2004. Evans, William Mckee. “From the Land of Canaan to the Land of Guinea: The Strange Odyssey of the Sons of Ham” 1990. Wirtz, Kristina. Ritual, discourse, and community in Cuban Santería: speaking a sacred world. Gainesville: University Press of Florida. 2007.

CHAPTER SEVEN A RE-INTERPRETATION OF THE ABOLITION OF THE ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE IN EUROPE IN THE 18TH CENTURY AND NEW TRENDS IN NIGERIA ROTIMI OMOTOYE

Introduction Slavery is an old, as well as a contemporary, concept being discussed at Local National and International conferences. In the Bible, Joseph - a slave boy who later became a Prime Minister in Egypt - was sold into slavery by his brothers, “and they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver; and they took Joseph to Egypt” (Genesis 37:28). During the Yoruba internecine war, many slaves were captured and sold into slavery. Akinjogbin opines “In 1840, the Ibadan army conquered the Ilorin army at Osogbo and drove them back to Ofa. Between 1840 and 1870, Ibadan fought successful wars against most of the other Yoruba groups, taking over Ife, Ijesa, and Ekiti.” (Akinjogbin 2003:3). A good example was the enslavement of a man named Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther, who was sold by his people in Osogun village near Iseyin, in the present Oyo state of Nigeria in 1821. According to Omotoye, “He was educated by the Church Missionary Society (CMS) and later became the first African Bishop in 1864” (Omotoye 2003:172). The Atlantic slave trade was another phase in the history of slavery in Nigeria. Ade Ajayi says: “Large numbers of slaves, not merely individuals but sometimes all able-bodied members of a whole village found themselves in Cuba and Brazil” (Ajayi 2003:13). However, it is observed in our research that many Nigerians in the 21st century, such as young Professionals, Academics, Business Men and

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Women, Religious leaders, and even Prostitutes, are found relocating to European countries, America and to Britain. The relocation is having a devastating effect on the political and socio-economic development of Nigeria. The Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (ASUU), on several occasions, has spoken on the effect of ‘brain drain’ on the educational development of Nigeria. Today, many eminent scholars are found scattered all over the World in search of “greener pastures”. Studies have shown that the challenges at home are responsible for some of the migrations to the “white mans’ land”. My research study in Padova, Italy in 2012 has shown that there are many young women there who have entered into prostitution.

The Atlantic Slave trade We observed that different interpretations have been given to justify or condemn the Atlantic slave trade. Therefore, we are examining the concept from an African point of view. In fact, some African personalities and scholars have argued that reparations should be paid by the European countries that were involved in the inhuman Atlantic slave trade of the 15th - 18th centuries, in Africa. The late Chief M.K.O. Abiola (Harunah 2001:87), an advocate of reparation said: “If Africans of my generation, newly freed from the shackles of oppression and silence (perpetuated by both the slave dealers, slaveowners, slave-users and European colonial masters), fail to fight for reparations, we shall be judged (by the future generations of Black and African peoples), no better than the (African) Kings, (monarchs), and Princes, (as well as their different subordinate chiefs), who (had) collaborated with slave traders”.

Slavery as an institution was not new, in Nigeria in particular, and in Africa in general. According to Harunah (2001:10) “there had always been the trans-Saharan slave trade in West Africa, prior to the growth of the trans-Atlantic slave trade”. He went further to define the term slavery, and the slave trade. According to him slavery “is a social and economic institution that encourages the legalization of the forceful acquisition of persons for sale. Therefore, it is a phenomenon that allows for the supplanting of “man”, in a most painful, shocking, and horrific manner, from his cultural area to another society.” He went further to define the slave trade as “the buying and selling of human beings.” It was a common practice, especially during inter-tribal wars in Yorubaland, in the 18th century.

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The objective of this paper therefore is to examine the factors that led to the introduction and abolition of the Atlantic slave trade in the 18th century. We shall also examine the factors that are responsible for the migration of many Nigerian youths to Europe, and America, in the 20th and 21st centuries. A daily visit to the American embassy in Lagos would indicate the number of Nigerian young men and women who are currently applying for visas to travel to America for survival. This is the same with the number of people willing to go to Britain, and other European countries. It is alarming and un-precedented; a phenomenon which is depopulating the country. Many young professionals who should be in a position to contribute to the political and socio-economic life of their own country are frustrated, disillusioned and ‘out there’ in foreign countries! The questions are why, and what are the solutions to the problem? The scope of the paper will be limited to Nigeria, so as to avoid the generalization of ideas. The methodology adopted is historical and phenomenological (Omotoye 2011:38). According to Crowther: (1978:48) “Until the fifteen century Africa, south of the Sahara, had remained unknown to Europe”. The first contact between Europe and Nigeria was the coming of the Catholic Portuguese Christian Missionaries to Benin and Warri, in the present Edo and Delta states respectively. Michael Crowther opines that “Ewuare the Great may have been the first Oba of Benin to meet a European. According to Antonio Galvao, Ruy de Sequiera reached Benin in 1472 during his reign. However, it is more likely that the first European to visit Benin was Joao Affonso d’Aveiro who reached Benin in 1846”. Unfortunately, the Christian mission did not succeed because of various factors, which have been highlighted by eminent scholars like Ryder, Erivwo, Ade Ajayi, Michael Crowther, Lamin Sanneh etc. A major factor in the failure of the 15th century mission was the introduction of the Atlantic slave trade. The exportation of slaves from the territory, later named Nigeria, was started in Benin in 1441. By that date, many slaves were already on sale in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. Michael Crowther said, “Later it was discovered that by exporting slaves from Benin to Mina huge profits could be made, since gold merchants were prepared to pay for them at twice their original cost”. The obnoxious and illegitimate trade became popular and persistent for almost three hundred and fifty years. The slave trade became popular and acceptable because of the growth of the “plantation complex” in the New World, which required a massive labour-input, to ensure a large-scale production. The Portuguese were later joined in the competition for slaves by other countries, such as the Netherlands, Denmark, France and Britain. It may be difficult to ascertain the actual number of slaves that were exported,

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from Nigeria in particular, and West Africa in general, to Europe. Many scholars have contributed to the debate without consensus, or an accurate figure. According to Harunah “Professor Curtain published his estimates, which put the total number of persons exported from Africa at 5,247,334 in 1969. Other scholars like Michael Crowther opines: “some estimates put the total number of slaves exported from West Africa and Angola as high as 24,000,000, of which probably only 15,000,000 survived the notorious Middle Passage across the Atlantic”. Other scholars, such as Inikori, Anstey, Seymour, Lovejoy and Walter Rodney have all contributed to the debate. Our concern in this paper is not to justify the actual number of people taken to slavery but to ascertain that many able bodied, and healthy African people were lost to Africa. However, it is necessary to mention that they were dehumanized, maltreated, exploited and suppressed. “On board ship the lot of the slaves was terrible. Crammed into the holds of the ships, men slaves were shackled to each other by chains. There was hardly room to move; it was impossible for them to excrete, other than where they were lying, so that dysentery soon became rife” (Crowther 1978:48). It is also on record that some of the slaves protested the inhuman treatment meted out to them in the process of transporting them to Europe. In fact, some slaves in Brazil, Havana, some of the French West Indian colonies and Jamaica were seen protesting against such inhuman treatment. However, it is interesting to note that the Yoruba slaves in Brazil retained their identity because of the large population maintained there. Crowther opines that “Today there has developed, in Bahia and other towns that were based on a slave economy, a syncretistic religion combining elements of the Catholic and Yoruba religion. Yoruba from Nigeria can still recognize the religious ceremonies practiced by their cousins in Brazil. In Cuba, Efik, and Ibibio, slaves re-created Egbo, whose membership included both black and white. In Haiti, Voodoo is a survival of traditional African religions”.

Abolition of slave trade Different authors from different perspectives have discussed the factors that were responsible for the abolition of the slave trade in Europe. We believe that the factors should be re-examined, appraised and interpreted from an African perspective. Some scholars believed that slavery was stopped in Europe, to indicate the generosity and loving kindness of the whites, towards the blacks who were enslaved. Our study has shown that the abolition of slavery was necessitated because of the unpleasant and

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unfavourable socio-economic life in Europe at the time. The idea of abolition was championed by Britain for almost thirty years before its official adoption in 1807. The existence of the slaves became irrelevant, disturbing, and un-necessary, in the European states, hence a call for the abolition and re-settlement of the slaves in Sierra-Leone, West Africa. Some of the factors that necessitated the abolition of the slave trade in Europe were the technological developments in Europe; the activities of the Humanitarians; Lord Mansfield Judgment of 1772; and Religious revival in Europe.

Technological development in Europe Britain and some European countries gradually advanced technologically towards the end of the 18th century. Machines were invented to replace manual labour, which pre-occupied the slaves. These inventions made slavery anachronistic and irrelevant in Europe. The resultant effect was un-employment, an increase in crime, and over-crowding in the cities. It was therefore resolved that the slaves from Africa should be permitted to go back home. The European countries became more interested in items of legitimate trade, such as palm oil, cocoa, coffee and other agricultural products that would be needed to develop their economy.

Lord Chief Justice Mansfield judgment In 1772, a case was brought before Lord Chief Justice Mansfield to decide whether it was lawful for a man to enslave another man. In Britain, the law was no respecter of anyone; status, or position. The law was interpreted in accordance with the British law. It was a case involving a slave called “Somerset” and his master “Knowles” (Somerset v. Knowles), (Crowther 1978:34). The inhuman treatment meted out to Somerset made Granville Sharpe, one of the Humanitarians, to fight tooth and nail for the interpretation of the law. The Chief Justice ruled in a landmark judgment that “once a slave set foot on British soil he became free” (Crowther 1978:34). The interpretation became precedence for other cases involving slaves in other European countries.

Activities of the Humanitarians In 1787, a society known as the Society for the Abolition of Slave Trade was formed to protect the rights of the slaves in Britain. Some of the members of the group were William Wilberforce, Granville Sharp,

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Thomas Clarkson, and Phillip Quarke. The Association made use of their political influence, in government and politics, to advocate and struggle for the protection of the human rights of the slaves. William Wilberforce, who was a member of the House of Parliament, made use of his position to advocate for the freedom of the slaves.

The Effect of the American War of Independence The independence won by America, in 1776, from Britain had its effect on the slaves that fought on both sides. The war was a revelation, and a removal of the invisibility of the Europeans in the eyes of the black people. The war made the Africans become closer to the white people, and it made them realize that, after all, the white people were ordinary people like themselves, in nature. The independence, won by the Americans, made the Africans also seek their freedom and liberty from their masters. There is an English saying that “what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander”.

Religious Re-awakening The period of the abolition of the slave trade had its effect on the reinterpretation of the Bible, in favour of the Africans. This position is in line with Adamo’s advocacy for Biblical Interpretation from an African perspective. He opines “The purpose is not only to understand the Bible and God in our African experience and culture, but also to break the hermeneutical hegemony and ideological stranglehold that Eurocentric biblical scholars have long enjoyed”. (Adamo 2004:7). The protagonists of slavery used some texts in the Bible to justify the inhuman and illegitimate trade. Ukpong (2005:41) gave an example in his “paper Inculturation as Decolonization of Biblical Studies in Africa” that “the so-called curse of Ham whose descendants are listed in Gen.10:1-14, and Chron.1:8-16, as the Cushites (Ethiopeans), Mizraimites (Egyptians), Putites, and Canaanites. In Gen.9:18-27, Ham sees the nakedness of his drunken Father Noah, but instead of covering… Noah’s curse directly on Ham and adds: “your seed will be ugly and dark-skinned”. The earlier interpretation by Eurocentric biblical scholars was given a different interpretation in the 18th century in favour of the Africans. The new religious movements in Europe were passionate and they saw the slaves as human beings created by God in the same way as them. Human slavery was condemned, and freedom was advocated for them.

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However, Britain succeeded in making a law banning the slave trade in 1807, although some un-scrupulous traders were still involved in it until 1833 when the British government set up the anti-slavery squad to patrol the sea, so as to arrest incalcitrant and disobedient traders. The action paid off later, even though it led to the untimely death of many African slaves in transit on the sea. Other nations, such as Denmark, the U.S.A., Sweden and the Netherlands equally supported Britain in her quest for the abolition of the slave trade.

New Trend in Perspective in Nigeria It is true that Nigeria won her political independence, in 1960, from Britain. (Aluko 1978:622) The political and socio-economic events following it have shown that the country is still experiencing neocolonialism. According to Awolowo, (1978:87) Nigeria, like any other nation in Africa, is faced with the problem of “ignorance; illiteracy; disease; calorie deficiency; dependence on subsistence agriculture; an excessive under-employment of the rural population; and deficiency in techniques, organization and capital”. We may add there were also challenges, such as corruption; religious violence; armed robbery; insecurity of lives and property; brain drain; and prostitution.

Corruption Corruption has been identified as a major factor in the underdevelopment of Nigeria. We are aware that corruption is a global phenomenon (Omotoye 2007:596), however, in some societies the laws of dealing with corrupt officials are active and duly implemented. The first military coup, in January 1966, identified the problem of corruption as a reason for seizing power. Unfortunately, the era of military regimes in Nigerian history was full of corruption and nepotism. For instance, General Yakubu Gowon made a promise to stamp out corruption “the fight against corruption would continue and proven cases of corruption will be firmly dealt with” (Ojiako: 6). His government was toppled by another military junta with a promise to eradicate corruption in the country. In the last few years of civilian regime, the issue of corruption is on the front burner, as it is strangulating the socio-economic development of the country. An article in a recent publication of a weekly News Magazine (2012:14) entitled: “Forgotten Cases of Looting”, states that many politicians who were taken to a court of law for prosecution are still enjoying their loot, and some of them are still in government. It is the view

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of the editor of the magazine that “High profile cases, filed over five years ago, are still at plea stages, even as the accused persons have returned to political and economic prominence”. It has permeated every sector of Nigerian society; in fact, the religious circle cannot be exonerated from the mess. The emphasis being laid on “prosperity theology”, if not properly examined, may turn out to be counter-productive. Corruption has crippled the operation of many companies and corporations in Nigeria, resulting in their relocation to neighbouring countries.

Unemployment As a result of bad economy, and its resultant effect, many people are retrenched daily in both private and public service. Many youths are graduating annually from about one hundred and twenty-two Universities, not to mention the Polytechnics, Colleges of Education, Technical Colleges and numerous Secondary schools, in the country, without hope of being gainfully employed. The effect of this is an increase in crime rate and an over-crowding in cities because of migration from rural to urban areas. Many of the youths are readily available for recruitment into religious riots, which are being witnessed in Northern Nigeria, especially in the Almajiris.

Illiteracy and Ignorance Awolowo (1978:67) once opined that the “percentage of illiteracy in Africa is about 84 per cent” in regard to agriculture; between 76 per cent and 80 per cent of the people in under-developed economies engage in subsistence farming. The majority of Nigerian farmers are still relying on hoes and cutlasses to carry out their duties on the farm. Because of that, they can hardly provide enough agricultural produce for the nation. In the 21st century, the Government is still importing rice and other food items, and this is affecting the economy of the nation negatively. It is on record that, before independence, the Government of the Western region was dependent on income from Cocoa; the Northern region relied on groundnut; while the economy of the Eastern region was from coal and mining. With the discovery of crude oil, the economy of the country has become a mono-economy and the agricultural aspect has been neglected. However, some efforts are being made of recent to revive the agricultural economy.

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Insecurity Insecurity is the major challenge that has been witnessed in Nigeria over the last few years. The nefarious activities of Boko Haram - an Islamic religious sect based in Northern Nigeria - are disturbing and dreadful. Many Christians have been killed unceremoniously; churches bombed by suicide bombers; government security agencies are attacked; and government institutions are destroyed. During the regime of the late President Sanni Abacha, many Nigerians were forced to go on exile to some European countries because of the insecurity and persecution of the members of NADECO, in particular, and those who were opposed to his transition to a civilian President. The rate of armed robbery, assassination and theft are increasing on a geometric rate in the country.

Brain drain of Academics in Nigerian Universities The Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (ASUU) has consistently and doggedly being protecting the sanctity and standard of education in the Universities. The military and civilian governments alike were fought to a standstill through strikes, to draw the attention of the government to the decay and lack of infrastructure in Nigerian Universities. They also emphasized that many good academics are leaving the Universities because of poor remuneration and welfare packages. This led to the concept of “Brain drain”. ASUU came out with the saying “my pay cannot take me home”. The struggle made the government of President Olusegun Obasanjo increase the salary of the Academic staff in Nigerian Universities.

Lack of adequate health facilities in Nigerian Hospitals It is observed that many government hospitals lack the necessary medical facilities and equipment to handle and care for sick people. The rate by which those in power, and government circles, are travelling abroad for medical check-ups in hospitals is a confirmation of this fact. Of recent, the wife of Nigeria President Jonathan Goodluck was admitted to a German hospital. A visit to the American embassy, for an interview for this conference, enabled me to come across some Nigerians in wheel chairs - also there for interviews – which had travelled to America for medical treatment. The above-identified problems have made many young Nigerians leave the country for the United States of America, Britain and other European

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countries, in search of comfort and greener pastures. In fact, America has introduced the “American Lottery”, which has made many professionals join the “bandwagon”, which is depleting Nigerian ‘soil’. In a recent publication by the Nigerian Tribune (2012:8), it was reported “the US army is looking for native speakers of 44 languages, including Hausa, Igbo… and French West African”. Already, the New York Times, in its October 28, 2012 edition, reported the excitement of the recruits and US top officials handling the entire process. According to the report, the exercise was to fill “some of our most critical readiness needs”. The motive of the exercise is not yet clear to some researchers and investigators, however, it is clear that many young people quickly embraced the offer because many of them are already frustrated, and are highly disappointed by their fatherland.

Suggestions of over-coming some of the above identified challenges There is an urgent need for some solutions to the above challenges in Nigeria if we are to stem the exodus of youths in particular, and Nigerians in general, to foreign lands. The Government, at all levels in Nigeria, must provide jobs for the youths, especially those graduating from schools. Awolowo (1978:68) opines that “the solutions to the problem of the under-development in Africa are therefore clear. They consist of the full development and full employment of every African man or woman, child or adolescent”. Well, we believe that the Government of any nation may not be able to provide adequate and enough employment for her citizenry, however, an enabling environment must be made available for every Nigerian to be selfemployed. In other words, there must be regular electricity, good roads, pipe borne water, and a functional railway transportation system. The government must also provide free education, at all levels, to her citizenry. The Late Obafemi Awolowo provided free universal primary education for the people of the Western region in 1955; this caused the region to be ahead of others in the history of education in Nigeria. The Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), in the South-Western part of Nigeria, introduced free education at all levels in 1979, and many people benefited from it. The establishment of Private Universities in Nigeria has further enhanced the development of education in the country. Even though it is un-affordable for the common man, it has increased the level of students admitted for University education in Nigeria. The Federal Government of Nigeria took the “bull by the horns” some months ago with the

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establishment of Almajiris schools in Northern Nigeria when the school was made free for all children from that region. We may need to say that the Federal government should endeavour to extend such programmes to other parts of the country. The Government should also re-visit the issue of agriculture in the country. Instead of relying on oil, cocoa, groundnut, rubber production and coal, which were the exports relied on before independence, agriculture should be taken care of seriously. The government and private individuals should go into partnership and collaboration in this regard. Regarding ‘brain drain’, the welfare of university lecturers should be improved, and should compare well with those in foreign lands. There should be money for research, and International conferences should be properly and adequately funded. In order to minimize corruption, the leaders should lead by example and by their dedication, devotion, selflessness, honesty and sincerity in governance. The anti-corruption agencies, such as EFCC and ICPC should be made to function without any interference from the government. The government should be able to go into dialogue with the Boko Haram Islamic sect, so as to bring an end to the incessant killings, bombings, and the maiming of innocent people in Northern Nigeria.

Conclusion Nigeria is a developing country with her opportunities and challenges. The history of the Atlantic slave trade, and colonialism, is still being referred to at conferences as a hindrance to the development of Nigeria. However, we believe that the nation won her independence over fifty-two years ago! There is a need to stop attributing her failure to develop, or record great achievements, to such a colonial experience. Many countries that won their independence at the same time have developed technologically because members of their leadership are determined, courageous and highly focused. The Nigerian leaders should be sincere and honest in implementing policies that will better the life of the common man. The challenges for national growth and development should be addressed and implemented, especially the issue of corruption and unemployment. We believe that the new trend of youths relocating and migrating to Europe could be addressed if the suggestions mentioned above are seriously taken and implemented. However, it is interesting to note that the Nigerian people have the fundamental right to migrate to any country of their choice. It is also noted that some Nigerians, in Diaspora, are

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contributing significantly to the educational and economic development of Nigeria. Many University scholars are regularly invited to International conferences in America, and other European countries. In fact, African Studies has become part of the Curriculum being studied in some foreign Universities and some Nigerians, in Diaspora, are often seen investing in the economy of the country. For instance, the Guardian Newspaper of Saturday, 10th November, 2012 reported that Nigerians, in Diaspora, remitted 4.7 trillion Naira to the economy of Nigeria.

Works Cited Abogunrin, S.O. (eds), Decolonization of Biblical Interpretation in Africa, Ibadan: The Nigerian Association for Biblical Studies, 2005. Adamo, D.T. Decolonizing African Biblical Studies, 7th in the series of Inaugural Lecture of Delta State University, Abraka, delivered on 10th June, 2004. Ajayi, Ade J.F. “19th Century Wars and Yoruba Ethnicity” in Adeagbo Akinjogbin (ed) War and Peace in Yorubaland 1793-1893, Ibadan: Heinemann Educational Books, 2003. Aluko, Olajide. “Politics of decolonization in British West Africa, 19451960” in J.F. Ade Ajayi and Michael Crowder (eds) History of West Africa Volume Two, London: Longman, 1978. Akinjogbin, I.A.”Keynote Address in Adeagbo Akinjogbin (ed) War and Peace in Yorubaland 1793-1893, Ibadan: Heinemann Educational Books, 2003. Awolowo, Obafemi. “The Problems of Africa the Need for Ideological Reappraisal” University of Cape Coast: Macmillan Education Limited. Crowder, Michael. The Story of Nigeria, London: Faber and Faber, 1978. Harunah, H.B. The Political and Sociocultural Factors in the West African Slave Trade 1450-1897 With Notes on Underdevelopment and Reparation, Lagos:, Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilization(CBAAC),2001. Ojiako, J.O.13 Years of Military Rule 1966-79, Lagos: Daily Times Publication, N.D. Omotoye, Rotimi. “Koinonia and Corruption in the Early Church: A Paradigm in the Pre- Colonial and Colonial Era in Nigeria” in S.O. Abogunrin (eds) Biblical Studies and Corruption in Africa, Ibadan, Nigerian Association of Biblical Studies (NABIS), 2007. —. “The Yoruba Language as a Means of Communicating and Understanding the Bible”, Alore, Ilorin Journal of the Humanities” Volume 13, 2003.

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—. “The Church and National Development: The Case of the Redeemed Christian Church of God in Nigeria” In International Journal of Current Research in the Humanities, Cape Coast: University of Cape Coast, Ghana, 2011. NEWS “Forgotten Cases of Looting”, Volume 39, No 18,5th November, 2012. Tribune, 3rd November, 2012. Ukpong, J.S. “Inculturation as Decolonization of Biblical Studies in Africa” in S.O. Abogunrin (eds) Biblical Studies and Corruption in Africa, Ibadan, Nigerian Association of Biblical Studies (NABIS), 2007.

CHAPTER EIGHT A RELIGIOUS APPRAISAL OF THE CHRISTIAN ATTITUDE TO TRADITIONAL AND WESTERN MEDICINE IN A CHANGING WORLD: EVOLVING A PARADIGM OF HOLISTIC HEALING AFAOR DOROTHY NGUEMO

Introduction Traditional and Western Medicine have the potential to interplay with each other on the African continent. By using oral interviews, exploration of some of the existing literature on both Traditional and Western Medicine, and descriptive and analytical approaches, this study unravels the fact that Traditional Medicine is recognized in Africa. It utilizes herbal plants for holistic healing, which are also an effective raw material for orthodox medicine. From the findings, it is evident that some Christians have mixed feelings about Traditional Medicine. They view it as a superstitious thing, which should be discarded and thrown to the dogs. However, other Africans, Christians included, attest to the efficacy of Traditional Medicine. This chapter recommends that the government and Non-governmental organizations should strive hard to organize an awareness campaign depicting the value, holistic nature, and effective nature, of Traditional Medicine. This chapter also advocates that Traditional Medicinal Arts should be developed and strengthened to perform its role more effectively in these contemporary times. All nations should be helped to understand that Traditional and Western Medicine can be partners for the general good of the Global society. Realistically, Traditional Medicine has made laudable achievements in the face of criticism and condemnation. Some western doctors, and Christians, have nurtured a general notion that it is ineffective, fetish,

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primitive and crude, but I must point out that Africans cannot discard their cultural practices completely. The idea of herbal mixtures for holistic healing can best be described as: the application of some plants; the bark of trees; and animal substance; among others, to effect healing. In the contemporary African society, traditional and orthodox medicines are fundamentally regarded as our friends; they exist and work side by side. The bark of trees and some local substances, which serve to formulate into traditional recipes, are also considered as raw materials for orthodox medicine. In recent times, traditional medicine has been approved and some are included in the pharmacological treasury. They serve mankind very well indeed in the healing process. Against this backdrop, Gegge opines that: “It is with this aim that an experimented centre for traditional medicine has been established. Nigeria for instance, Pax Herbal Clinic and Research laboratories established by the monks of Ewu-Esan are championing this course. They are creating a comprehensive system of healing in which the method of diagnosis is western or orthodox and scientific but the treatment is herbal and natural. They produce herbal drugs that are well packaged and can be taken to any part of the world and which can stand side by side with any well-packaged western drugs. Some are even in form of capsules. They have a professor of botany from a nearby University and a pharmacognosist as their consultants” (Gegge, M. T., 2008: 117).

From the above standpoint, one can deduce that Traditional and Western Medicine are life saving institutions, which consist largely of the use of herbs as medicine, and special westernized recipes as raw materials for healing.

Conceptual Clarification Traditional: This connotes indigenousity based on peoples experience within their life pattern, handed over from generation to generation by fore fathers, with very little variations. Each African is traditionally born and his/her life is influenced by Tradition; that is to say, trained by the Tradition. Medicine is justifiably described as traditional because it involves all the rituals relating to belief practices, in the application and administration of herbal mixtures for holistic purposes. Modern Medicine: Alaba views Modern Medicine as an empirical science; a derivation of studied causes and effects; stated compounds and measures. Its application, to the human being, had often been limited to its nature without giving due consideration to the user; the composite man (Alaba, F. T. 1994: 13).

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Healing: This is restoration of a sick person in every ramification, be it spiritual, physical, emotional, and psychological. It is the state of making an individual whole. Traditional Medicine: The sum total of all knowledge and practices, whether explicable or not, used in the diagnosis, prevention, and elimination, of physical, mental or social imbalance, which relies exclusively on practical experience and observation handed down from generation to generation, whether verbally or in writing. (World Health Organization (WHO 1976: 574).

Diseases Etiology in African Societies Generally, disease is an inevitable reality and occurrence. In the African worldview, every disease is fundamentally believed as having a supernatural cause or origin. It can be transmitted from generation to generation as long as the root cause has not yet been discovered. In line with the above assertion, Gegge states that: “It is common knowledge that diseases, all forms of suffering, calamities are caused mystically in African world view. They are caused by witches, evil spirit, someone’s enemy, atrocities of one’s forefathers, divinities or deities, punishment for immoral lives, failure to perform certain obligations, broken taboos, those who commit abominable acts etc. since disease, ill-luck, calamities and the like have spiritual causes, the spiritual approach is required which defy the medical laboratory’s telescope”. (Gbenda, in Gegge, M. T. 2008: 61)

Among the Tiv people of central Nigeria, sickness is called “anger”, which means state of un-wholeness. It could be explained in explicit terms that sickness is somehow attributed to a breach of certain taboos enshrined in some mysterious and occult acts. When it occurs, there is distortion and disharmony in the body system. To Apenda, in the Benue people’s cosmology, disease or sickness is attributed to physical, spiritual, socio-psychological and moral causations. This implies that their cosmology is religious, with the different modes of existence well integrated. This is why the diviner is always consulted to recommend an appropriate remedy, or perform rituals of healing (Apenda, A. Z. 2008: 26). In support of the above discourse, Metuh buttressed that the causes of illness goes beyond the physical – biological. Most often, sickness has moral and mystical roots, thus, health and sickness conditions have physical, psychological, social and religious dimensions. (Mentuh, A. Z. 1994:19)

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From the above submission, it could be assumed that someone’s well being would only be guaranteed if he maintained a serene or tranquil relationship with the world, which is an abode of the visible and invisible entities. In a concise contribution, Shishima stressed that, “a man’s wellbeing consists only when he maintains a harmonious relationship with the cosmic totality, thus the disruption or disturbance of this harmony or relationship, at any level, can result to disease” (Shishima, D. S. 1997:100). In accordance with the above, he also remarks that in Tiv society, sickness may be caused by any of the following: Debts, bewitchment, sorcery, broken taboos, offending the gods and ancestors, lack of respect for elders, adultery with a neighbour’s wife, quarrels, jealousy, incest and culturally unacceptable marriages. (Shishima, D. S. 1997:101-102) Undeniably, the worldview of a people entails the general explanation of the reality of togetherness. Although it is not static, its changing nature can best be fundamentally described as a sociological activity. The African worldview about disease etiology varies from society to society, based on their belief system in terms of their nature and interaction. Among the Igbo of Eastern Nigeria, sickness does not just occur; its causative agent determines what would be applied as a recipe for healing. Asiegbu postulates that, “every event must have a cause, events must have identifiable causes”. (Asiegbu, M. F. 2006:28) This depicts a deep sincere conviction that events do not just occur. It is either that the anger of the spirits and ancestors are kindled against some culprits, or a misfortune is actually caused by a curse, or broken taboo. Scholars have made a lot of meaningful contributions concerning the people’s worldview about disease etiology. A singular fact remains that, generally, there can never be an event or occurrence without a causative agent. There must be a reason or explanation for a distorted body system or society; both the supernatural and natural causes are clearly involved. Among the Zulu, Shishima says, “There is a conviction that the ultimate cause of suffering and sickness is friction and tension in social relationship”. (Shishima, D. S. 2004:10) In agreement with the above perception, one could rightly deduce that there is a close line of connectivity between man, spirits, ancestors, and deities etc. For solace to be maintained there has to be a good functional relationship between man and other spiritual beings.

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Traditional and Western World Views on Medicine: A Comparative Analysis It is not an understatement to confirm that both Western and Traditional Medicines can cure people effectively - with the advent of science and technology some traditional practices have been eliminated and displaced, completely owing to the fact that Christianity derogates traditional practices as devilish. As such, many Christians feel that Traditional Medicine is fetish, crude, and does not have any substance. In contrast to this view, Babalola has reiterated that: “It is only African Traditional Medicine that is capable of handling disease and sickness caused by witchcraft and sorcery. It has also been noted in the Yoruba community that without effectively bringing the role of African Traditional Medicine into the healing of psychiatric patients, and victims of bones that are badly damaged, such healings are not effectively managed”. (Babalola, E. O. 2005:9)

Traditional Medicine is quite important, and it contributes in no small measure to the general good of society. Modernity has not totally erased some cultural practices of the African Tradition. Admittedly, therefore, modern trained doctors have sometimes advised patients in hospitals to consider Traditional Medicine when it appears that modern medicine cannot cure their diseases. This is because their sicknesses are incurable in Western hospitals. In view of this, Gegge says: “At the health care level, Traditional Health Practitioners and Medical Doctors can exchange patients according to the type of disease to be treated, which may be chronic, psychosomatic or psychiatric. Where surgery cannot solve a patient’s problem, the Western or Orthodox Medical Practitioners could let the patient see an Herbal Medical Practitioner”. (Gegge, M. T. 2008:115)

The same can be said of Traditional Medicine. When it fails to cure some diseases, the patient should be advised to make use of Western Medicine. In an oral interview with a diviner/healer, Gegge also states that Torkwase Ayua of Mbaterev Gboko LGA attested that she sent one of her children, who she suspected was suffering from dehydration, to the hospital at Anyiin for a check-up, and treatment. Also, at Mbakase, Ingohov in Gwer LGA, Pa Mkaanem Akpeda, a traditional healer revealed that when a woman comes to him with sickness suspected to be “Swende” - after a cleansing process is carried out - medicine is given to her but if

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the problem still persists, he advises the woman to see a medical doctor for a check-up, and treatment (Gegge, M. T. 2008:116). Western Medicine is based on observation and experimentation, while Traditional Medicine’s facts are arguably largely based on spiritual and metaphysical forces. To this end, Babalola sincerely opines that: “An average Yoruba person believes in the use of magic and medicine when some problems refuse to be solved. To him, it is not a sin. His social, political, economic, and therapeutic problems can be solved by making use of what God has provided for him. Ever before the arrival of modern medicine, the Yoruba believe that African Traditional Medicine has existed and it would be unwise for an average man to do away with Traditional Medicine simply because it is traditional” (Babalola, E. O. 2005:3)

The Africans cannot just part ways with Traditional Medicine because Modern Medicine has come to be. The inability of Modern Medicine to cure some ailments gives room for Traditional Medicine to take its course; it is divinely inspired by the gods, spirit and ancestors. That is why among the Tiv people of central Nigeria, “someone can be endowed with healing powers by “Ijov” (the spirit); as the saying goes “Ijov” i na a na” – (the spirit has given). Among the Igbo, “Dibia Ogwu” (the medicine man), is also divinely inspired by a particular spirit, as captured by Metuh, “the Dibia Ogwu,”; like the diviner, he is called on his profession by “Agwu”, the patron spirit of the diviner, and the medicine man (Mentuh, E. I. 1985:162). In this regard, the gods, and spirits etc. are given their rightful place of honour, and man recognizes his dependency on the divine for the efficacy of his medicine. The Africans believe that medicine is tied to life and comes from God, the spirits, and the ancestors etc; it is holistic in nature and is described as an immeasurable gift of nature. Western Medicine is positioned towards the practices of bio-medicine that involves the application of technological knowledge, while Traditional Medicine involves the mixture of herbal plants and animal substances. Consequently, all these are geared towards the alleviation of pain and the restoration of health, which has an indelible connectivity and relationship with the ontology of the patient. Most rural dwellers do not have proper access to Orthodox Medicine, and it is estimated that a good percentage of the populace still prefer to solve their problems consulting Traditional Healers, also, when the rising cost of imported medications - and other commodities used for medicines have posed a big problem, they resort to the traditional way. Technological advancement, and education, has however made a great impact on the traditional herbalist and on the practice of Traditional

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Medicine. The general populace now wants to compare the herbalist with the orthodox trained doctor, and to that end herbalists are now being encouraged by the quality of their output and practice. For example, they must be able to identify correctly the medicinal plants and other ingredients used in their herbal products. They should have their personal gardens in order to farm plants, especially those that are facing extinction due to bush burning. They should also enroll in city studies relating to their products.

Christian Attitudes towards Traditional Medicine Africa, which the Europeans once described as the “dark continent”, has critically undergone many several prejudices that made their religious practices and culture to be derogatorily referred to as primitive, tribal, animism, paganism, idolatry, heathenism, fetishism, savage, and native etc. This has ushered in many misgivings, considering the fact that Africans consider their religion and associated practices as a generational legacy. To many Africans, these descriptions are misconceived errors of terminology, and/or, are derogatory terms. As such, the African cultural practices cannot be totally eradicated Christianity is one of the major factors that led to the misunderstanding of African cultural practices, especially regarding Traditional Medicine, although some Christians do not patronize herbal therapy because of the view that it is fetish and satanic. Babalola adds that: “It is not an over emphasis to say that Muslims and Christians are now making use of herbal therapy, except for the very negligible few who do so out of over zealousness and a lack of knowledge, which normally concludes that herbal therapy is satanic.” (Babalola, E. O. 2005:6). In Tiv traditional society, those who have embraced the foreign faith have greatly out- numbered those who are original custodians of the traditional cultural practices. In an oral interview with Pa Akpeda Mkaanem, who is “Ortumbun” (the male initiator), he reiterated that he is the only surviving “Ortumbun” of his kindred, and there is nobody willing to acquire the healing art after him”, which means that after his death there will be no existence of such cultural rites unless someone from his kindred comes forward in good time. (Oral Interview) In addition, Chief (Sir) Sunday Ekele – O’che – Otukpa narrated that the belief in the Idoma traditional practices is quite crucial, and paramount. Before the advent of Christianity, traditional healing was taken very seriously. The diviner – “Ogweba or Omebe” would use his wealth of knowledge to diagnose the type of ailment, and its causative agents,

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through a Traditional Medical laboratory, perhaps with the aid of a certain ritual. Justifiably therefore, in the face of Christianity, Traditional Healing, and other indigenous practices, have not been completely eroded. This is to point out that both Traditional and Western Medicine can have interplay with each other. Christians should be mindful of this, and should not have biased minds towards Traditional Medicine. (Oral interview – 20/10/12) It is quite imperative to stress that new religious practices should not be a yardstick for the destruction of traditional African medicinal value. Both Traditional and Western Medicines have their advantages. Various categories of healing methods, strategies, and medicines - or remedies are now known. They both have the primary objective to cure, manage, or prevent, diseases and maintain good health. Most people have an unshakable and immeasurable faith in Traditional Medicine, particularly the inexplicable aspects, as they believe that it is from the wisdom of their forefathers and that it recognizes their socio-cultural and religious background, which Western Medicine seems to neglect. According to Shishima, some people feel that modern medicine is the bridge that creates a receptibility towards the Gospel. Some Tiv Christians speak of modern medicine thus: “I tried many akombo, but was not cured. At last, in desperation, I went to the dispensary and was healed there. Therefore, I now know that Christianity is true, and akombo are a hoax” (Shishima, D. S. 2004:169). This simply implies that modern medicine has immensely aided and abetted the downfall of traditional religion in some parts of Tivland. Contrary to the views of some Christians about Traditional Medicine, Jesus Christ was a healer himself, he was not a medical doctor but possessed all the wonderful powers of healing and exorcism. He traditionally healed, or opened the eyes of a blind man, with spittle (Mark 8:22-25). This portrays that Jesus gives physical, spiritual and emotional healing in line with the healing process of the Traditional Healers. Some Christians believe that the use of Traditional Medicine can be accepted if demonic rituals are not involved. Undoubtedly, herbs are an effective means of restoring one’s health; perhaps they are the raw materials for orthodox medicine. Spiritual and psychiatric problems are tackled mostly in the traditional way. This indicates the effectiveness of traditional medicine, which should not be relegated to the background by Christians.

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Efficacy of Holistic Nature of Traditional and Western Medicine It is quite pertinent to note that both Traditional and Western Medicines are naturally endowed with efficacy in healing. Their efficacy has been severally tested, and testified to by many people having ailments ranging from ailments that are complex to those that have mystical causations. Babalola testifies that: “Serious issues like bone setting, psychiatric cases, sterility, failure and inability to make ends meet have been adequately taken care by African Traditional Medicine and magic. Victims of these ailments and people who have been in bondage for some months and years are later discovered to become very healthy contributing positively to the growth and development of the society” (Babalola, E. O. 2005:4).

In addition, Shishma postulates that, there is an alignment of the indigenous systems of medicine with bio-medicine. He adds, the elders insist that before going to the dispensary, one must allocate the appropriate “akombo”. In fact, in some cases - even on the hospital bed - some patients are reported to have been taking both Traditional Medicine and Western Medicine simultaneously; sometimes this makes Western Medicine fail. The belief that the Mbatsav are the cause of illness is very strong among the Tiv people and that is why, even with the advent of Western Medicine, “akombo” is still practiced side by side with it. (Shishima, D. S. 2004:169). A great number of patients, who have personally experienced healing through these media, have maximally supported the efficacy of both Traditional and Western Medicine. Traditionally, supporters have distinctively pointed out that even though Traditional Medicine has been repudiated, it is still being given attention, due to its efficacy. In an interview with Traditional Healer, Vaavar Jootar, at Zaki-Biam Ukum Local Government Area of Benue State - he highlighted that he heals all sorts of sicknesses, which include, “Agashi, Akombo Adam (catarrh); Ikyoor Mka (infertility); and Iwua, agbe wayo, iche-ikyu (lower abdominal pain, hemorrhage and menopause)”. In the treatment of infertility, which is ikyoor mka in Tiv, he maintained that dead palm plants, known as kuu, are used; gbagbogom, both branches of leaves are also used; and Ahur, leekwaghtoo - its branches are put on fire, the leaves squeezed and are then used:

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-

Sickness: for Agbe Wayo (swellings on the body), is treated thus: Treatment: mua plant, Ahur plant, (all of the Po plants is used). Sickness: Iwua, (upper abdominal pain), is treated thus: Treatment: Gagambe, Gbaaye, (fresh iron tree). Gyadam, (jatropher), and 6 seeds of alligator pepper, in grounded form. Symptoms are: weak erection for men, and stomach pain for women. - Sickness: Iche Ikyuu, (lower abdominal pain), is treated thus: Alum, (orange roots), Agera chamegh, (roots). Mkemba, (roots). - Sickness: ikyoor mka, (infertility), is treated thus: - Treatment: amaku, (leaves), Ahur, (stems are used) - Sickness: (Menopause) - Treatment: Mgbakpa, (pepper), Kumeduun, (Yiase bark). The above implicitly explains that, the efficacy of Traditional Medicine is mysteriously wonderful, owing to the fact that it heals in totality - both in the spiritual realm, and the physical and psychic functionality of a sick person. It should be noted that its dosage depends on the kind of ailment being treated. In accordance with the above view, Adodo (2004:159-160) contributes that it is very important that one’s kidney be kept in good condition. He therefore states that the cause of kidney problems may be: - Injury through accidents - Stones in the kidney - Infection, or inflammation - Cancer - Diabetes - Unhealthy nutrition Treatment: - Bitter Leaf and water Recipe: Squeeze a quantity of fresh Bitter Leaf in water and take a glassful thrice daily. Adodo adds that, for a low sperm count, one should use: A.10 pieces of kola pod B.raw eggs C.2 bottles of lime juice D.1 bottle of water, E.1 bottle of honey

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Recipe: Cut the kola pod into small pieces. Blend 7 handfuls of the pieces with BCD and E. Mix very well. Do not refrigerate. Dosage:1 shot twice daily for 3 months. Make fresh preparations as needed. (Adodo, A. 2004:225). The efficacy of Traditional and Western Medicine depends largely on the right herbs and chemical substances being combined, which are administered to the patient - as well as the methods being employed, and the maintenance of the healing process centres on total restoration, which may be achieved by the blend of both Traditional and Western Medicine.. In Bukoto, Kampala in Uganda, Gegge asserts that, both Traditional and Western Medicines have been blended for effective consumption. He succinctly states that: “In Bukoto, Kambpala in Uganda, the traditional and herbal research clinic is a modern clinic facility created to establish a model space, whereby indigenous herbal practitioners and healers can upgrade and update their skills, through training and certification and learn to respond to common disease, using African healing methods and traditions in a Western clinical environment” (Gegge, M. T. 2008:117-118).

The above further portrays the efficacy and collaboration between Traditional and Western Medicine, as well as their pertinent efforts in Holistic healing. Essential roles have been played by both medicines with reference to restoration, peace and tranquility.

Recommendations/Suggestions In line with the following assertions, these recommendations and suggestions are made: 1. The government should adequately grant loans to traditional medicine practitioners to aid them in establishing botanical gardens at their places of abode, in order to facilitate the use of herbs when the need arises. 2. The government, and non-governmental organizations, to help traditional healers upgrade and update their skills for the benefit of those who would prefer to turn to forms of holistic healing, should build more traditional research clinics.

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3. Christians should not use their faith as a yardstick to condemn Traditional Medicine. This is an activity of wisdom that was handed down to Africans by our forefathers. Those who practice it should therefore preserve it.

Conclusion The majority of the populace attach a great deal of importance to the Traditional health sector, while others view orthodox or Western Medicine as the best and the only ordained source of medically restorative agents. It can therefore be deduced that, both medicines, are of effective use for the general good of the individual, and the development of the society.

Works Cited Adodo, Anselm. Nature Power, A Christian Approach to Herbal Medicine. Ewu-Esan. Generation Press Ltd, 2004 Alaba, F. J. Religion and Health Care in Boer, J. H. and Hyavyar, D. A (ed) Holistic Health Care Medical and Religious Dimensions Vol. 1 Jos; published by CHAN Holistic Health Care project, 1994 Apenda, A. Z. Medicine and Healing, among the Benue People: A Research Report. Makurdi; A Publication of the Department of Religion and philosophy Selfers Academic Press Ltd, 2008 Asiegbu, M. F. Dibia Owu: An Indispensable Agent in the Search for Ultimate Reality and Purposes in Igbo World View in Dukor, M (ed) Essence Interdisciplinary-international Journal of Philosophy. Vol. 3, Lagos: Essence library, 2006 Babalola, E. O. The Impact of African Magic and Medicine on the Growth and Development of Modern Nigeria: The Yoruba Experience. Being a paper presented at the 26th Annual Conference of NASR held at the Department of Religion Studies. Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-ife. 26th – 29th Sept., 2005 Gegge, M. T. Tiv Traditional Medicine and the Challenges of Globalization. Unpublished M. A. Dissertation Submitted to the Department of Religion and Philosophy Benue State University, Makurdi, 2008 Metuh, E. I. African Religions in Western Conceptual Schemes: The Problem of Interpretation (Studies in Igbo Religion). Ibadan, Pastoral Institute, 1985 —. The Holistic Approach of Traditional Medicine to Sickness and Health in: Boer, J. H. and Ityavyar, D. A. (ed) Holistic Health Care Social and

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Political Dimensions” Vo. 1, Jos: Published by CHAN holistic Health care project, 1994 Shishima, D. S. The Holistic Nature of African Traditional Medicine: The Tiv Experience in —. Akombo as Healing Rituals among the Tiv of Central Nigeria unpublished Ph.D Thesis submitted to the school of postgraduate studies, Department of Religion Studies, University of Jos. 2004 P. 10. Yakubu, O. (ed) Benue Valley Journey of Humanities Vol. 1 No. 2 Makurdi, Published by the Benue Valley Collective. 1997 p. 100.

CHAPTER NINE SYNCRETISING AFRICAN RELIGION IN THE CANDOMBLE FAITH ATINUKE O. OKUNADE

Introduction Candomblé is an Afro-Brazilian Religion practiced chiefly in Salvador da Bahia, in the North-East of Brazil. It was born of a people who were taken from their homes in Africa and transplanted to Brazil as slaves. The religion is a mixture of the traditional Yoruba, Fon and Bantu beliefs, which originated from different regions in Africa, and has also incorporated some aspects of the Catholic faith over time. The syncretisation of Candomblé with Catholicism, by the people, was born out of the many Christian slave owners and Church leaders who felt it was important to convert the enslaved Africans in order to fulfill their religious obligations, but was also born out of the hope of making the enslaved more submissive. However, the ultimate aim of the masters did not totally come to fruition. The ‘slaves’ practiced Catholicism in the ‘day’, and submitted to their African gods at ‘night’. Syncretism then eventually became the order of the day, as this practice is visibly present and represented in the present worship mode of the modern Candomblé devotees. Catholicism is popular in Brazil, and the adherents of Candomblé saw in the worship of saints a similarity with their own religion. This chapter therefore examines the religious beliefs and practices of the Afro-Brazilian, and uses the results of such an examination as a strong indication of how they are reclaiming their cultural and historical identity. The fifteen-century visit by the Portuguese, to the West African coast, began the introduction of the obnoxious trade in human beings, which started in 1441 A.D. As reported by Eluwa et.al (1988:113), the slaves, caught by the European, were carried to both Europe and America where each of the European nations possessed colonies. The slave worked in

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these colonies, as well as in gold mines, and as the demand for slaves increased some of the European traders converted the trade into a major task. The result therefore was that between 1530 A.D. and 1600 A.D. an annual average of 13,000 Africans were carried as slaves to various different countries. By the first half of the nineteenth century, the annual number had risen to 135,000. From the earliest days of the slave trade, many Christian slave owners, and Church leaders, felt it was important to convert the enslaved Africans. This was in order to fulfill their religious obligations, but also in the hope of making the enslaved more submissive. Others also argue that enslaved Africans were religiously persecuted in order that they held no connection to a shared past. Although the Church succeeded in many cases, not all Africans were converted. Many outwardly practiced Christianity and secretly practice the African religion. The African religion is the fundamental religion of the African peoples. It recognizes the supremacy of the Supreme Being, yet it recognizes the lesser divinities merely as intermediaries between the Supreme Being and man, or agents of God. The slave trade and the discovery of the ‘New World’ ushered in a number of new belief systems. For example, slaves and natives, faced with new and enforced beliefs, found innovative ways to follow their traditional beliefs by integrating the African religion with the Catholic faith. Before long, many of the enslaved Africans found a shared system of worship with Brazil’s indigenous people, and through this connection, they relearned ancestor worship. Thereby, syncretism became the order of the day. Religious syncretism exhibits the blending of two or more religious belief systems into a new system; or the incorporation into a religious tradition of beliefs from unrelated traditions. This can occur for many reasons, but it commonly happens in areas where multiple religious traditions exist in proximity with each other and function actively in the culture - or when a culture is conquered and the conquerors bring their religious beliefs with them, but do not succeed in entirely eradicating the old beliefs or, especially the old practices (Wikipedia 2008). This was the experience of the African slaves in Brazil who were the originators of the Candomblé faith. Candomblé is an African-Brazilian religion, born of a people who were taken from their homes in Africa, and transplanted to Brazil, during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. There are about 2 million Candomblé worldwide. Although the Candomblé religion is practiced mainly in Brazil, it is also practiced in other countries in America: including Uruguay, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, and Panama; and in Europe: including Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain. The religion is a mixture of

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the traditional Yoruba, Fon and Bantu beliefs, which originated from regions in Africa, but it mainly features aspects of Yoruba veneration. In addition, it has incorporated some aspects of the Catholic faith over time. The name itself means, “Dance in honour of the gods”, and music and dance are important parts of Candomblé ceremonies. As the religion developed semi-independently in different regions of the country and among different ethnic groups, it evolved into several ”sects”, or nations, distinguished chiefly by the sects of worshipped deities as well as by the music and language used in the rituals. (Wikipedia2008) There are some characteristic features of the African religion that are embedded in the Candomblé faith, which we shall discuss below. The religion is characterized by a belief system, which consists of the totality of the African beliefs, thought patterns, and cultic practices. The religious beliefs of the African Religion are in two inclusive categories: we have the major ones, and others that are derived and associated with them. We shall discuss each of the beliefs, according to their relevance in the total belief system.

Characteristics of African Religion When we talk of indigenous African religions, we cannot speak with authority about a particular religion, theology, worldview, or cult, simply because Africa is a huge continent. Hence whatever we discuss about them is nothing but the tip of the iceberg. Therefore, when we speak of basic concepts within these religions we must keep in mind that these ideas do not always apply universally; there is a great variety of beliefs, which make up the characteristic features of African religion. The paramount ones are:

The Supreme Being In the religious belief system, the belief in God is fundamental to all other beliefs and is firmly entrenched in the African beliefs and thoughts; therefore, they believe that the Supreme Being is the ultimate object of worship. He is described as ‘the Creator’, ‘the Eternal One’, ‘the Selfsubsisting One’ and ‘the Omniscient God’. While His transcendence is emphasized, His subjects apparently obscure His immanence because of the socio-political hierarchy, which discourages direct approach to the King. Imasogie (2008:29) observed that the immanence of God is reflected in Yoruba calling of God’s name in boundary situations, but also in everyday conversation. For instance, in bidding his loved ones goodnight,

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the Yoruba usually adds Olorun a ji wa o. This literally means, “May the Supreme God wake us up.” God is real to the Africans, His name is constantly on their lips; each group of people have a local name which uniquely belongs to God. The names by which the Deity are called, in Africa, are descriptive of His character and emphatic of the fact that He is a reality and that He is not an abstract concept (Idowu1973:90). The exalted place of the Supreme Being, as above other creatures, gives rise to His worship in various African societies either fully, as in the case of the Ashanti of Ghana and the Kikuyu tribe of Kenya, or with partial worship as regards the Wew and Abomey tribes of Togo.

Belief in Divinities Besides the concept of the One Supreme God, Africans believe in the existence of divinities. Jacobs (1977:40) added that these divinities are believed to have emanated from God. Africans believe that they were not created by God, but that they were brought into being by God, or they came into being in consequence of God. Although all Africans recognise the Supreme Being as God, with varying emphasis, they all worship these divinities, which are called the ministers of God. Johnson-Bashua (1999:42), says that the divinities are called Orisha, by the Yoruba of Nigeria. Other peoples have other specific names for them. The Akan of Ghana will call them Abosom, while the Igbo of Nigeria will refer to them as ndi mmuo, alusi, or agbara - all generally denoting spirits. The divinities are regarded as higher, in the scale of being, than men and other merely terrestrial beings, and they - more often than not - make their control felt beyond the categories of space and time, which limit human actions. Hence, they can affect men for good or for evil, according to African belief. The divinity associated with the wrath of God, among the Yoruba, was Jakuta - meaning he who fights with stones. The same god among the Igbo is known as Amadioha. Among the Nupe the same divinity is called Sokogba – Soxo’s axe. (Divinities are classified into three category’s, according to African concept). First is the primordial divinity; these are believed to have been in existence with the Supreme Being before, and during, the creation of the world - they are believed to have partaken in the creative work of God. An example of such a divinity is Obatala or Orisanla, popularly known as Alamorere (a fine moulder) - a Yoruba divinity believed to have been entrusted with the moulding of the human body with clay. Orisanla is believed to be the deputy of Olodumare, and derives his attributes from those of the Supreme Being.

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The second category comprises the deified Ancestors. These were heroes living extraordinary lives during their lifetime, and who were deified after their death. They are no longer ordinary ancestors, but now possess the characteristics of an earlier divinity. Sango, the erstwhile Alaafin of Oyo, who assumed the attributes of Jakuta - the thunder divinity in Yorubaland - is an example. The third category consists of the personified divinities. These are divinities, which found expressions in natural phenomenon. Their habitations are in rivers, lakes, mountains, groves and forests. These divinities are associated with spirits, which is synonymous with animism. There habitations are considered sacred, with a priest being a custodian of such places. An example of such a place is Oshun River, Olumo hill, Okebadan; there are many others. All these divinities perform dual roles in the community. They can be good if appeased, and can be bad if provoked.

Belief in Spirit In African religion, there is recognition in the existence of spirits. It is believed that all sorts of objects, living or non-living, moving and motionless, have souls - or spirit - in them, and that every human being has a soul or spirit in them, which usually leaves the body temporarily during dreams and with a kind of finality at death. Jacobs (1977:43) clarifies, that although Divinities and ancestors are classified as spirits, they are quite distinct from the souls and spirits. A cardinal fact about the world-view of the Africans is that in their belief, all nature is possessed, pervaded, and crowded with spiritual beings. There is no object or creature, which does not have a spirit of its own. While men venerate, respect and positively communicate with the divinities, the African associates with the spirit out of fear and awe. Veneration or worship may vary from fully established cults - complete with temples, priests, and rituals - to less formal types of worship. Perhaps the most common form of worship of the spirits is the simple libation, or offering. Many pour out a bit of water, wine, beer, or milk upon the ground, or offer a bit of foodstuff to the gods at each mill. Spirits in African concepts are classified into groups. Some spirits reside in trees, especially in trees that are regarded as sacred. Such a tree is frequently used as the emblem of the spirits, which are regarded as inhabiting it. We have ghost-spirits, which are taken to be the spirit of the dead. In African tradition, people whose funeral rituals have not been consummated; people who die unnatural deaths like hanging, drowning, smallpox; death during pregnancy; people who are wicked; witches;

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wizards; and sorcerers; cannot enter the final resting place - which is the abode of the ancestors - and until the body is properly buried, it will continue to haunt the earth, aimlessly. There is also a born-to-die spirit known as Abiku among the Yoruba, and Ogbanje among the Igbo. These are children whose tasks are to continually bring sorrow and pain into the life of women who come under their sadism. Hence, women are warned not to walk about aimlessly during the afternoon, or late at night. They believe that these are the periods when the Ogbanje spirits usually move about, and that they can enter the womb of a pregnant woman and drive away the real baby in the womb. There is also the spirit of witches and wizards. The belief is that witches and wizard can send out, at will, their own spirits for the purpose of evil machination; they can destroy life, man and animal. Africans belief that witches form guilds and that they meet at night on the tops of trees; usually in the sacred tree, such as Iroko (Baobab). The spirits of witches and wizards are believed to live on human blood.

Belief in Ancestors The belief in ancestral worship among Africans is based on the concept that the world is dual; that is to say, there is the physical world, and the spirit world. The spirit world is the abode of the dead, while the physical world is meant for the living - in other words, the spirit world is the continuation of the physical world. Africans believe that departed members of the family exist in a spirit world and yet maintain an interest in the lives of those who continue to live. They are regarded as a great cloud of witnesses who watch the spectacle of life. The Africans believe that the dead can come to abide with their folks on earth invisibly, to assist or to hinder them, or to promote prosperity or cause adversity. Therefore, ancestors are often consulted before an agricultural season, or before the birth of a child. In some areas, no one can eat the first fruit of a harvest until a proper sacrifice has been made to the ancestors. However, it should be emphasised here that not all the dead are ancestors. Among the Africans, there are laid down conditions that must be fulfilled before the dead assume the exalted position of ancestors. The first condition to be met is that the dead must have lived a good and full life while on earth. Secondly, he must have died a good death, and not a violent death, such as suicide, accidental death, premature death, death by drowning or by curse. Finally he must reach an old age and be survived by good children, grandchildren and probably even great-grandchildren.

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Belief in Magic and Medicine Belief in the art of magic and medicine, among the African, forms a significant part of their traditional beliefs. This belief is not only restricted to the traditionalist, but also to the educated Africans, some of whom have an unswerving faith in the practice of magic and medicine. According to Idowu (1973:90), “magic is defined as an attempt to tap and control the supernatural resources of the universe for his own benefit”. Man tries to control the divine Power, or Powers, for his own ends. Medicine however is the science or art of the prevention, treatment and cure of diseases. The art of medicine is implied because man recognizes that health can be lost, and medicine helps the body to return to its normal state. According to Johnson-Bashua (1999:43), medicine may be curative or preventive - used to cure an already present ailment, or used to prevent an imminent disease by preserving human health. Magic and medicine are closely related, and in some areas, the same word is used for both. For example, the Yoruba of West Africa call magic and medicine oogun, isegun or egbogi; the Igbo call them ogwu, while the Akans of Ghana call them suman. The virtue of magic can be said to be embodied in spells, in certain magic rites performed, and also in certain charms pronounced for the express purpose of bringing about some practical result, such as making rain or sunshine; causing harm to an enemy or causing prevention from harm; or attracting a loved one to her lover. Finally, it is important that we realize that both magic and medicine are both essences of religion because they derive their super naturalness, efficacy and taboos from the religion. Rituals and incantations are common features of magic and medicine in African Religion.

Other beliefs in African Religion There are some other beliefs within the African Religion, which are basically derived from the five major beliefs discussed above. They complement the major beliefs and together they form the totality of the African Religious thought.

Belief in Worship Worship is an integral part of any religion and African Religion is not excluded from this. From the beginning of religious consciousness, man experienced the numinous, or the divine. To him, this object of religious experience was something that was frightening, but yet it was also full of

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attraction and fascination. It was this awareness of the elements of attraction and fascination in the numinous, and man’s response to this awareness, that brought about worship in its various forms. Thus, worship sprang from man’s impulse to give expression to his experience of the Power whom he regarded as ‘wholly other’ and the Determiner of his destiny. Posture and attitude at worship are both physical phenomenon, which are the means of expressing a spiritual reality. For the worshippers, the outward form possesses a symbolic significance, totally different from the significance it has in the eyes of an onlooker. The posture varies from one situation to another; usually, people recognise five postures. These are standing, kneeling, genuflexion, prostration, and postures adopted when dancing; rhythmic movements of the body determine the latter. The attitude of the worshippers at the shrine, or before the divinity, is that of respect and reverence. During the annual festival, the people may be conditioned to wear a special type of dress and this is usually the case at the annual Candomblé festival in Salvador, Brazil.

Belief in Sacrifice Sacrifice is the kernel of any religious worship and is a special category of offering given to the divine Power or powers. The Africans believe that sacrifice is a means of affecting a healthy relationship between man and the Divine, therefore by offering abundant sacrifices, the wellbeing of the individual, or the community, is assured. Hence, Africans take the cautions and reverent step of presenting to divinities, or the Supreme Deity through the divinities, only the most valuable offering. There are varieties of things that can be offered as a sacrifice, depending on the occasion of the sacrifice. Although offerings are many and varied, care is taken to offer to each divinity what is to his special taste, and not what is offensive to him. Sacrifices are offered according to particular purposes, and each sacrifice is treated according to the situation leading to it, or mostly according to the prescription of the oracle. Traditionally, sacrifices are performed by the priest, priestess or qualified men. However, in practice, individuals can offer sacrifices to the divinity, but the priests must perform major sacrifices. During such sacrifices, the priest intercedes for the worshippers as they present the offerings of the people to the divinity.

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Belief in the Hereafter Africans believe that life exists beyond this physical world - this is considered as the temporary abode of men, while heaven is the spiritual and final home of man. It is believed that after death, the earthly life will be changed for another life. Africans believe in the dualism of man - that is the body and soul; material and immaterial. The soul (immaterial) does not die like the body (material). While the body dies, the soul returns to his Creator, the Supreme Being, who is believed to reside in heaven. Heaven is the final place of only the people that are qualified to enter it. In essence there are some basic requirements that one must possess to enter heaven; to qualify for heaven therefore, one must have been engaged in good works while on earth; live to an old age; bear good and responsible children; and die a good death, not by hanging, or from a curse from the ancestors.

Belief in Morality Morality in African belief is religious based; it has always been dependent on religion because it arose in consequence of man’s sense of belonging to the Divine. African morality is centred on some basic beliefs that morals are God-given, and that they were instituted simultaneously with creation. Therefore, moral authority flows from God, and must not be challenged. Man is therefore compelled to respond appropriately to these moral demands; failure to comply would incur the wrath of God. Morality is governed by the customs, which African society has followed through the ages, and they can be regarded as the positive command of an ancestor or a divinity. The divinities keep watch over the people to make sure they observe moral laws, and are there to punish or reward moral behaviour.

Africans Features in the Candomblé Faith Candomblé - originally meaning, “Dance in Honour of the gods” - is a mixture of the traditional Yoruba, Fon and Bantu beliefs, which originated from different regions in Africa, and it has also incorporated some aspects of the Catholic faith over time. Practitioners of Candomblé believe in one all-powerful God, called Oludumare (a Yoruba world meaning ‘the Supreme Being’) who is served by lesser deities. These deities are called orixas, voduns and inkices (www.bbb.co.uk). The religion is based in the anima (soul) of the natural environment, and is therefore a type of animism. It was developed in Brazil through the knowledge of African

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priests that were enslaved and brought to Brazil, together with their mythology, their culture and language, between 1549 and 1888. Orixas are ancestors who have been deified; they are a link between the spiritual world, and the world of humans. Voduns and inkices are spirit gods, essentially the same as orixas. Candomble is a synthesis of three African religions, Yoruba, Fon and Bantu. For the purposes of clarity, the term orixa will be used throughout this paper. Candomble practitioners believe that every person has their own individual orixa, which controls his or her destiny and acts as a protector. Each orixa represents a certain force in nature and is associated with certain foods, colours, animals, and days of the week. A person's character or personality is strongly linked to their orixa. (www.bbb.co.uk) Collectively, ancestor spirits are called Baba Egum in Brazil; this is also known as Egungun in other parts of South America. During important ceremonies, priests and priestesses will masquerade, as Baba Egum and specially choreographed dances will be performed in order for them to become possessed of each ancestor’s spirit.

Concepts of good and bad There is no concept of good or bad in Candomblé. Each person is only required to fulfil his or her destiny to the fullest, regardless of what that is, but this is not a free ticket to do whatever you want. Candomblé teaches that any evil you cause to people will return to you eventually. This is the retributive law of Karma. The Baba Egum is important in regulating the moral code of Candomblecists. It is his responsibility to make sure that moral standards of the past are continued in the present, something which is regulated during the worship ceremonies. When a person becomes possessed of their ancestor spirit during the ceremony, they may act out scenes from the community to highlight both good and bad actions in a sort of public tribunal.

Holy Scriptures Candomblé, like African religion, has no sacred scripture as in other world religions, it does, however, have a means by which its religious beliefs and practices can be known and appreciated. These devices are categorized into oral and non-oral: the oral devices are proverbs, myths, pithy sayings, legends, liturgy, everyday speech, songs and theophorous names; the non-oral device consists of artistic expressions.

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Divination Divination is a system through which the future can be known. It is used to know the causes of things, to uncover past secrets, and to detect what remedy to apply in each situation. It is also an important aspect of Candomble worship. The priest or priestess cast cowry shells, and interprets the pattern in which they fall. After divination, and the interpretation of the divine response, a sacrifice follows. As Rowland (1961:795) had once written, “divination and sacrifice are inseparably linked”

Place of worship The first official temple was founded at the beginning of the 19th century in Salvador, Bahia in Brazil. Before then, worship services used to be held in the homes of the enslaved. There were reports of dancing ceremonies taking place in Rio de Janeiro, and laws being made that forbade any person from attending these ceremonies; anyone caught at such places were given from fifty to one hundred lashes. There is an important distinction between the sacred and the profane places for Candomblecists. In profane places, ordinary everyday life occurs; work, play relaxation and eating. Sacred places are called terreiro, or temples, and are buildings with indoor and outdoor spaces with special areas for the gods. Worshippers wear clean clothes and splash water on themselves before they enter, to rid themselves of the uncleanliness of the world. Various emblems are kept in the terreiro to symbolize a divinity. For example, the emblem of Ogun (the god of iron) is kept in one of the rooms. Cowrie shells represent Orisha-Oko among the Yoruba’s. The emblems are not worshipped, in or for themselves, rather they are believed to be the dwelling places of the divinities, or the spiritual beings. Followers go to terreiro for a number of reasons. Many go to have their fortunes told. To do this, a priest or priestess casts cowry shells and interprets the pattern in which they fall, whereas others go for months on end to immerse themselves in the spiritual life there, and become possessed by their orixa.

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Women in Candomblé Women are very important in the Candomblé faith. Services are usually led by women, called 'mothers of the holy one', and it is the women who are responsible for ensuring the training of future priestesses.

Dance during worship Worship takes the form of specially choreographed dances and hymns. The dance is a call to the spirits and at its height, the worshipper's orixa temporarily possesses the dancer's body, and he or she enters into a trance like state, and dances alone. Finally, the gods are expelled. This is done by singing the hymns again, but in reverse order starting with the last hymn. African dancing was well known to the slave owners of South America. Even though the dance as a form of worship was forbidden, the enslaved would still dance in their free time in the fields. These dances became important symbols of their rebellion; their rhythmic movements and rocking bodies belying the truth behind the dances. The enslaved Africans practised a form of martial art within the dances, seamlessly moving from attacking positions to defensive ones, and learning to quickly gauge how to react to their opponent. This dance is called capoeira and has become increasingly popular in the West as an art form.

Ritual The Candomblé ritual has two parts: the preparation, attended only by priests and initiates, which may start a week in advance; and a festive public “mass” and a banquet that starts in the late evening and ends around midnight. In the first part, initiates and aides wash and iron the costumes for the ceremony, and decorate the house with paper flags and festoons in the colours favoured by the Orixas that are to be honoured on that occasion. Followers worship a pantheon of Orixas in an annual cycle, like the liturgical cycle of the Catholic Church. In the religious ceremonies, practitioners dress in the colours of the Orixas and place food at the altar before singing special songs and dancing precisely choreographed steps to the sacred drums. They also prepare food for the banquet, and on the day of the ceremony - starting in the early morning - divinations by cowry shells (jogo de buzios) are performed, and sacrifices are offered to the desired Orixas, and to the messenger spirit. In the public part of the ceremony, saint-children (medium priests) invoke and “incorporate” Orixas, falling into a trance-like state. After

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haven fallen into a trance, the priest-spirits perform dances symbolic of the Orixa attributes, while the father-of-saint (leading male priest) leads songs that celebrate the spirit’s deeds. The ceremony ends with a banquet. Candomblé music, an essential part of the ritual, derives from African music and has had a strong influence in other popular (non-religious) Brazialian music styles. McGowan et.al (1998)) reports that the word batuque, for instance, has entered the Brazilian vernacular as a synonym for “rhythmic percussion music”. The Candomblé priesthood is organized into symbolic families, whose members are not necessarily relatives in the common sense. Each family owns and manages one house. In most Candomblé houses, especially the larger ones, the head of the family is always a woman, the mai-de-santo or ialorixa (mother-of-saint), seconded by the pai-de-santo or babalorixa (father-of-saint). The priests and priestesses may also be known as babalaos (interpreters of buzios), babas, babaloshas and Candomblezeiros. Some houses have a more flexible hierarchy, which allows the male paide-santo to be the head priest. Gordon (1979:231) comments that during the slave period the women became diviners and healers, which was not part of African tradition, however, the male slaves were constantly working and did not have the time to take care of daily chores, or nursing the children. The women were in the capacity of teaching the knowledge of their old religions to the newer generation. Admission to the priesthood and progression in the hierarchy is conditioned to approval by the Orixas, and must include possession of the necessary qualities, learning the necessary knowledge, and performance of lengthy initiation rites, which last seven years or more. There are generally two types of priesthood in the different nations of Candomble, and they are made up of those who fall into a trance by the Orixa (iyawo), and those who do not (Oga-male/Ekeji-female). Gordon (1979:245) suggests that it is important not to confuse the meaning and usage of the Yoruba term iyawo (bride in Yoruba) with other African derived religions that use the same term with different meanings. Iyawo, as used in the Candomblé faith, is used to refer to the women that are undergoing spiritual training. The seclusion period for the initiation of an iyawo lasts generally 21 days in the Ketu nation, and varies depending on the nation concerned. The iyawo’s role in the religion is assigned by a divination made by his/her babalorixa/ialorixa, and one function that an iyawo can be assigned for is to take care of neophytes as they go through their initiatic seclusion period; becoming an expert in all the Orisha foods; becoming an iya or babalorisa themselves; and familiarising themselves with all the ritual songs. The iyawos follow a 7 year period of apprenticeship within

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which they offer periodical sacrifices in order to reinforce their initiatic links, in the form of the so-called obligations of 1, 3, and 7 years. At the 7th year, the iyawos earn their title or post (oye in Yoruba). Once the iyawo has accomplished their 7th year cycle obligation, they become elders (egbon in Yoruba, egbomi in Brazil, which means my elder) within their religious family. (Roberts1977). Omar-Tunkara (2005) observed that another type of priesthood is reserved for those who do not fall into a trance. Ogas and Ekeji’s do not endure the same path to eldership as do iyawos; they are regarded as elders immediately after their initiation. Their role is to help the baba/ialorixa in different, specific, ritual tasks like drumming, singing, cooking, taking care of the Orixa shrines, and when he/she comes down in a possession trance. Ogas and Ekejis usually do not go on to become baba/ialorixa, nor do they open their own temples, or have filhos de santo. They are simply honorary workers in the Candomble’s temple, (they are not paid). The essence of their working sacrificially in the Candomblé Temple is to be rewarded by the Orisha with other good things in life.

Conclusion Syncretism tends to facilitate a co-existence and unity between otherwise different cultures and worldviews, and engenders an intercultural competence. Although many religions may have syncretic elements in their beliefs or history, adherents of the so-labeled system often frown at applying the label - especially adherents who belong to “revealed” religious systems such as Christianity, Islam, or any system that exhibits an exclusivist approach. Such adherents sometimes see syncretism as a betrayal of their pure truth. By this reasoning, it is adding an incompatible belief to corrupt the original; rendering it untrue and fake. Syncretism is growing more rapidly. Many so-called indigenous churches have sprung up, which allow followers to adhere to the Christian faith and follow some of their indigenous customs; an example is the Zion Christian Church (ZCC). The ZCC is the largest church in South Africa, with an estimated 5 million members. There are a number of similar Africanized churches that are gaining popularity throughout sub-Saharan Africa. As Christian and Islamic proselytizing increases, we are seeing more Africanized versions of the belief systems emerging. ‘In Africa for example, Islam and Christianity are growing - and blending’. The apparent merging of Christianity and Islam is a new religion called Chrislam. The True Message of God Mission, for instance, believes that both religions are compatible. In the beginning the group was called "Chris-lam-herb" owing

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to its utilization of elements of Christianity, Islam and traditional medicine. For many syncretizers, it is not a matter of religious belief but also of reclaiming the cultural and historical identity, which modernity stripped them of. In a time of increasing religious intolerance, it may be argued that religious syncretism is the key to developing cultural tolerance.

Works Cited Candomblé: Wikipedia the free encyclopedia (2008) Web 20 October, 2012. Eluwa, G.I.C., Nkagwu, M.O., and Nwachukwu A.C.N. A History of Nigeria for School and College. Benin City: African-Fep Publishers Limited. 1988. Gordon, Jacob U. “Yoruba Cosmology and Culture in Brazil: A Study of African Survivals in the New World “Journal of Black Studies. (1979), 10. 2. Idowu, E. Bolaji. African Traditional Religion: A Definition London: SMC Press. 1973 Jacobs, A.B. A Textbook on West African Traditional Religion. Ibadan: Aromolaran Publishing Company Limited 1977. Johnson-Bashua, Peju. “African Nature and Belief System” in Gbola Aderibigbe and Peju Johnson-Bahua (eds.) Religion: An Introduction to Reading in Concepts Practice. Ibadan: Olu-Akin. 1999. McGowan Chris and Pessanha, Ricardo. The Brazilian Sound: Samba, Bossa Nova and the Popular Music of Brazil. Temple University Press. 1997. Omari-Tunkara, Mikelle S. Manipulating the Sacred: Yoruba Art, Ritual, and Resistance in Brazilian Candomblé. Wayne State University Press. 2005 Prince Rowland. ”The Yoruba Image of the Witch” in Journal of Mental Science. (1961), 107. Religion Candomblé Beliefs: www.bbc.co.uk Web 18 July, 2012. Voeks, Robert A. Sacred Leaves of Candomblé: African Magic, Medicine and Religion in Brazil. Austin: University of Texas Press. 2012.

CHAPTER TEN RELIGION AND TERRORISM IN BLACK AFRICA: AN INSIGHT INTO THE BOKO HARAM PHENOMENON IN NIGERIA SULAIMAN MUHAMMAD JAMIU

Introduction The Words Religion and Terrorism in terms and concepts are poles apart. However, in contemporary times, the former is sometimes expressed, sentimentally of course, in the form of the latter - while the latter is executed in the name of the former, therefore making both words paradoxically compatible. It should be noted, from the onset, that none of the Black African Countries is claimed to be the origin of any of the known three divine religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, as Africans were all, without exception, converted from their Traditional Religions to either Christianity or Islam in most cases. E.B. Taylor, when contributing to the Encyclopedia of Religions and Ethics (Vol. 1:663), says “religion is the belief in spiritual beings”. It may be deduced from this succinct definition that religion of any kind is the belief in unseen beings, as well as in seen and unseen things - taking into consideration different variables. In religion, an effort is made to regulate the seen by the unseen; this therefore constitutes a bone of contention between the pragmatic mind and the theoretical mind. The pragmatist accepts as true only those things that may be touched, heard, felt, smelled or seen, while the theorist adds the quality to be able to ‘see’ the unseen (i.e. perception) to the five senses mentioned, for something to be true. In a typical African Traditional Religion (ATR) many things are done in the dark or in secrecy, with the aim of instilling fear in the minds of those who do not believe in the power of the spirits.. The promotion of such fears acts as a means of coercing people of other faiths into making them ordinarily believe in what they

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disbelieved in before, and this, in itself, is a form of terrorism. An example of such acts of coercion is the belief in Shango - the divinity who is the God of fire - referred to as Oba Koso in Yoruba land. In reality the Alaafin Oba (king) Shango did commit suicide. However, saying so is considered by his supporters as disgraceful and belittling of his status as king. As such, all the king’s adversaries’, who dared to say he had committed suicide, had their houses put ablaze in the night by “unknown persons”. Subsequently the slogan of “Oba, so the king committed suicide” changed automatically to “Oba Koso, the king did not commit suicide”, of course, by coercion. This coercive method by the religionists is not limited to ATR alone. The old Roman Catholic authority, in the ancient days of the mediaeval period, became the subject of criticism by the renaissance theologians and philosophers who refused to be coerced into believing in Catholic doctrine. Among others was the declaration of fear, that searching for the truth or enquiring into natural phenomenon is against faith in God. The history of Islam does not fare any better than religions before it such as Christianity. At a point in time, in the history of Islam, some groups of people - in the guise of Islam - murdered their political opponents; an act that was so rampant and infamous that the word ‘assassin’ was coined from their act of terrorism. Presently, in Nigeria, this phenomenon emerged in the form of an unscrupulous element in society, in the garb of Islam, with the derogatory name “Boko Haram”. Many lives and properties have been lost and are still at risk of being lost on a daily basis. This paper looks at the concept of terrorism, in all its ramifications, in relation to religions in general and Islam in particular. The Boko Haram movement, and its unwarranted activities in Nigeria, are assessed vis-à-vis its claim to Islamic Da’wah (Propagation of Islam). Likewise, the pros and cons of the phenomenon are being analyzed in order to find a possible solution to the menace.

Meaning/Definition of Religion Different meanings and definitions are given to religion by scholars of diverse disciplines and persuasions. Scholars of sociology, as observed by Jamiu (2012:22-23), emphasize the positive role of religion and its relationship to mankind, while Marxists (many socialists and communist who adopted the liberation theory) emphasize its negative role by reducing religion to the concept that it is “opium to the masses”; a creation made by the ruling and property owning class, used to uphold an exploitative and oppressive social order favourable to the class system in any given society.

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However, as quoted by Nwolise, (1988) Lewis Coser observes the dysfunctional role of religion. According to him, religion can pull people (especially of one religion) together, but it can also disintegrate them and set them against one another. This highlights the conflicting role assigned to religion by Western Scholars. According to Nwolise (1988:846), religion is: “A system of beliefs and practices which, if organized along the will of the Creator, helps in explaining the uncertainties of human life, in securing moral behavior, and in ensuring that people have a smooth social relationship on earth as a prelude to having an everlasting happy life with God after death - but which, if run according to the dictates of evil forces, brings fire and brimstone on the society whether multi-religious or monoreligious”.

The bone of contention here is that religion generally can be effectively utilized for positivism or otherwise utilized for negativism, depending on the agent of utility be it a sincere committed religionist or a materialistic and opportunistic chauvinist.

Meaning/Definition of Terrorism In the World Book Encyclopedia, (Vol. 19) terrorism is defined as “the use or threat of violence to create fear and alarm”. As such, terrorism includes all sorts of atrocities like murder, kidnapping, hijacking aeroplanes, setting off bombs as an attacker or suicide bomber etc. The features of terrorism have no boundaries. It may be committed for various reasons; for a political, philosophical, or worldview; for feelings of being marginalized, the oppressed then seeking liberation from the oppressor of the day who perhaps could not be engaged in a face-to-face military encounter; or for a religious or ethnic chauvinism as the case may be.

Trend Setter of Terrorism If terrorism is to be looked into globally, and is to mean any sort of violent acts of aggression against others, it would be difficult to say with precision who started the aggression, or when and where it was started. However some indications may be given as follows: Quran 5:30 and Bible Genesis 4:8 would have us believe that Qabil (Cain) was the first terrorist on earth, for he killed his brother Habil (Abal) out of jealousy. Coming closer to our own time, in 1865, there was the

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development of an American group, known as the Ku Klux Klan; an extremist organization, which used violence to terrorize the Blacks - and anyone who had any sympathy for them - after the end of the American Civil War, and during the early part of the 19th century. History also records that in Germany, in the 1930s, Adolf Hitler used terrorism to eliminate his opponents, or at least keep them quiet, and so did Benito Mussolini of Italy, and Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union. In the 1960’s, the Red Brigade in Italy, and the Red Army Faction in West Germany, were known for their destructive political and economic systems in their respective home countries, and were replaced by their new systems. Similarly, the Provisional Irish Republican Army, which was established in 1970, used violence in its fight to rid Northern Ireland of British rule, which they perceived as a form of colonialism against the people of Ireland. Black African countries are not free from this trend of events of terrorism, particularly when it comes to political rivalry, ethnic marginalization, and economic exploitation by one sector against another. This scenario may account for what developed into the acts of terrorism perpetuated by a group of young men in the south east of Nigeria, known as the Niger Delta Militant group, who aimed at fighting for their ‘rights’ through forceful and unscrupulous means, by kidnapping, killing and vandalizing Government infrastructures and Institutions. But as to the use of terrorist acts in the name of religion in black African countries, we limit our reference to Nigeria and in particular to the culture of only two tribes: the Yoruba in the west, and the Ibo in the East, in the practice of their ATR, which is similar to many Black African traditions. The culture of these people has it that their forefathers are represented spiritually by masquerade and that many divinities have been observed to appease their gods, and their supreme beings, and the spirit of their forefathers, to make peace and prosperity reign on earth. Different kinds of animals are slaughtered to satisfy the gods and their spirits. What should be mentioned here is that the act of terrorism comes in when, within the community in those dark ages, some would fall away from, or doubt, or deny the truth, of their belief in the spirit. The opponents were threatened, coerced to accept their own world view, or sometimes the rivalry led to murder. Such was the type of religious terrorism that could be found in Black African Countries. It is a dreadful method of coercing others to believe, and accept as the truth, the spiritual power of the gods of nature; like the god of fire popularly known as Oba Koso as earlier referred to above.

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Islam and the Concept of Terrorism The word Islam means ‘submission and peace’. Thus, true religions reflect submission to the will of Allah, which begets peace and tranquility of mind to the believer. It also implies living in perfect peace and harmony with fellow human beings, and with all creation. Muslims are being directed to avoid anything likely to bring about dissention, disharmony, chaos, enmity, or hatred - in the community - in texts: Q.49:13, and Q. 4:1, respectively. “O mankind, indeed we have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is knowing and Acquainted”. “O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah, through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an Observer”.

It is instructive to note from these and other similar verses, that firstly, mankind is all related to one another, having a common origin and common ancestors. As such, all mankind should live in peace and harmony, without discrimination of race, colour or geographical location. Secondly, Islam, as far as the Quran is concerned, is a universal religion, which Allah has approved for mankind from the beginning of creation to the end of human life on this planet. Thus, all prophets before Muhammad, like Ibrahim, (Abraham), Musa (Moses), Isa (Jesus) and Yusuf (Joseph), are all Muslims with the same message of Islam from Allah, (Q12:101; Q3: 67 and Q2: 285) Many Quranic verses are commandments to ensure the unity of mankind, and faith in one God to maintain peace and security everywhere on earth. This includes enjoining justice and kindness (Q16:90), avoidance of injustice, and the restitution (Q4:58), telling the truth and doing justice among kinsmen (Q6:152); and more emphatically Islam condemns transgression, oppression, terrorism, and injustice in the following text: (Q5:8). “O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm for Allah, witnesses in justice, and do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just; that is nearer to righteousness. And fear Allah; indeed Allah is Acquainted with what you do”.

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In another verse (Q8:60) the term “terrorism” is clearly explained to mean a strategy of war in which Muslims should be prepared to carry out whatever actions that are within their capacity in order to face challenges. This may include preparing equipment for war, or any strategy of war to terrify enemies: “And prepare against them whatever you are able of power and of steeds of war by which you may terrify the enemy of Allah and your enemy and other besides them whom you do not know [but] whom Allah knows. And whatever you spend in the cause of Allah will be fully repaid to you, and you will not be wronged”.

What Islam is saying here, which is of course in perfect conformity to modem world practice today, is that a peaceful atmosphere without a suitable preparedness to protect and sustain peace, by a community, is susceptible to being disrupted at anytime, on any day, by the community’s adversaries. This practice is in vogue today by every country, and mostly by the world power nations to the point of impunity.

A Brief Survey of Religious Disturbances in Nigeria Alkali (1968), categorized religious uprising into two types: the political and the religious. The first type is a kind of revolutionary action against foreign rule, while the second type are movements such as those where feelings are expressed through religious sentiment, and which usually attract the attention of the less privileged. A few examples could be cited here, like Nasatiru of Sokoto - who rejected the authority of the Sullan of Sokoto in 1906; Mallam Njidda of Bima hill in Gombe in 1949; Mallam Hanafi of Gwandu in 1958; Mallam Abubakar Bawanke in 1965; Muhammad Marwa Maitastine, and the uprising in Kano in 1980 and its subsequent events in Bauchi, Maiduguri, and Kaduna; and currently the emergence of the Boko Haram insurgency, from 2009 to date, in practically and surprisingly most of the places mentioned above! One common feature is also obvious with these movements; almost all of them took the form of an uprising, resulting in the authorities using force to put down the rebellions (Jamiu, 1996). It could therefore be said here, without fear of contradiction, that the Boko-Haram syndrome is not a new phenomenon in Nigeria. Its reoccurrence is due to poor management and the non-challant attitudes, by those in power, regarding learning from experience.

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The Boko Haram Phenomenon in Nigeria Its Name and Movement Efforts have been made at different fora to explain the meaning of the name ‘Boko Haram’ and the formation of its movement. We appreciate the detailed research project carried out in Wikipedia the free Encyclopedia on this issue, some of which is recalled here with some additions. In the article, the date of the formation of the movement was put at 2001 or 2002, by Mohammad Yusuf, in Maiduguri who later transferred the headquarters of the movement to his home state, Yobe, in the village of Kanamma near the Niger border. From there, the movement started spreading like wild fire burning, with disciples joining him from many parts of northern Nigeria. The movement was dubbed Boko Haram by the residents of Maiduguri - obviously from what they observed the disciples of the movement do, and in consonance with the meaning literally and figuratively. The word boko in Hausa means “western education”, and “haram” in Arabic means ‘forbidden’ literally, but figuratively it means ‘sin’. The name, loosely translated from Hausa means “western education is forbidden”. The root of this term goes beyond this literal translation. In typical Hausa tradition, when marriage ceremonies were conducted and a new bride was to be presented to her groom, a fake bride was first playfully presented called the Amariyan boko (the fake bride) before the original and true bride was presented to her groom. From this tradition, the knowledge and education that was known to an average Hausa/Fulani Muslim Community was Islamic education. As such, when eventually in the mid nineteen century western education came through the Missionaries and Colonialists, it was termed Boko i.e. fake, false, or deceptive education. When something is false, deceitful, and not true as far as Islam is concerned, it becomes sinful and forbidden for Muslims to partake in it. However, the organization does not refer to itself with the dubbed name ‘Boko Haram’, rather its adopted official name is: “Jama‘atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-jihad” – translated, it means: “People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet’s Teaching and Jihad”. Meanwhile we will continue referring to them with their dubbed popular name. .

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What ‘Boko Haram’ Stands for Muhammad Yusuf, the founder of the organization, made clear what he and his organization stand for in his book - written in classical Arabic entitled “Hadhihi ‘aqidatuna wa manhaj da’watina” (this translates as: “This is our tenet and method of our Islamic Propagation). Yusuf, (n.d.4446). In his book, he emphatically condemns democracy and all that it stands for, and also those who adopt it as their political ideology and establish their government and constitution in that line, saying that they are but worshippers of tawaqitu sig. Taqut; i.e. worshippers of false objects, such as idols, heavenly bodies, spirits, human beings etc. The method adopted in executing their programme is not so farfetched; a fearless face-to-face attack on anything, or anybody - identified by the organization – who: (a) uses a false object as a taghut, (as an object of worship); (b) has a kuf or shirk, (any belief that is considered to be in opposition to Allah and Islam); and (c) is against their plan in any shape or form. The aims and objectives to be achieved are equally clear; to replace, in Nigeria, the “ungodly government with a godly one, i.e. the one to be administered by Sharah, (the Islamic State), even if that will mean through suicide bombing! This task becomes easy in the eye of the young innocent disciples that Muhammad Yusuf has “colonized”, and brainwashed with the belief that once any of them dies in that course he/she has become a martyr!

Islamic Tenet and Boko Haram As indicated earlier, the task set forth in this paper is to assess the claim of Islamic da’wah (the propagation of Islam) as claimed by this organization, vis-à-vis the Islamic tenet acceptable to the Muslim majority of the world, i.e. the Sunni Muslims. Islam never encourages a coercive method for its da’wah. It says that the invitation to it must be carried out with wisdom and good instruction (Q16:125); that there must be no compulsion towards acceptance of the religion of Islam because “The right course has become clear from the wrong. So whoever disbelieves in taghut and believes in Allah grasped the most trust worthy had hold with no break in it” (Q2:226). This is what a committed Muslim dai (a ‘caller’ to Islam) should do in order to encourage people of other religions to consider Islam’s beliefs, or in order to convince people of the same religion (i.e. within Islam) to his own point of view regarding world perception, ideologically, politically, socio-economically etc. The best a dai could do, if he does not succeed in

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convincing others to his world view, (in the case of those who follow the same religion) - or in converting others to his religion (in the case of people who follow other religions) - is to accept the majority view of the Ummah (Muslim Community). Q3; 159. The Prophet is reported to have said that every Muslim is a potential dai, a ‘caller’ to Islam in his own right. As such, if a Muslim perceives wrong things being done in the society, he should correct it with his hand (i.e. his capacity), or by his tongue, (i.e. criticism by various means). Alternatively, he should keep quiet and resort to reliance on Allah’s final say. The sequel to the above analysis; the activities of the organization; and the method by which they are carried out; to say the least, is anti Islam, peace and unity in humanity, which is the main purpose of creation. Another serious misconception of this organization is the term Jihad, which forms a major part of their name. Literally, the word ‘Jihad’ is translated to mean ‘to fight against an enemy, using evil of all sorts, and carry the action out as a religious duty’. Technically, therefore, Jihad means to strive to spread the tenets of Islam, the way Allah enjoined it to be spread, (Q16:125) with wisdom and good instruction, so as to achieve the desired objective of peace, unity and tranquility on earth.

The Causes and Effects of the Boko Haram Phenomenon From our historical account of religious disturbances antecedent in Northern Nigeria, which stretches from the North West: Sokoto, Kano, Zaria, to the North East: Maiduguri, Yola, Bauchi and Gombe, -by different movements and individual propagandists (Nasatiru, Njidda Hanafi, Bawanka and Maitastine) - there is one common feature within them; a struggle against westernization, either in form of colonialism by the Imperialist, or neo-colonialism by the indigenous oppressive neocolonialists. They are all without exception, including Boko Haram, organizational claimants to being “Messiahs” who have been ‘sent’ to reform the socio-economic and political-religious deterioration of their various Communities. They want a pure time for the Prophets, or at least a period of pure time for the Salaf (the companions and followers of the Prophet) to be reinstated. But unfortunately, none of them is sincere to the cause of Islam because, as rightly observed by Alkali (1968), those who normally spearhead religious uprisings, more often than not, appear to be practicing Muslims, but when there is a sudden change of fortune - a gain or loss, for example – their faith changes. Muhammad Marwa, who was killed by the

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Military forces in Kano in 1980, admitted his own affluence and wealth, which he had publicly detested at the early stage of his movement - indeed he cursed anybody that owned modern cars, houses, television sets etc. Because of this act of cursing, (in Hausa ‘stine’), his name and his movement became known as ‘Maitastine’, (The one who curses people for no just cause). Similarly, Muhammad Yusuf, the founder of Boko Haram, who is an intelligent and educated young man, also lives a lavish life and drives chains of luxurious cars, the act of which he and his organization condemns in others. But, the emphasis of this paper is that similar occurrences have been happening in Nigeria for a long time, which has claimed the lives and properties of innocent citizens in whatever form, and all because of religious bigotry, political intrigue, social misdemeanor, economic downturn, unemployment and/or low morale. The relevant questions that bother any inquisitive researcher are: Could the nation not learn from such experiences? Could Nigeria, as a country not take precautions to avert reoccurrences? And why should we, as a nation, always put our energy into managing a crisis, instead of preventing a crisis? Ideology is not developed in a day, and therefore cannot be fought and defeated in a day. It develops gradually and should be fought gradually, especially when it goes contrary to the norms of society. The Boko Haram phenomenon has been with us, in Nigeria, for a very long time, as is shown above; the menace of such should only be dealt with care and caution.

Solution There is no amount of condemnation that can be thrown at the acts of religious disturbances, currently in the form of Boko Haram, and no amount of devastating approach brought about by the military that can nip it in the bud permanently. The faith, belief, or ideology of any sort of religion, whether it be Islam, Christianity, Judaism, ATR, Atheism, Paganism, Socialism and Communism, has no equal, in strength, in the heart of its believer. He is ready to die, or be killed, for it to become a “martyr”. Such determination lives long in a man, and in anyone who shares the same view with him. Therefore, the phenomenon lingers on, even after the death of its initiator. This menace can be tackled squarely by deep research into movements of this nature in relation to their beliefs; the origin and causes of their emanation; the socio-economic and political factors beneath their spread; and the acceptability of such movements among the youth and the masses.

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This resolve requires political will, and a religious conviction (i.e. a conscious and selfless service to God) throughout humanity. Presently, in Nigeria, these phenomenal problems are thought to be solved by the creation of cosmetic bodies of a higher caliber of people comprising Muslims and Christians - who, according to their mandate, meet periodically, or eventually when trouble reappears, and discuss and agree among themselves that there should be no trouble anymore; appeals have been made and communiqué have been signed many times without number. Alternatively, we suggest and pray for a leadership in Nigeria, which will be courageous enough to ‘take the bull by the horns’ and establish a Ministry of Religious Affairs in all the three layers of governance we have: local, state and federal. This will go a long way in solving the problems, by utilizing a number of ways the ministry will engage in, which include: i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi.

Sensitization of the masses, in and out of the churches and mosques, through their clerics Close monitoring of religious activities Empowerment of jobless clerics, and their disciples Censorings of creeds, and their propagation Provision of proper, genuine, and adequate, education to the masses Enforcement of the norms of society regarding religious harmony etc.

Conclusion Every effort has been made in this article to show the global nature of terrorism, which the paper reveals, started from time immemorial. The paper also asserts that religion can be an agent of peace or doom, depending on its propagandist. More importantly, the thrust of this article is to indicate that Islam and terrorism are poles apart; and that the Boko Haram phenomenon has been with Nigeria for many, many years; the failure to solve its problem is due to non-political will by the leadership in Nigeria. The paper recommends the establishment of a Ministry of Religious Affairs at all the three layers of governance; local, state and federal.

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Works Cited Alkali, A., H. 1968. “The Mahdi of Toranke” Kano Studies Vol. 1. No.4. ABC/ABU, PP92-5. Al. Maiduguri, Abu Yusuf: “Hadhihi ‘aqidatuna wa manhaj’ da’watina”Maktabatul Ghuraba (nd) Jamiu, S.M., Towards Diffusing Religious Tension in the Polity: Islam and Politics in Nigeria 1903-1983. Ilorin: Lavgark Investment Ltd. 2012. Holy Bible King James Version Translated out of the original longue, Bible Society of Nigeria Lagos Nigeria. 2004. The Encyclopedia of Religions and Ethics Vol. 1. The Word Book Encyclopedia Vol. 19. The Glorious Quran; English Revised and Edited by Saheed International. AbdulQasim Publishing House, (al- Muntad Alislami) (1997) Wikipedia, The free Encyclopedia-en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boko-Haram

CHAPTER ELEVEN A RETROSPECTIVE LOOK AT NIGERIAN CHRISTIANS’ EXPERIENCE OF RELIGIOUS RIOTS AND TERRORIST ATTACKS LYDIA BOSEDE AKANDE

Introduction - Understanding Terrorism The Word “Terrorism” has been viewed differently from various angles, but they all point to the fact that terrorism has led to the wanton waste of lives and the colossal loss of properties. Terrorist attacks have a very serious implication on the economy of the affected country. Columbus and Wolfe (1986:79), when comparing terrorism with war, were of the view that “terrorism involves the use of violence as a weapon to pursue certain political objectives”. The World Book Encyclopedia, (1981:199) defines terrorism as “the use of threat or violence to produce fear in people and weaken their resistance”. Similarly, the new Encyclopedia Britannica -vol. II (1987: 120) - views terrorism as “the systematic use of terror, or unpredictable violence, against governments, the public, or individuals, to attain a political objective”. There is the need to point out here that terrorism has been used, not only by political organizations to gain or keep power, but also by nationalists, religious and ethnic groups, by revolutionists, and by the armies and secret police of governments themselves. Gutteridge (1986:67) says: “Terrorism is employed as a weapon of psychological warfare to help create a climate of panic, or collapse, to destroy public confidence in government and security agencies and to coerce communities and movement activities into obeying the terrorist leadership”.

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Daniel (1988:55) opines that: “terrorism is mainly used to achieve political objectives.” Based on the various views above, terrorism has most commonly become identified with individuals or groups attempting to destabilize or overthrow existing political or religious institutions. The evil acts have been practiced throughout history and the world over, but modern terrorism today differs from that of the past because its victims are now frequently innocent civilians who are chosen at random, or merely happen to walk into terrorist situations by accident.

Terrorist Attacks and their Attendant Fatalities There are various acts of terrorism committed at one time or another. Individuals like Daniel, believe that terrorism is mainly used to achieve political objectives. This is, however, an understatement because at both international and local levels there have been cases of religious terrorism. The Guardian Newspaper of 11th September, 2001, reported the suicide plane crash at the World Trade Centre in New York, and the US Defense Headquarters, The Pentagon. These acts led to the loss of lives and properties; it was in fact an unprecedented event in the history of terrorism in the world. Victims of this occurrence were from different parts of the world, Nigeria included. From the Nigerian perspective, records show an increase, in the cases of terrorist attacks, from over 400 between 1974 and 1976, to approximately 1,000 in 1978 (Idris 2002). Today, the numbers are too numerous to be counted. The table below shows a number of terrorist cases ranging from the political to the religious as stated in the periodical, Awake! (2001), and Abubakre (1993:152): Nos. 1.

Country Nigeria

Town Kano

Dates Dec. 1980

2.

Nigeria

Kaduna

Oct. 82

3.

Nigeria

Yola

Feb., 84

4.

Nigeria

Gombe

April, 85

Nature of incident Maitatsine sect versus Government and People Maitatsine sect versus Government and People Maitatsine sect versus Government and People Maitatsine sect versus Government and People

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Nigeria

Kafanchan

6

Nigeria

Kaduna

6th-10th March, 1987 March, 1988

7.

Nigeria

Bauchi

June, 1980

8.

Nigeria

Katsina

9.

Nigeria

10.

Nigeria

Tafawa Balewa Toro, Ningi

11.

Nigeria

Kano

March/April, 1991 19-26 April, 1991 22-26 April, 1991 14/10/91

12.

Bueons

17/3/92

13.

Argentina Buenos The U.S.A.

New York

11/09/2001

14.

Nigeria

Lagos

6/10/93

15.

Nigeria

Lagos

19/12/96

16.

India

Columba tore

14/2/98

17.

Nigeria

Lagos

18.

Nigeria

Ibadan

19.

Nigeria

Jos

20. 21. 22.

Nigeria Nigeria Nigeria

Kano Ilorin Zaria

“ “ “

23.

Nigeria

Maidalla, Suleja

26/12/2011

23/12/01

Christian/Muslim fight Muslim Students/Christian Students fight at Kaduna Polytechnic Muslim/Christian Pupils Secondary School fight over worship Shiite group versus the authorities and people Sayawa/Fulani Riots Muslim/Christian Riots Muslims Youths riot against Bonke’s crusade Car bomb hit Israel’s Embassy Religious extremists caused bomb explosion at World Trade Centre. Pa. Alfred Rewane Killed Toyin Onagoruwa Slain A series of bombings by religious militants. The US Embassy bombed Alhaja Kudirat Abiola was murdered Chief Bola Ige struck to down Burning of churches and killings “ “ Zango Kafan Religious Riots Christmas Day Bomb Blast.

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Tertiary institutions were not spared either. For example, The Nigerian Tribune of Friday 6th February, 2002 reported that about 20 students lost their lives, with many wounded, in rival clashes between cult groups; this is just one case out of many. Similarly, terrorist acts assumed more dangerous dimensions during the reign of the late General Sanni Abacha, who hunted his critics like rats, and slayed his perceived enemies like fowl. In Jos, terrorist attacks have become commonplace. The beautiful city, which used to be a tourist attraction, has become a place that Nigerians and members of the international community now dread to visit for fear of becoming victims of terrorist attacks; thousands of people who live there have been reported killed and the residential buildings, and places of worship, that have been destroyed cannot be numbered. It was reported during national news broadcasts, by a Plateau State Spokesman, Gregory (2010) that: “Officials would conduct mass burials for the victims. The bodies of the dead lined dusty streets in three villages south of the regional capital of Jos. At least 200 bodies had been counted by Sunday afternoon. However, on Monday Dan Manjang, an adviser to the Plateau State government, put the death toll at 500 .We have been able to make 95 arrests but at the same time over 500 people have been killed in this heinous act”.

He went on further to say that; “The bodies of children tangled with each other in a local morgue, including a diaper-clad toddler. Another young victim appeared to have been scalped, while others had severed hands and feet. One woman victim in the morgue appeared to have been stripped below the waist, but later covered by a strip of black cloth”.

In another report, in the same national news broadcast, by a Police Spokesman, Emmanuel Ojukwu, said: “Nigerian police plan to charge 162 people for their role in sectarian clashes that killed hundreds in Plateau State earlier this month. Locals gather at a mass burial of their kinsmen killed during religious clashes in the village of Dogo Nahawa south of Jos”.

Going on further, he said: “Some of those arrested could be sentenced to death following the deaths of over 200 people during riots around the central city of Jos. Forty-one of the suspects are to be charged with terrorism and culpable homicide, which

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are punishable by death. The remaining detainees would be charged with unlawful possession of firearms, rioting and “mischief by fire” for the burning of buildings during the attacks”.

Other acts of terrorism against Christians include the burning of the statue of the Resurrected Christ outside the Chapel of the Resurrection and the demand, by Muslims, for the removal of an almost 40 year old Cross from opposite the chapel at the University of Ibadan.More important terrorist acts were steps allegedly taken by some state governments in Nigeria. For instance, in Kaduna, the state government changed the name of the two acquired Roman Catholic Institutions: The Queen of Apostles College and St. John’s College, to Queen Amina College and Rimi College respectively. The various attacks received by Christians in Churches are too numerous to enumerate. Terrorism assumed another terrible dimension with the emergence of Boko Haram, an Islamic Sect in the north since 2009. (‘Boko Haram’ means ‘western education is forbidden or evil’). The following are just a few cases out of the many attacks of this sect against Churches, individuals, and national and international establishments, between December 2010 and February, 2012, as stated by Forest (2012:135-142) “December 24, 2010: In Jos, 38 people were killed and 74 others were injured when militants detonated four improvised explosive devices made with dynamite in the Kabong Shopping Market just minutes apart from one another. Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the attack. Meanwhile, a private security guard in Maiduguri was killed by militants in two vehicles when they fired on him with unknown firearms and threw an unknown number of petrol bombs at the Sinimari Church of Christ. The group also threw petrol bombs at the Dala Baptist Church, setting it on fire. Five people including a pastor were killed and 25 other people were injured when militants attacked the Victory Baptist Church with firearms and petrol bombs. Boko Haram claimed responsibility for these attacks as well”. –

– –

December 31, 2010: “In the neighborhood of Jikowyi in Abuja city, unidentified militants detonated an improvised explosive device at the Dunamis Church April 9, 2011. A polling center in Maiduguri was bombed by suspected members of Boko Haram.” April 15, 2011: “Members of the sect bombed the Independent National Electoral Commission headquarters in Niger state” May 29, 2011: “On the day of President Goodluck Jonathan’s inauguration, three bombs exploded within minutes of each other at an artillery brigade in Bauchi killing 13 people, and injuring more than 40 others.”

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June 6, 2011: During a week of attacks on a church and police stations in Maiduguri, at least 14 people were killed in three explosions, including three people outside St Patrick’s Catholic Church; David Usman, pastor of the Church of Christ in Nigeria, was shot dead by gunmen on motorcycles; and Ibrahim Birkuti, a Muslim cleric who had criticized Boko Haram, was shot dead outside his home in the town of Biu, roughly 120 miles south of Maiduguri. June 16, 2011: “Four children were killed in a church playground in an explosion in the town of Damboa, south of the state capital Maiduguri, Borno state.” June 16, 2011: “Boko Haram used a suicide car bomber to attack Nigeria’s Police Headquarters (Louis Edet House) in Abuja. The explosion killed eight people, shattered the glass windows of the seven-story police headquarters and destroyed dozens of vehicles in the parking lot.” July 10, 2011: “A bombing at the All Christian Fellowship Church in Suleja, Niger state, killed three people and wounded seven.” August 26, 2011: At least 18 people were killed in a suicide car bombing at the U.N. building in Abuja. The driver entered the compound by ramming an exit gate; he then maneuvered his vehicle into a parking garage before detonating it. This attack was Boko Haram’s first attack against a transnational target rather than against a government or sectarian target. November 9, 2011: Four policemen were killed in Mainok (northern Nigeria), and a police station, and the rescue unit of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), were also destroyed by suspected members of Boko Haram. The group also stormed the residence of the Mainok village head; he was not home, but they killed his brother. December 4: “Boko Haram gunmen attacked police area command headquarters in Bauchi state, killing six people and injuring five others.” December 25, 2011: “At least 42 people are killed at several churches around Nigeria, including St. Theresa’s Catholic Church in Madalla, a town near Abuja, there were other attacks at churches in Jos and Gadaka; the attacks are claimed by Boko Haram.” January 20, 2012: “Bomb attack and shootings in Kano, Nigeria’s second largest city, killed 186 people Boko Haram’s most deadly attack to date.” January 29, 2012 “Boko Haram members attacked – a police station in Kano, and issued a warning that if group members who had been captured in the North-Western Sokoto State were not released, a Kano style attack would be launched there.” February 26, 2012: “Dozens were killed and injured in attacks on churches in Jos and Gombe states, and seven suspects were arrested while attempting to bomb a church in Bauchi.”

Christians were not silent on their bitter experiences, for example, the executive committee of the Christian Association of Nigeria, (CAN), on the 24th April, 1991 - after the Bauchi riots - circulated a resolution entitled, “Enough is Enough”. It stated thus “The Christian Association of

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Nigeria hereby demands, on behalf of the Christians in the whole country, the protection of their fundamental human rights and an end to selective negligence.” Christians in Nigeria cannot pretend and claim that all is well in a nation where the horrible terrorist situations as described above prevail.

The Attitude of Christians to Terrorism Christians have not been silent on cases of terrorism in Nigeria. The nation as a whole, and Christians in particular, are concerned and filled with anxiety over the situation and prospects for the future. However, the activities of the Christian Association of Nigeria in this regard are well commended. The body has represented Christians well in a number of terrorist acts, and riots, against Christians. For instance, when Rev. Wilson Sabiya, the then CAN chairman (1989) in Gongola State, was arrested on religious issues, CAN vehemently stood by him and secured his release. In addition, during the heated OIC debate, the government set up an Advisory Council on Religious Affairs (ACRA) on Oct., 2, 1987 during President Ibrahim Babangida’s regime. It is interesting to note that Christians boycotted this body. They especially became wary that the body could be used as an instrument for official interference in religious freedom. Many of the Youth members of CAN went against the Christians’ participation in ACRA, on the simple logic that: “he who pays the piper dictates the tune”. The then CAN Chairman in Abuja Rev. Peter Akinola (1989:7) also pointed out that: “Government set the pace in matters of religion… when you have government paying your fares from Lagos to Abuja to attend meetings, and government lodges you in hotels and pays your bills to attend religious conferences, then watch out, there is trouble”.

Another opinion from Mr. Daniel Gowon, Chief of Wusasa and his elder brother, the former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon (Rtd), told the Standard Newspaper that he had no faith in ACRA. Perhaps, he was speaking the mind of many Christians. Christians have also risen against the Sharia issue. They have put up counter arguments against it in print and electronic media; this protest made the Sharia issue die a natural death in some states. They clearly pointed out to the government that the 1979 Constitution categorically states that: “The Government of the Federation, or a state, shall not adopt any religion as a state religion”.

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Furthermore, Christians have not relented in their efforts with the printing of pamphlets on religious matters to stop any terrorist acts in the state, and even at our various institutions of learning. For instance, a pamphlet published by the youth wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria (YOUTHCAN), (1988:12), gave full details on how to, incapacitate the operation of the Sharia in many states of the federation. To be acknowledged during this period was the boldness of another Christian leader, Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe, who was the second in command during the Babangida regime. This man openly denounced the participation of Nigeria in OIC when interviewed by journalists. He further stated that the issue was not discussed by the Supreme Military Council, and thus should be regarded as invalid. However, this action cost him his job, but a precedence and legacy has been set for other Christians in positions of authority to emulate. The aforementioned are some of the attitudes, which Christians have put on, to fight against terrorism in Nigeria. Following are recommendations that can enhance harmony and forestall terrorism in a pluralist religious society, like Nigeria.

Expected Roles of Nigerians in Diaspora to Curbing Terrorism in Nigeria To safeguard the unity of Nigeria against all acts of violence or terrorism that has continuously pitched Christians against Muslims, and vice versa; all hands must be on deck. Our brothers and sisters in Diaspora should not fold their arms or feel unconcerned. Home is home. Meaningful contributions to sustaining relationships between close, extended relatives and neighbors are some of the ways in which they can assist. The exposure they have had abroad could be employed to right so many wrongs in the homeland. They could therefore, among other things, do the following to salvage the current wave of insecurity, terrorism, and fear in Nigeria. Nigerians in the Diaspora can be involved in the political programmes of Nigeria. This was the view of Sunkanmi and Salami (2011), when they opined that: “The root cause of violence in Nigeria is political re-adjustment by various ethnic groups masterminded by politicians with self-interest. Nigerians need educated and open-minded politicians to run the state of affairs. In this regard, Nigerians in the Diaspora can play a crucial role in the political system by participation”.

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In a similar discussion, Idris Ozoya, a Nigerian in Diaspora was of the view that: “The National Intelligence Agency (NIA), State Security Service (SSS), and Nigerian Police Force should be strengthened by equipping them with advanced technology (which the federal government can definitely afford) and plugging them into the international networks of intelligence gathering, such that when terrorist elements in Nigeria hear the name of any of these entities (talk less of their operation) they would quiver in their boots.

In addition, Nigerians in Diaspora could form a very strong pressure group that will prevail upon the Federal Government of Nigeria to, as a matter of urgency, set up a commission that will attend to the issues of Boko Haram, Kaduna, Jos and similar crises without delay. Also, they can assist the federal and state governments by raising funds for the conduct of free and fair elections in 2015. For the above to be realized, our brothers and sisters in Diaspora could, in a collaborative endeavor, raise funds to boost Nigeria’s efforts to realize the above stated opinion.

Conclusion It has been clearly shown that terrorism has become a frequent occurrence in Nigeria. It has been seen as a threat and an evil act. It thus becomes very important that Christians build up an attitude that will disallow the terrorists to actualize their plans. It is in this regard that the following recommendations are made: Government holds the key to religious and/or political harmony. They have a lot to do to reduce terrorism in all spheres of life. This is in support of Ambassador Tanko Yusuf’s view, in Jimoh Idris (2002), that: “Government should strictly abide by the Constitution and not allow any group to trouble others.” Holding meetings, giving press releases or press conferences are not enough. Action is what is required. Similarly, Odumuyiwa (1993:140-162) offers the following suggestions to all stake holders connected with the peaceful coexistence of Nigeria: a. State and Federal Governments should not get themselves involved in any of the religious activities of any religion in the country. There should be no favouritism from the government towards any

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religion. Every religion should be given equal opportunity and treatment. No religion should step on the toes of the doctrines of other religions. Conversion into any of the religions should be through appeal and embracement, rather than through force The teaching of the tenets of Religions should be allowed in all Nigerian schools, colleges and Universities. Erring adherents of any Religion should be severely disciplined by government agencies without fear of repercussions, and without showing any favouritism. Religion should be seen and practiced as a forum for unity and peaceful co-existence, and not as a divisible force.

In the same way religious leaders should teach, practice and enjoin their adherents to honestly practice the tenets of their religion. No true Religion teaches wickedness, hostility and vandalism. Religious leaders should also create a forum for inter-faith dialogue, whereby proper understanding of the tenets of every religion could be learnt. Their adherents should be properly guided as regards the belief system of religions other than their own. Within the prevailing circumstances, Christians are admonished to rely wholly on God and pray fervently, just as the Anglican Bishop of Jos, the Rt. Reverend Ben. Kwashi, (1993:7) rightly said: “God is using terrorist situations to teach us to depend on Him.” Therefore, Christians should employ the terrorist impasse to move closer to the place of more dedication and prayer for the political evolution of Nigeria. Christians should be fervent in prayers so that the situation will not degenerate into the same conditions as are found in Liberia, Somalia or Yugoslavia. They are not to become violent, but are simply to wait to see the salvation of God. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has a lot to do in this regard. They should ensure the unity of all Christians in order to fight any terrorist act. Moreover, Christians’ participation in politics should be encouraged, as this will bring them into positions of authority and policy formulations. When all the aforementioned are adequately taken care of the much needed peace, tolerance, social-economic, moral, and educational development of Nigeria, will advance. They would also go a long way to water down terrorism and bring about harmonious living among the various ethnic and religious groups in the country.

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Works Cited Abubakar, Deremi. Studies in Religious Understanding in Nigeria, Ilorin: NASR, 1993. Ben Kwashi . “Government and Religion.” Today’s Challenge 11.6 (1993): 17 Couloumbus, Wolfe. Introduction to International Religions, Power and Justice. New Delhi: Prentice-Hall, 1986. Daniel Gowon. “Advisory Council on Religious Affairs”. The Standard Newspaper. May, 2008. Daniel, Peters. Contemporary International Relations. United States: Macmillan Publishing Company Inc, 1988. Emmanuel Odumuyiwa. “The Place of Christianity, Islam and African Religion in Nigeria”. in Studies in Religious Understanding in Nigeria. Ilorin: NASR, 1993. Emmanuel Ojukwu. “Discussion on Terrorism in Nigeria.” National News. National News, 8 March, 2010. Web. 3 June 2012 Guteridge, Williams. Contemporary Terrorism. New York: Facts on Tile Publications, 1986. Idris Ozoya. “Diaspora Solution to Terrorism in Nigeria.” Linked.com. 7 December 2011. Jimoh Idris. “Effects of Terrorism.” A seminar paper presented at the Department of Political Science, 22 May 2002. Jehovah’s Witnesses, Awake! 22 May 2007. Moshe Ram. Lecture organized by Centre for International Education, University of Ilorin. “Nigeria-Israel Relations: Harnessing Opportunities for Capacity Development in Tertiary Education.” Information Nigeria, March 2012. Web. 7 March 2012. Peter Akinola. “On Government Involvement in Religion.” Today’s Challenge 11.2 (1989) : 12 Sunkanmi and Salami. “Diaspora Solution to Terrorism in Nigeria.” Linked.com. 6 December 2011. “Suicide Plane Crash at the World Trade Centre” The Guardian, 11 September 2001. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. 1999. The New Encyclopedia Britanica, Vol II. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britanica Inc, 1981. The World Bank Encyclopedia (Vol. 19), Toronto: World Book Child Craft International Inc, 1981 Youth Wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria. “The Sharia: Implication for Christians’8 May 1988.

CHAPTER TWELVE VILLAGE-LEVEL PARTICIPATORY VIDEO FOR DOCUMENTING AND DISSEMINATING AGRO-INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE B. T. ISIAKA, TOLA OLUJUWON AND D. N. ELLA

Introduction Literature has shown that inappropriate documentation of Africa’s indigenous knowledge is a major challenge in preserving, transmitting, and having effective access to numerous rich innovations. Equally, the scientific validation of these local innovations is a major issue, and is on the front burner. Furthermore, it is difficult to push these innovations into the mainstream of the formal research and development system. Giving recognition and value to local innovation is crucial to institutionalize them in formal research agenda, in order to contribute to community empowerment and rural development. Village-level participatory video technique is gaining ground in the field of the development of communication being used as a tool for documenting, preserving and disseminating agricultural innovations in developing countries. Most rural farmers are “unlettered”. Video technology, in recent times, has become easily accessible to such persons because it is now less complex, compact and less expensive. It is easy to produce video clips of various community activities and experiences. Practically illiterate rural people have acquired the skills of handling a video camera and shooting videos of their experiences. These video clips are used for advocacy; sharing success stories with near or distant neighbours; cultural transformation; awareness and skill acquisition programmes. The chapter therefore highlights the concept, methods, operations, and advantages, of participatory video technique as an effective means of documenting, preserving and sharing

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local innovations or indigenous knowledge. Other issues extensively discussed are the limitations of computer-based ICT efforts in preserving and transmitting agro-indigenous knowledge; the scaling up of local agroinnovations into the formal research settings; the training of local people in bare-foot journalism; and policy implications for all stakeholders. Indigenous knowledge (IK), synonymously used with concepts like local innovation, local technology, traditional knowledge and the like, is defined by Badri (2000:16) as the local knowledge that is unique to a given culture, community or society, and that it contrasts with international knowledge systems generated by universities, research institutions and private firms. He concludes that it is the basis for villagelevel decision-making in agriculture, health care, food preparation, education, natural resource management, and a host of other activities in rural communities. IK encompasses the innovations, skills, experiences, and insights of a people, applied to maintain or improve their livelihoods in a traditionally rural setting, which have grown out of generations of experience. It has developed and adapted continuously through a gradually changing environment; has passed from generation to generation; and has closely interwoven with the peoples’ cultural values (Aguilar 2001:250). IK is a form of shared environmental knowledge, beliefs, rules, and techniques for productive activities, which are learned ways of gaining knowledge about the world - have evolved from years of experience, internal creativity, innovation, experimentation, and problem-solving, by groups of people working in their local environments drawing upon resources they have at hand, and from external systems.

Importance of Indigenous Knowledge In the emerging global knowledge economy, a country’s ability to build and mobilize knowledge capital is equally essential for sustainable development as the availability of physical and financial capital (Swaminathan 2001:36). Firstly, the basic component of any country’s knowledge system is its indigenous knowledge. Secondly, significant contributions to global knowledge have originated from indigenous people. Thirdly, IK is part of the lives of the rural poor; their livelihood depends almost entirely on specific skills and the knowledge essential for their survival. Accordingly, for the development process, indigenous knowledge is of particular relevance for the following sectors and strategies: agriculture; ethnic veterinary medicine; use and management of

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natural resources; primary health care; preventive medicine; saving and lending; community development; and poverty alleviation. One thread, which runs through these varied perceptions by different authors, shows that IK is endemic to pro-poor rural people in developing countries. In addition, IK is not a flash-in-the-pan experience, but is an innovation available for the survival of a ‘people’, passed on from one generation to another. Some of the local knowledge is scientifically sound in today’s hi-tech world, but there are areas of it that need improvement from the ‘west’. Another form of indigenous knowledge is Agro-indigenous knowledge (Agro-IK). It covers all fields of agriculture: horticulture; agronomy; livestock production; plant and animal breeding; ethno veterinary healing practices; soil and water conservation/management; food processing; and seed preservation. It also includes farming systems; nomadic pastoralism; adaptive strategies in arid and unpredictable environments; climate-change coping activities; rural livelihood strategies; food security; poverty alleviation mechanisms; genetic resource/biodiversity conservation; organic farming; and post-harvest technology. It has been observed that more than a couple of indigenous technologies in agriculture with proven veracity have been pushed aside by so-called modern and hazardous technologies. Agro-IK exists as an oral (unwritten) body of knowledge, passed down the line over many generations. There is the possibility of them becoming extinct, particularly during this era of liberalization, privatization and globalization. The oral tradition of communicating agro-indigenous knowledge encourages the loss of vital details. In addition, the habit of secrecy among certain groups, particularly in Africa, negates the process of capturing and sharing agroindigenous knowledge. This calls for a systematic way of identifying, capturing, validating, documenting, preserving and propagating agroindigenous knowledge. When effectively done, it will reduce dependence on external inputs, reduce the cost of cultivation and propagate an ecofriendly agriculture.

Established Centres for Agro-IK A number of centres for agro-IK have been established globally. A typical one is the Center for indigenous knowledge in Agriculture (CIKA), established under the aegis of the faculty of Agriculture and Animal husbandry, Gandhigram Rural University, Gandhigram, India. It has the mandate to document, analyze, validate, standardize and further propagate the indigenous knowledge/practices in agriculture and allied

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fields under the various farming systems of Jamil Nadu, India. Similar institutions, worldwide, funded and run by international NGOs, national Governments, Universities, and private organizations, play the same role as CIKA. Below are a few examples of Agro-IK that have been scientifically verified in sub-Saharan Africa: mixed cropping techniques and soil conservation practices in Burkina Faso-West Africa; the use of Gebeto seeds as fertilizers; weather forecasting based on ecology and meteorology; veterinary practices for the prevention of animal diseases in Tanzania; the long term storage of cassava, and of sorghum stalk as salt, in Cameroon; and the natural refrigeration system of storing vegetables in Nigeria. The paper examines appropriate models for identifying/capturing relevant agro-1k, and documenting these models with video technology. Also, by preserving them on CDs/ DVDs or other electronic means with the intent of ensuring easy retrieval/access by pro-poor farmers with a view to sharing/promoting them with others for the purpose of skill acquisition, awareness, advocacy, social transformation and sustainable development, at the village level, and then on to larger societies/states through to national and international levels.

Validation and Screening Process The validation and screening process requires scientific methods of investigation. This is most effective in identifying and validating Agro-IKs that are relevant to the communities before they are documented. Established public-funded institutions like CIKA in India, and thirty-five others scattered all over the globe in collaboration with private firms, NGOs, donors from the West, and development organizations, are best suited to verify the validity of the Agro-IKs. Enlightenment programmes should be launched in order to garner support from members of the community on the need to share local innovations for proper verification and documentation. Communication campaign methods could be effective where folk media will be the main thrust. Traditional communication media, like the use of the town crier, drama, dances, puppetry, age-group meetings, professional farmers meetings, seminars, community radio, video shows and the like, could be adopted. The key message here is ‘shared innovation is perceived as beneficial to the community’. Special awards could be designed and given to individuals or groups whose ideas and innovation ‘carry the day’. Van Mele (2011:25) suggests these processes:

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x Brief description of the context (problems) encountered; related knowledge and innovation. x Origin of the Agro-IK x Description of the Agro-IK (process, materials resources required and extent of diffusion- from family to village, to community, to regional levels x Pre-validation of the innovation by farmers (testimony or success story) and their attempt to disseminate the success stories. The processes adopted by CIKA in India are as follows: * Relevance of the innovation (Agro-IK) to solving the priority challenges/needs of the community. It looks critically at the impact the technology has had on the community. * Available local input (skills, tools, materials etc.) to run the innovation to successful completion. It examines the local availability of required resources involved in the innovation. * Ease of scaling-up the innovation for the benefit of the resourcepoor, not well-off farmers and of the larger society- other agroecosystem and socio-cultural context. * Reliability; repeatability of the innovation, up to 75 percent repeatability of the IK at every trial is desirable. Replicability potential, in other cultural contexts, is very crucial in scaling up the IK and the ease of acceptance in formal research parlance. * Impact on the environment and human health: innovations that might be harmful to the environment or human health are strongly discouraged. * Level of resources and knowledge/skills required for its adoption. The cost implication and the level of technology required to run the innovation is considered. * Ranking of the local innovations for proper prioritization using a 7scale scoring format.

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Table 1: Scoring Format for Ranking Agro-IK Criteria 1. 2. 3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Relevance to solving challenges/ problems in the community Extent of spread within the community (diffusion level) Local availability of required resources input, skills, tools, equipment etc. Scaling-up potentials to other agro-ecosystem and sociocultural context. Ease of adoption by resourcepoor farmers and not well-off farmers (cost implication). Replicability potentials of up to 75 percent success. (reliability/repeatability value) Impact on the environment and human health. Total

Scale 7 6

5

4

40*

3

2

1

7*

*Minimum of 75 percent score is required from three sets of trials.

In conclusion, giving recognition and value to local innovation is crucial to institutionalize them in order to contribute to community empowerment and rural development. To achieve this, a validation or screening process is an important intermediary step. It must be noted that it is context-specific, based on project objectives and largely influenced by the end-user’s background and perception. Broad stakeholder representation and good facilitation will add to the quality of the process, and will avoid any inappropriate local innovations being scaled up. Participatory Action Research, popular among development organizations, is appropriate for effective validation and the screening process. Horizontal communication between the researchers from the formal institutions and the farmers is already practiced. The researchers attempt to understand the Agro-IK from the perception of the local people, considering all the parameters of their socio-cultural context. There is a bottom–up message flow, rather than top-bottom (World Bank/KIT 2000:56). In addition, participatory action research involves multi-

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disciplinary researchers coming from relevant fields; engineers, sociologists, agriculturists, anthropologists and extensionists, all work together with the farmers and others in the community. The scientific research method is also used to carry out the verification and validation process. Where necessary, a pilot activity is carried out: research problems are highlighted; objectives are clearly stated; appropriate methodology is adopted; necessary information/data is gathered; experimentation is conducted; data is analyzed; conclusions are drawn; and appropriate recommendations are stated.

Scaling up Agro-IK Aside extending the benefits of the innovation to larger societies and other eco-systems, scaling up connotes: -

Acceptance of the innovation in a formal research agenda Spread of the innovation to wider geographical locations across nations. Getting the attention of policy makers and politicians; and stimulating their political will to take necessary action. Securing increased funding from within and without for running trials, conducting research and expanding the usability of the innovation among pro-poor farmers. Using the innovation to solve other related problems and, Improving the database of the Agro-IK and making room for easy retrieval of needed information by the farmers (Aguilar, 2001:250).

Process of Documentation with Participatory Video (PV) PV methods value local knowledge, build bridges between communities and decision makers, and enable people to develop a greater control over their own development and decisions affecting their lives. If a picture speaks a thousand words, then video must speak a million (Lunch, 2006:31).

Potentials of Video Video is an audio-visual motion picture. Real live events/scenes, from all over the world, can be captured and shown to the rural people; it broadens their horizon. The reading of ‘how to do’ instructions is a problem among rural farmers due to the high level of illiteracy. Radio,

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which is common among the farmers, is seen as a disembodied voice and something that is transient. Forgetfulness is common among adults of over forty years, so with the use of video the visual impact, which can be repeated as often as desired, brings the message ‘home’, as in real life experience. The readiness to learn is stimulated, attention is pricked, its span is sustained, and perception is sharpened. This yields a higher retention rate, recall and comprehension of the content. Video is very effective in training, touching the “sense and emotions” of the audience in order to tilt them towards the “agenda” set by the change agent. Video is relatively simple to use. Rural farmers could easily be trained to operate video equipment, shoot films with video camera and do maintenance operations. Lunch (2007:5) has used the participatory video methodology to train people in Central and East Asia, Latin America and Africa. He places the video camera in the hands of the rural people and they produce their own story in video clips, wholly edited by them. The video clip is used for advocacy, training, enlightenment, advertising, horizontal learning, and documentation. The subject matter covered is varied and includes: gender issues, nutrition, HIV/AIDS stigmatization, scientific knowledge, and vocational skills. Video enables the production of culture-specific messages to be conveyed through the participatory video technique, and this leads to an easy adoption of the message; it is seen as “our own production”. Video easily permits the integration of other media for a further effective transmission of messages. Traditional folk media including; dance, songs, poems, lyrics, and drama, could also be packaged into the message. The video would be then stored and repeatedly transmitted when needed. Information from the internet, satellite and national television and radio can also be integrated with video. Video has been used in self-learning programmes, similar to online distance learning via the internet. A video clip of an agricultural practice, such as the application of fertilizer, can be used in training farmers in the absence of a change agent. The farmers are left alone to watch it in groups and generate issues for discussion. In addition to reducing the personnel cost in transmitting messages/technologies, it enhances group cooperation, integration and cohesion. The more intelligent ones assist the cognitively weak farmers. This breaks the master-servant relationship between change agents and the rural people. Self-esteem is enhanced and the zeal to strive to develop themselves by themselves is promoted. Self-determination in a community engineers a progressive development from within (Isiaka, 2006:60).

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Agro-IKs are often documented and disseminated by outsiders who make their own interpretations in the process, and use them for their own ends. Alternatively, they are not documented at all. Participatory Video provides an opportunity for rural people to document their own experiences and knowledge, and allows them to express their wants and hopes from their own viewpoints. Insight, an NGO based in Europe, was set up in an attempt to enable communities and groups around the world to carry out their own form of sustainable development based on local needs. Insight tries to do something, which is very straightforward and very obvious, by placing video cameras into the hands of those who know best. It doesn’t matter if they are literate or illiterate, if they are rich or poor, male or female, old or young – the visual method allows everyone to record and tell their story, and to get their voice heard (Lunch 2006:31). All people in a community can use video to document and communicate their experiences and perspectives. Participatory video is a potentially strong addition to existing farmer-to-farmer, and communityto–community, mechanisms for exchanging information. The completed films can be used to promote awareness and can be exchanged within the same community and in other communities (David and Asamoah 2011:34).

The Participatory Video Process The process is, in essence, extremely simple and the equipment required is increasingly affordable. The process works this way: -

Local people learn how to use video equipment through games and exercises facilitated by outsiders. Facilitators help the participants to identify and analyze important issues in their community by adapting a range of participatory tools, and then planning how to show this on video. The video messages are directed and filmed by the local groups. The footage is shown to the wider community at daily screenings. A dynamic exchange of community-led learning, sharing, and exchange, is set in motion. People in the community are involved to varying degrees in editing their film, but they always have full editorial control. Completed films are used for communication with, and between, many different people and organizations (Lunch, 2006:31).

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Van Mele (2011:24) proposes four models of video processing. He claims that many respondents said that videos were most effective when farmers presented and demonstrated good practice rather than experts. Taking this as a basis, various types of farmer-to-farmer training videos were identified. Although all build-in technical content checks - different styles and different types of engagement of farmers - technical staff and communication professionals have led to quite distinct video formats. Three distinct, well-documented, types of farmer-to-farmer video have been identified, and a fourth type of video found on ‘YouTube’ has been added.

Agro-Insight Videos made according to the Agro-Insight style use a well-researched script with a voice-over narrator and a selection of farmer interviews. Videos are preferably made with graduates from farmer field schools (FFS). Underlying principles of technologies are explained and illustrated by local example, using good quality close ups, simple graphics or analogy whenever needed. Collective action is shown as much as possible (http://agroinsight.com/resources.php).

STCP Cocoa The cocoa IPM videos made under the Sustainable Tree Crops Program (STCP) have more of a drama type of format combined with technical sections shown by FFS farmers who were trained to make a video based on a storyboard (http://www.treecrops.org/links/training material.asp).

Digital Green The Digital Green videos use a dialogue format whereby an extension agent visits a progressive farmer. As distribution of the videos mainly takes place at the district level, many similar videos can be produced using slightly different contexts. (http://www.digital green.org/analytics/video_ module/?geog=country&id=1).

Kenyan Farmer The fourth type of video was produced in 2005 by the Earthwatch Institute. It shows a trained Kenyan farmer who explains and shows the

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principles of soil fertility, land, and water conservation (http://www.you tube.com/watch?v=mMapNsmGuAo). The length of video clips, ranging from nine to twenty minutes, is appropriate depending on the complexity of the technology. Drama, or soap opera, format may be as long as fifty minutes. Inculcating edutainment into the messages increases acceptability and interest among the farmers. Organizations working with storyboards do not have scripts of the videos that are produced and although it may look faster and less complicated at first to develop a video in ‘a simple participatory’ way, in reality there is only a slight difference in time (at first) with a scripted video. However, when one wants to subsequently share the videos with farmers speaking other languages, the unscripted storyboard approach becomes a huge challenge as one has to sit down and transcribe it all word for word, and then translate it into English before having it translated by someone else into the desired local language. At this stage, unscripted video will require more time and investment than scripted video (Nathaniel, 2005:14).

Preserving and Disseminating Agro-IK Videos The most effective methods of preserving Agro-IK in video, for easy access to pro-poor farmers in rural communities, are VCDs, DVDs and digital – using computers, hard discs, and flash drives, however VCDs and DVDs are more popular in rural Africa. The technology for mass production of both is not out of reach. The challenge is that quality is being compromised most of the time, and farmers who buy DVDs for entertainment are often swindled. To address this problem, public-funded IK centres could store the Agro-IK videos in special video libraries, or banks, for duplication and onward distribution to farmers for teaching and learning purposes. Isiaka (2006:67) proposed the structure below:

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This structure is patterned on the extension system in Nigeria. It is a public-funded institution under the Ministry of Agriculture. Each of the 36 states in the country runs the Agricultural Development Project (ADP) with a state- block and cell structure. Innovation to be pushed to the farmers is passed through the state headquarters to the block, and finally to the farmers in the various cells. The Video Duplication Unit is responsible for the mass production of Agro-IK video, CDs, and DVDs, and it also procures them from various other sources whilst enabling them to work closely with the research and evaluation in planning, designing and executing various Agro-IK videos to be pushed to the farmers. The copies of the video CDs, are sent to the distribution centres at each of the block headquarters and the unit then ensures that each group has the video apparatus – monitors/television and video player/recorder. It also ensures an adequate viewing position and the timing of the presentation, of the appropriate videos, to the groups. The technical unit is involved with the repairs and servicing of all the video apparatus in all the viewing centres, at the cell or village level. The personnel in this unit train selected people who can be contact farmers, extension agents, or any member of that group who has been so assigned. They also deal with the preservation and handling of the videos at each of the block headquarters and repair and maintain the machines and equipment used by the video duplication unit. The research and evaluation unit is mainly involved in conducting research on various issues, for example, on the effect, response and comments of the end users on the video messages. It evaluates the effectiveness of the Agro-IK produced, and establishes links with various groups involved in the extension system, such as, field workers, farmers, researchers, video technologists and media specialists. At the village level, viewing centres are located at convenient places where all the group members will have easy access. Each group consists of farmers’ organizations in the community, youths, and all the people in a particular village, including members of any cooperative society, and also women. The monitor/T.V and Video player/recorder used are located at the viewing centre, which may not necessarily be a hall, indeed it could be in any convenient place, such as a market square, community leader’s house, under a tree, or the contact farmer’s house. The viewing centre of each group does not have to be fixed as it could be easily moved from one location to another. All in all, the time of viewing and location could be decided upon by the mutual agreement of the group members (Hedberg 2010:27).

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Van Mele (2011:24), from his five years’ experience, drawn from the Africa Rice Project, identified nine ways farmers could use agricultural training videos. They are: Small group viewings - 80 percent Community viewing - 51 percent Ideas for extension agents - 52 percent TV broadcast - 28 percent Radio broadcast - 18 percent Mobile phones - 5 percent Film industry distribution network, special events, and others - 19 percent. He went on further, to say that agricultural videos were distributed to farmers mainly through video CDs, and were multiplied and shared with over 800 organizations. Development agencies, networks, and projects, were most active in disseminating the videodiscs, followed by National Research Institutes and International NGOs. The first three made the largest number of copies, and reached the widest range of organizations. Proenza, et al (2001:45) is of the opinion that the telecentre concept of sharing information, in rural communities in the developing world, is highly useful in disseminating Agro-IK for purposes of advocacy, sharing, skill acquisition, and sustainable development. Rather than the computerbased telecentre promoted by donor agencies from the west, the rural video telecentre (RVT) proposed is multimedia with video as the main thrust.

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The video production unit is responsible for: (i) Shooting and production of documentary, on any issue that is culture-specific. (ii) Gathering information, researching and organizing the data, and packaging them. (iii) Video coverage of community events with development objectives and private/corporate organizations’ activities in the locale. (iv) Running and maintaining the cinema (video viewing centre) The computer centre unit houses: (i) The computer business centre with photocopying, binding, type setting etc. (ii) The cyber café for internet browsing, downloading of information etc. (iii) linkages with stakeholders The Library and Display stand is responsible for: (i) Procuring, keeping/storing, information on video, in books, or soft copy. Stores and retrieves video clips on video, CD, or DVD (video bank). (ii) Encouraging reading habits, organizing adult literacy seminars, workshops etc. (iii) Displaying artifacts, pictures, diagrams, cartoons, models etc. (iv) Organizing various specialized groups: TV-viewing clubs, Radiolistening clubs, youth clubs, etc. The Technical unit is responsible for: (i) Installing, maintaining and procuring computer and video equipment and spare parts. (ii) Training the rural people on basic operation and maintenance practices on video/computers in use. (iii) Setting up video-viewing centres at village level. Three categories of personnel are proposed in order to run the RVT. They are the Development Communication Practitioners (DCPs), the Video/Computer Engineers (VCEs), and bare-foot journalists. The DCPs

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should possess a first degree in any social science discipline, plus postgraduate training in development journalism practices, which are heavily laced with computer and video literacy. The DCPs run the video production, computer centre, and library unit. They are involved in research and the production of video clips on various subject matters, and also organize the rural people in specific clubs and associations. Video coverage of events and activities in the community, and packaging advocacy issues - to enhance the amount of attention given to the community by funding agencies and government officials - are also their responsibilities. They function both as journalists and change agents with a strong persuasive capability manifested in speech and video script writing. They also establish and maintain linkage with relevant stakeholders, such as Government agencies, NGOS, Donor agencies and corporate organizations. The VCEs should possess a first degree in electronic or computer engineering coupled with specialized training in relevant video/computer operation skills. While the DCPs handle the video/computer software, the VCEs deal with the hardware: the camera, TV set, monitor, and computers. They run the technical unit and are in charge of all procurement, installation, servicing and repairs of video/computer equipment. The bare-foot journalism concept comes into play in rural settings where the university-trained journalists hate to tread. The bare-foot journalists are local people selected in their communities to gather information from the rural community, having been trained to interview people, handle the still and video camera, and present programmes and news on radio and television. They need not know the four walls of the university or study mass communication in the tertiary institution; indeed even without such experiences they have played a tremendous role in developing countries where they operate (Mtega and Malekani, 2009:80). The physical structure required should accommodate a video-viewing centre with TV; video projector and video editing facilities; televisionviewing centre; radio-listening centre; and a posters and newspapers/magazine stand. In addition, room should be created for a library with selected books relevant to the socio-economic needs of the community; a cyber-cafe for internet browsing; and an adult literacy centre and information centre where all information needs are met. The business centre provides for computer typing, photocopy, phone calls, and seminar/conference centre facilities, also available for social events. Multi-media presentation of messages has been adjudged the best. In this regard, messages must be presented through video, television and radio programmes, posters, billboards, models, artifacts, graphic arts,

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cartoons, pictures, diagrams, newspapers, magazines and specialized journals on varying issues regarding Agro-IK. Oral-media techniques, such as a town crier, songs, poems, drama, dance, and festivals should be used in the passing over of messages (Kur, 2007:40). The organizational structure of RVT makes it very feasible to present messages on the relevant development matters to the rural community using the multimedia approach.

Summary and Conclusion The promotion of indigenous knowledge is a local innovation created for the survival of a people, which has been passed on over many generations through oral communication. Agro-IK covers all areas of agriculture and livelihood strategies in a changing environment. Indigenous knowledge is important because of its contribution to global knowledge and hence there is a strong need for proper identification, verification and documentation of Agro-IKs that are of value to the people. The validation process involves a public established institution using a participatory approach to scientifically identify and appropriate Agro-IKs to be documented. Participatory video techniques for documenting Agro-IKs involve the villagers in scripting, shooting, editing and the production of video clips. This is recorded and preserved in VCDs and DVDs, is duplicated, and then goes onward for dissemination to farmers via the telecentre structure, which is multi-media, based. In a nutshell, the major policy thrust for all stakeholders in subSaharan Africa should be in identifying and verifying relevant Agro-IK; documenting them using participatory video; preserving/storing in VCDs/DVDs; duplicating video CDs; keeping them in video banks, and sending them to farmers in their various locations and using small group video-viewing telecentres (with multi-media approach) to disseminate the agro-information.

Works Cited Aguilar, Gore. Access to genetic resources and protection of traditional knowledge in the territories of indigenous peoples, Environmental Science & Policy 4.4-5(2001): 241-256. Badri, Ahmed. Local farmers' knowledge and the process of inventing. Ahfad-Journal (Sudan) 17.2 (2000): 15-28. David, Soniia and Christopher Asamoah. Video as a tool for agricultural extension in Africa: a case study from Ghana. In: International Journal

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of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology 7.1 (2011): 26–41. Hedberg, Linda. Telecentre for community development; evaluation of the Tunjang Telecentre, Malaysia. Journal of community informatics. 6.2 (2010):26-33 Isiaka, Babalola. Paradigm shift in development journalism practices for effective dissemination of agricultural information. The journal of development communication 17.1 (2006): 56-71. —. Effectiveness of Video as an Instructional Medium in Teaching Rural Children Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. International Journal of Education and Development using ICT 3.3 (2007):105–114. Kur, Jonah. Relevance of oral tradition as a rural communication strategy in 2006 census: study of selected rural areas in Benue State Nigeria. The Nigerian journal of communications. 5.1(2007): 33-44. Lunch, Chris. The participatory video revolution. May 2007. —. Participatory video as a documentation tool. LEISA 22.1 (2006): 31-32 Mtega, Walter and Anthony Malekani. (2009) Analyzing the usage patterns and challenges of telecentres among rural communities: experience from four selected telecentres in Tanzania. International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology 5.2 (2009): 68–87. Nathaniels, Noah. Participatory cocoa video project Ghana AgREN Newsletter, No.52 (2005): 11 Proenza, Bastidas Telecentres for Socio-Economic and Rural Devt in Latin America & the Carribean Washington DC. 200 Swaminathan, Madras. Antyodaya, conserving indigenous knowledge and bridging local divides, Indigenous knowledge development monitor March (2001): 36 Van Mele, Paul. Zooming-In, Zooming-Out: Farmer education videos: Are we getting it right? Rural Development News 1(2010): 23–26. Van Mele, Paul. Wanvoeke, J. and Zossou, E. Enhancing rural learning, linkage and institutions: the rice videos in Africa. Development in Practice 20.3 (2010): 412-421. Van Mele, Paul. Video-mediated Farmer-to-farmer learning for sustainable Agriculture. A scoping study for SDC, SAI platform, and GFRAS. Ghent: Agro-Insight Communicating Agriculture, 2011 World Bank/KIT. Village participation in Rural Development. Tools and manual. The African Network on Participatory Approaches. Washington, World Bank and Royal Tropical Institute (KIT), Amsterdam. (2000).

CHAPTER THIRTEEN RETHINKING TEACHER EDUCATION CURRICULA IN AFRICAN UNIVERSITIES THROUGH INDIGENOUS CONTENTS AND LEARNING EXPERIENCES SAHEED AHMAD RUFAI

Introduction There is a growing concern over the dominant nature of Western models of teacher education in African universities. Investigation reveals that teacher education curriculum models in such universities are either a wholesale importation, or partial duplication, of some of the dominant models of teacher preparation, especially the Teachers College, Columbia and University of Wisconsin, Madison models. Accordingly, teacher education curricula in African universities are alien or non-African in content and learning experiences. Consequently, there is a long-felt need for an African indigenous, and local, teacher education curriculum model that is capable of producing African-based teachers for schools in Africa and its Diaspora. This chapter, which has Indigenous Knowledge as its theoretical basis, is an attempt to formulate conceptual and design principles for an African-based teacher education curriculum model. The paper employs a multiplicity of methods comprising curriculum criticism; the historical method; the analytic method; and creative synthesis. The significance of such a study lies in its potential to contribute to the promotion, or projection, of the African identity through preparation of ideologically independent teachers, who will ultimately implement school curricula in African settings. Teacher preparation, as is known today, started in the United States in 1848 in high schools (Larabee, 1992). Those high schools contributed significantly towards preparing teachers, for the elementary schools of the

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day. As time progressed, they became known as normal schools when they assumed more responsibility for teacher preparation. The metamorphosis of the normal schools into university status, by either joining the existing faculties of education or becoming fully-fledged faculties within the universities themselves, only took place between the years 1860 and 1950 in North America, and later in Europe. This explains why Larabee (1992: 98) states, “over the period of some one hundred years, the task of preparing teachers moved from the high school to the university.” Marvin (1992), however, traces the origins of the problems of teacher education to that transition period of one hundred years. During the 1950s and 1960s, there were a number of debates over the need for the improvement of teacher education in the Western world, especially in the United States of America (Rufai, 2010). It is interesting to note that these debates have taken place in the context of two differing traditions of teacher education in the Western world, namely that which “stressed the mastery of pedagogical methods - and was associated with the normal schools and the preparation of teachers for elementary schools”, - and that which “stressed the need for rigorous academic training, which was usually provided by liberal arts colleges and universities for secondary school teachers” (Rufai, 2010). In specific terms, the 1950s witnessed efforts targeted at disbanding the Colleges of Education in the largest universities, “on the grounds that they lacked academic rigour, and to transfer the responsibility for teacher training to other more rigorous departments of the universities” (p.15). The outcome of such efforts was that, in the latter part of the 1950’s, the quality of teacher education programmes was again questioned as part of the general reaction to the hitherto unsatisfactory quality of teacher education. According to Weiss (1969: 6), the most widespread controversy among teacher educators emanated from the “suggestions made by Count (1963)” in his attempt to stimulate a national debate among educators, and laymen, on the question of how to educate teachers of the American youth. It was in a quest for better quality in teacher education that the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education (AACTE) began, in the 1950s, studies of teacher centers with a view to offering an ameliorative proposal (Conant, 2001). However, the enthusiastic pursuit of improvement of the quality of teacher education, towards the end of the 1960s, has drawn its inspiration from Britain, which has since been battling with similar challenges in her Colleges of Teacher Education; this is why the American experience, in this regard, has often been described as a replication of the British experience in teacher education. In the two different settings, scholars and researchers have continued to work

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frantically towards the evolution of what may be accepted as a satisfactory quality in teacher education, which is why - as will be demonstrated later in this study - the models dominant in such settings may not be accepted as ideal or adequate for the training of teachers for other settings whose cultural orientation, teachings, and ideology are totally different from those of the Western-oriented teachers. It is evident from literature that most teacher education models dominant in various parts of today’s world are a replication, wholesale importation, partial duplication, or simply another version of either of the two afore stated dominant Western models (Rufai, 2010:5). That explains why there has not been an ideologically independent African model of teacher education, for which there has been a continued clamour among African scholars, researchers, and curricularists in the field of education. It is not out of place to add, that the absence of a truly ideologically independent teacher education curriculum is not peculiar to the African setting, as an experience of a similar nature has been - or is being recorded in virtually every non-Western setting, especially the Muslim world (Rufai, 2012). However, African scholars insist that such models, as having been imported from the Western settings, cannot be adequate for the preparation of teachers who will ultimately implement school curricula in Africa and its Diaspora. Given that a successful implementation of an Africanoriented curriculum depends largely on the nature, orientation, and quality of the teacher, it follows in simple logic that such an importation into Africa, or adoption, of the dominant Western models cannot be helpful owing to the fact that the African worldview has its own peculiarities, which are alien to the Western world. Teachers and teacher educators in Africa, and its Diaspora, are now beginning to realize that such deficiencies in the dominant teacher education models in their domains are in dire need of a form of systematic attention that is capable of bringing about a model with potency to satisfy the educational needs and aspirations of Africans, through Afro-centric education. According to Nkoane (2005:50), Afro-centric education is a process that seeks to foster in its learners “an African consciousness and behavioural orientation, which will optimize the positive expression of African learners’ fundamental humanity and ability to contribute significantly to the growth and development of the African Community, of which an African learner is a member”. Alluding to Makgoha (1998), Nkoane further beams an illuminating light on the essence of Afro-centric education, which, in his own words, “is a process or vehicle for defining, interpreting, promoting, and transmitting African thought, philosophy,

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identity and culture. It encompasses an African mindset, that permeates all sectors of society, as they are influenced by (an Africanised) educational apparatus” (p.50). Nkoane’s view, as presented above, echoes the opinion of Bangura (2005:13) who insists “the salvation for Africans hinges upon employing indigenous African educational paradigms, which can be subsumed under the rubric of ubuntugogy which, according to him, “is the art and science of teaching and learning undergirded by humanity towards others”. Bangura captures the essence of the indigenous African knowledge as transmitted through the instrumentality of ubuntugogy, and offers a survey of African thinkers’ views on teaching and learning in the African context. It should be noted that what follows in the next paragraph of this paper is indebted to Bangura (2005). The inevitability of embracing the African system of education in Africa, and its Diaspora, has been expressed by various African leaders and thinkers. For instance, Julius Nyerere advocates a re-education of, “ourselves, to regain our former attitude of mind” (p.14); while Sekou Toure insists that, “we must Africanize our education and get rid of the negative features and misconceptions inherited from an educational system designed to serve colonial purposes” (p.13); whereas Kwame Nkruma rationalizes that for the African intelligentsia and intellectuals to feature and function in the African Revolution, they must cut “themselves free from bourgeois attitudes and ideologies imbibed as a result of colonialist education and propaganda” (p.14). The views of these great Africans are buttressed by yet another African mind, Frantz Fanon, who maintains that “every people in whose soul an inferiority complex has been created by the death and burial of its local cultural originality, finds itself face to face with the …culture of the mother country” (p.18). This view is probably articulated better by Ngugi wa Thiong’o who believes that the colonial system of education takes us “further and further from ourselves to other selves; from our world to other worlds” (p.15). Du Bois it is that casts a panoramic look at the purpose of education in the African context and states as follows: “Teach workers to work - a wise saying; wise when applied to German boys and American girls; wiser when said to Negro boys, for they have less knowledge of working and none to teach them. Teach thinkers to think a needed knowledge in a day of loose and careless logic; and they whose lot is gravest must have the carefulest training to think aright. If these things are so, how foolish to ask what is the best education for one or seven or sixty million souls! Shall we teach them trades, or train them in liberal arts? Neither and both: teach the workers to work and the thinkers to think; make carpenters of carpenters, and philosophers of philosophers

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However, Afro-centric education, which is the instrument through which the production or training of the African may take place in the African context, has not materialized as yet, for it can only materialize if education addresses the challenge of creating a mindset shift from Westoxicated orientation to an African paradigm (Nkoane, 2006: 50). One of the major ingredients for the facilitation of such a mindset shift in Africa is indigenous knowledge (Sisebo, 2012). The need for indigenous knowledge in Afro-centric education has been emphasized in research literature (Leifer, 1969; Ki-Zerbo, 1990; Magubane, 1999; Mahlomaholo, 1998; 2004; Makgoba, 1998; Mamdani, 1999; Nkoane, 2002; Ntuli, 1999; Odora-Hoppers, 2002; Maurial, 1999; Mwadime, 1999; Bangura, 2005; Nkoane, 2006; Sisebo, 2012). There is hardly a cultural setting without some elements of indigenous knowledge or education. In his doctoral thesis, Sisebo (2012) demonstrates how “the emergence of indigenous knowledge in the academic was triggered by ethnographic studies conducted in nation-states that were once colonized by Europeans during their expansionist agenda” (pp. 49-50). Such studies revealed that before the advent of colonial masters, some local people sustained themselves better when they owned locally developed knowledge than was the case after the colonial era” (p.50). Alluding to Thomson (2003), Sisebo (2012) illustrates with the experience of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC, formerly Zaire), which witnessed “a downturn in its capacity to produce cereals due to the disruption of colonialism” (p.50). The DRC was later to experience a situation where its “local people’s cereal civilization became almost dysfunctional and people could no longer sustain their food requirements” (p. 50). Consequently, Sisebo argues that Thomson’s (2003) - and other critical anthropological studies of a similar nature - have found that “reverting to the use of some indigenous knowledge and practices, that sustained people many years before colonization, was a gateway to revamping some colonial country’s ailing sustainable living systems among indigenous people” (p.50). This growing thinking, or rethinking, has culminated in the shift of the pendulum of scholarly discourses or debates at local, regional and global levels, to the indigenous knowledge question. An informetric analysis of indigenous knowledge by Ocholla and Onyancha (2005) revealed a rapid growth in literature on indigenous knowledge in the form of journal articles already published in most databases during the period

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from 1990 to 2005, thereby suggesting a growing nostalgia for indigenous knowledge (Sisebo, 2012). However, most of the earlier contributions, to the question of indigenous knowledge, demonstrated a high tendency towards promoting the perception that indigenous knowledge is a body of oral knowledge that “has sustained people who have solely relied on oral transmission of such knowledge for all their survival until they were colonized and introduced to the world of print and education” (Sisebo, 2012:50). Dispelling the expectation that indigenous knowledge should remain “exclusively historical” owing to its oral nature and transmission from adults to younger generations, Sisebo relies on Reynar (1999), in arguing that “indigenous knowledge has kept evolving and improving to the extent that the past two decades have noted an increase in indigenous knowledge systems” which is why there is a positive attitude towards it as having “the capacity for adaptation” (p. 50). A clear picture of the positive attitude to indigenous knowledge has been created in Sisebo’s doctoral thesis where he writes that: “The International Council for Science (ICSU) recognizes the value of indigenous knowledge of the local peoples of the world. Today, this international science organization agrees that some of the science contributing like classification of animals was partly adapted and adopted from indigenous people, whereby the local people’s extensive knowledge of plants and animals were a source for compiling the extensive list for classifying living organisms and not a sole invention of Linnacus. In the same token, the ICSU’s (2002) report indicates that the indigenous people accumulated knowledge about medicines, some of which have been upgraded using scientific techniques. Furthermore, recognition has been made that some indigenous people have their own science covering astronomy, meteorology, geology, ecology, botany, agriculture, physiology, psychology and health. The only difference is that indigenous knowledge tends to come as a whole set of knowledge (holistic) and not compartmentalized as done in the science Western” (p.50).

It is evident from Sisebo’s words as presented above that indigenous knowledge has been, and is still being, accorded recognition in the modern world. It is equally evident that there probably has not been a systematic attempt at transmitting indigenous knowledge, especially in the African setting. The present paper seeks to formulate principles for the selection of learning experiences from indigenous African knowledge, in order to construct a teacher education curriculum. There have been a handful of scholarly contributions seeking to pave the way for the materialization of an Afro-centric teacher education

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curriculum model. However, there has not been a systematic effort at formulating conceptual and designing principles for such a curriculum model, which are sine qua non to curricularists designing any good curriculum whatsoever. For instance, Samuel (2002) in his study entitled Working in the rain: pressures and priorities for teacher education curriculum design in south Africa: a case study of the University of Durban Westville, attempts to “reflect on the pressures and priorities that characterize curriculum design and development in a society undergoing rapid change” as well as on “the varied sources, behind the process of curriculum transformation” alongside the sources from which emanate “the influences impacting on the design of the teacher education curriculum” (p. 397). Consequently, Samuel fails to address any issue concerning curriculum design principles, especially in the African context. Accordingly, such a study may not be regarded as having addressed any aspect of the primary concern of the present paper. In a similar token, Boaduo, Milondzo and Gumbi (2011) - in their paper entitled Teacher education and training for Africa in the 21st century: what form should it take? - attempt to address the nature of dynamic teacher education and training for 21st century Africa; the structure of African teacher education and training curricula for the 21st century; the “what” of globalized teacher education and training curricula for Africa; as well as the “how” of African teacher education and training curricula for the 21st century (pp. 1-16). However, the study fails to fulfill what it claims to have set out to do as each of the above stated headings, and sub headings, contains no more than pieces of information that have become common knowledge even among non-professionals operating in the field of teacher education. For instance, they emphasize the need for “Africa (and the globalized world) teacher education and training institutions to design progammes that would help prospective teachers to know and understand deeply; a wide array of things about leading and learning and in their social and cultural context,” but fail to conceptualize and articulate the growing needs and emerging concerns over teacher education curriculum for the African settings. This perturbing observation, on the paper in question, becomes less worrisome when one realizes that it has been published as a mere review and would probably not have been expected to offer original contributions with regard to Afro-centric teacher education curriculum. An omission of a similar nature was recorded with regard to AnamuahMensah and Wolfenden’s (2010) article entitled, Teacher education in sub-saharan Africa (TESSA) model: A sustainable Approach to Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa, which fails to provide any hint on

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curriculum design principles for such a teacher education model. However, such a major omission may not be unpardonable in view of the fact that the goal of the model in question was “to train adequate numbers of quality teachers in a sustainable way to meet an increasing demand for teachers and at the same time provide adequate and affordable resources for teacher education” (p. 1). Such an effort became necessary in the face of the inability of “the conventional approach to teacher education in SubSaharan African… to meet the increasing demand for teachers with effective pedagogical competencies and in their right numbers in a sustainable way” (p. 1). The implication of this is that the work is concerned with the number of teachers, and not necessarily in the content and learning experiences of the curriculum designed for the purpose of preparing them. It is noteworthy that the practice of addressing issues concerning the quantity, or quality, of teachers - without necessarily touching upon the conceptual and design principles involved in the curriculum employed for their preparatory - has become a growing trend among educational researchers in African, especially Nigerian, universities; hence a strong justification for the present study.

Research Questions This investigation is guided by the following question: 1. What is the nature of the dominant models of teacher education in Africa and its Diaspora? 2. What is the nature of an Afro-centric teacher education curriculum model? 3. What are the conceptual and design principles for an Afro-centric teacher education curriculum model?

Methodology This study employs a number of methods each of which plays significant role in the realization of the purpose of the study. Such methods include the historical method; the analytical method; curriculum criticism and creative synthesis. It is not uncommon in qualitative studies to combine several data collection and analysis methods over the course of the study (Bogman and Bilken, 1998). The historical aspect of the study concerns the history of teacher education; its nature as a curriculum criticism concerns its articulation of strengths and deficiencies in existing curriculum models; its analytical dimension concerns its articulation of the

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implications of such strengths and deficiencies; while its synthetic angle concerns its attempt to generate an Afro-centric model from various sources of the indigenous knowledge. Each of the methods has a specific role to play in the study.

Scope and Limitations of the Study This paper focuses mainly on the rationale as well as the curriculum conceptual and design principles for an Afro-centric teacher education model. The paper has only fulfilled the first major step in curriculum making namely a statement of philosophy, which is closely related to the aims, goals and objectives of the Afro-centric teacher education model. Accordingly, the second step in curriculum making - which is the translation of the principles formulated in this study to a full curriculum with a clear identification of its components, courses and learning experiences - is the subject of another paper. Similarly, the pedagogy and evaluation procedure of the proposed curriculum are each the subject of yet another paper. In other words, the idea of attempting to bring about a professionally constructed Afro-centric teacher education curriculum is a worthwhile and viable one, and may even be made the subject of an elaborate postdoctoral research at any Institute of African Studies.

Curriculum Design Models Models are patterns or structures that are intended to fulfill the role of guidelines to an action. This explains why models can be found in each of the various educational activities known to the teaching profession, such as instruction, administration, evaluation, supervision, and others (Oliva, 2005). However, it should be pointed out that this view presupposes that the term ‘model’, as used in education, lacks precision as it could apply to both a tried and an untried scheme, or both a proposed solution and a specific problem. In the area of curriculum development some of the models known were conceived by notable persons in the field: Ralph T. Tyler (1949), Hilda Taba (1962), J. Galen Saylor, William M. Alexander, and Arthur J. Lewis (1981). Some of these models are deductive, while others are inductive. Deductive models for curriculum design normally proceed from the general (examining the needs of society, for example) to the specific (specifying instructional objectives, for example). Examples of these are the models of Tyler, Saylor, Alexander and Lewis. In contrast to those models are the inductive ones, which normally start with the actual

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development of curriculum materials and lead to generalizations. An example of this type is the Taba’s model.

The Concept of Principles in Curriculum Design Principles are used among curricularists as the basis of evaluating programmes (Tom, 1997). Such a need normally arises when teacher educators seek an alternative to an existing set of standards, which often prescribe course syllabi, arts and sciences, in addition to education or general procedures for programmes; such standards are really regarded as rules. As regards the present study, however, principles are seen as general statements that supply guidance but do not dictate precisely what must be done. Such principles, as are derived in this study, are aimed at determining what form of standard might provide some direction for teacher education in an African setting.

Conceptual and Design Principles in Curriculum Construction It is of great value to distinguish now between the concept of conceptual principles and that of design principles, as used in this study. The latter applies to formative, or formulative, principles while the former applies to structural principles. While conceptual principles form the basis of concept formulation, the core or structural principles constitute a further step or practical translation of such concepts into philosophy, curriculum, pedagogy and even method of assessment. Yet both “structural and conceptual principles are both important, and neither set of principles ought to be given precedence during the design process” (Tom, 1997: 98). Accordingly, the core principles of the Afro-centric teacher education curriculum model, as derived in this study, pertain essentially to its philosophy, curriculum content, curriculum structure, pedagogy, and evaluation methods.

Sources of Afro-centric Educational Principles For African educationists to formulate a comprehensive, realistic, and effective educational philosophy, they must keep cognizance of a number of factors and refer to a number of sources (Al-Shaybani, 1979). Such factors and sources must be in consonance with African worldview, which comprises doctrines, ethics, values, and realities. They must also be capable of confirming the African teachings on the purpose of creation;

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the nature of man and human life on earth; the creator and his creatures; and the Supreme Being, who is responsible for the ‘being’ of all the above-enumerated elements. Therefore, the African worldview is expected to rank first among the sources on which to ground the Afro-centric educational theory, or philosophy. It should be noted that the call for a return to the African worldview, or indigenous knowledge, is not merely a call to a lost heritage that must be regained, but rather, a call to a decisive return to the authentic source of African knowledge and education. Besides, it is only through such a return that Africans can connect their present to their past, by taking advantage of their traditional educational thought. Such a return also has the potentiality to facilitate a regain of educational and cultural identity and protect the intellects of their children from secularization and the Westernization of their values through alien and anti-African theories and philosophies. AsShaybani (1979: 31-32) identifies relevant sources of educational principles, and describes such sources as only secondary or minor. His idea in this regard may be itemized as follows: 1- Findings of authentic scientific studies concerning the nature of man and his character formation, growth, development, needs, interests, capabilities, intelligence, and other areas of interest in Psychology, Sociology, Biology, and Education, that are of great value to an African educationist in his formulation of philosophy. The African educationist is enjoined to assess such findings with the African indigenous standard, while making use of them 2- Findings of educational and psychological research on human learning intellectual capabilities, and psychological feelings. Closely related to the studies identified here are research works on Sociology, Economics, and Culture 3- Personal experiences and experiments in the area of education, as well as those of other successful nations and communities especially those sharing common culture and circumstances with Africa. 4- Foundations of economic, political, and social philosophy being implemented in African society, as well as declarations and stipulations of regional and international organizations to which belong African nations, provided such stipulations or policies are in consonance with the African worldview. 5- Good values and traditions that are capable of aiding the realization of the goals of an ideal African society, without impeding its development in line with the spirit of the time

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It should be noted that the above-enumerated sources are both interdependent and interrelated. It is of great value to allude at this juncture to Professor Taban lo Liyong, Head of the Centre for African Studies at the University of Venda, South Africa, who according to Bangura (2005:42-43), “has argued that each discipline must elaborate and extend its curriculum to embrace the African indigenous worldview, or social practices, or scientific and technological usages and developments.” Bangura further articulates the view of Professor Llyong, as follows: “…past technological developments and achievements of Africans, their techniques, arts and artistry, the products and processes of production, must be studied with a view to “modernizing them.’ At the same time, technological innovations from Europe and Asia should be married to the native ones to produce a third new and appropriate technology. In whatever event, the African rhythm should control the speed of adoption and adaptation; African ethos of communal care and spiritual life should determine what we get from outside or keep from our past. This is the correct approach because besides recognizing other systems of knowledge, it leaves open the need for African systems of knowledge to acknowledge and learn from others in a discourse of cross-cultural understanding (pp. 42-43).

Core Principles of the Afro-centric Teacher Education Curriculum Model By ‘core principles’, in this context - and as indicated earlier - is meant the fundamental principles or foundations on which the Afro-centric teacher education curriculum is based. Such principles constitute the basic ideas that fulfill the role of guidelines for the model; they are the pivot or pillars on which the model is founded and structured. In shortened form, the core principles, as guided by Ash-Shaybaniyy (1979) and Professor Llyong (presented by Bangura, 2005) as articulated earlier, could be itemized as follows: 1- The African worldview must be the primary source of the principles. 2- The principles should be derived from those sources either directly, or through the aid of a secondary source in African heritage. 3- An African should seek, derive, or generate from African source knowledge about his society; the doctrines of his creed; the principles of his religious ideology; provided a well-grounded

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4-

5-

6-

7-

8-

education will be used as a check and balance to such knowledge as acquired by him. Accordingly, a prospective African teacher should acquire liberal education from Africa. This study is not oblivious to the fact that a liberal education occupies a central and sensitive place in the African teacher’s knowledge as, “it has always aimed at the service of both pure science and at training for particular professions” (Nashabi, 1977:28). Liberal education is indeed, “education in the service of truth” (Griswold, 1957), and its mastery or specialization does not seem restricted to any quarters in the contemporary world. Acquiring such a body of knowledge from a source that is anti-Africa may pose a great threat to the ideology of the prospective teacher. The end-result of an Afro-centric teacher education curriculum should be in agreement with the African worldview; a teacher then who is not merely a disseminator of knowledge, but is also a role model in his character and other aspects of his life. He is therefore expected to ensure a good and righteous life through his teaching and deeds. The education of a prospective African teacher should be committed to the realization of clear and realistic aims and objectives. The aims and objectives of the Afro-centric teacher education curriculum should not be stated as though they are meant for angels or superhuman beings who are grossly infallible. Whatever would be stated as an aim should be attainable in real life situations. The Afro-centric teacher education curriculum should be balanced and integrated in philosophy; universal, holistic and allencompassing in its curriculum content in order to be capable of replicating, at least to an appreciable extent, the wise man who was the central figure in the African tradition. The Afro-centric teacher education curriculum should attach importance to the development of thinking skills; aptitudes for empirical methods; and scientific research in prospective teachers. The education of a prospective teacher for African settings must be dynamic and keep cognizance of diversity in orientation, race, language, faith, and other areas. It should be one that is open to innovation, adjustment, change and development in the light of communities or individual needs occasioned by modern challenges, or articulated through systematic studies and investigations in the field of education, and must be in consonance with the African worldview.

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9- The Afro-centric teacher education curriculum should guarantee a sense of artistic appreciation of the teacher. To effectively implement school curricula in African settings the teacher himself is expected to possess some ability to appreciate arts and culture. 10- The education of a prospective African teacher should have provision for the development of ‘man’ in all the domains of learning; be it cognitive, affective or psychomotor. By this is meant the need for such a model to have, in addition to its provision for the cognitive and the affective domains, provision for the acquisition of skills that the teacher may not only be sound in the cognitive and the affective domains, but also in practical aptitude and skill acquisition. Knowledge in the African teacher education curriculum should contain a translated version of indigenous knowledge into tangible products for Africa, and its Diaspora, such as African psychology, African economics, African allied health sciences, and even African education.

Conclusion This paper has attempted to formulate principles for an Afro-centric curriculum model in the context of today. Such principles, as formulated, are meant to be used as guidelines in translating the principles to curriculum. This is so, because any African-oriented model claiming to be an alternative to the dominant Western models of teacher education should be able to replicate - in the context of today - some of the features and characteristics of teacher education programmes in the African tradition. The essence of deriving such principles is to use them as the basis for the curriculum. Although the principles have been derived, the wheel has not come full circle as yet, and will not do so unless an attempt is made to translate the philosophy so derived into a curriculum in the form of learning experiences and course content.

Works Cited Allan, Peters, Designing a School Curriculum, Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 1997. Anamuah-Mensah, Wolfenden, F. “TESSA OER: A Sustainable Approach to Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa.” Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa, (2010).

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Bangura, Kareem, A. (2005). “Ubuntugogy: An African Educational Paradigm that Transcends Pedagogy, Andragogy, Ergonagy and Hentagogy,” Journal of Third World Studies. 22. 2 (2005):13-53. Bogdan, Bilken, Qualitative research for education: an introduction to theory and methods Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1998. Boaduo, Nana, Milondzo, Khazamula, and Gumbi Daphne, “Teacher Education and Training for Africa in the 21st Century: What Form should it take?” Educational Research and Review, 6. 1 (2011): 1-16. Brokensha, Warren, and Werneri Oliver. Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Development. Lanhan-NY: University Press of America, Inc, 1980. Conant, John. The education of American teachers. New York: McGrawHill, 1963. ICSU, Science, Traditional Knowledge And Sustainable Development. ICSU Series on Science For Sustainable Development No. 4 Paris, France, 2002. Iseke-Barnes, James. “Misrepresentations of Indigenous History and Science: Public Broadcasting, the Internet, and Education” Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education 26. 2 (2005): 149-165. Ki-zerbo, John. Educate or Perish. Africa’s Impasse and Prospects. Dakar: Breda UNESCO-UNICEF, 1990. Laberee, David, Teacher Education. New York: Heritage, 1992. Leifer, Peter. The Falsification of African Consciousness. Chicago: University of Chicago, Press, 1969. Magubane, Martins “The African Renaissance in Historical Perspective.” In M. Makgoba, African Renaissance: The New Struggle. Cape Town: Mafube Publishing (PTY) Ltd, 1999. Mahlomaholo, George. “Significance of African Cultural Identity. Individual African Identity. Individual African Identity and Performance in Mathematics, some Standard Nine African pupils in Mangaung High Schools.” Unpublished Ph.D Thesis. University of Western Cape South Africa, 1998. —. “Empire Talks Back: Interrogatory Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Post graduate Curriculum.” Paper presented at Postgraduate Seminar CUT, Free State, South Africa, 2004. Makgoba, White. “The African University: Meaning, Penalties of Responsibilities.” Towards African Scholarship. Public Affairs and Corporate Communication. University of Kwazulu-Natal, 2005. —. “South African Universities in Transformation: An opportunity to Africanize Education.” Black Perspectives on Tertiary Institutional Transformation. Vivilia Publishers and University of Venda, 1998.

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Marvin, Roy. History of Teacher Education. California: University Press, 1992. Nashabi, Lamin. Liberal Education. Beirut: City Press, 1997. Ngugi wa Thiong’o, “Perceptions of Africanization or ‘Endogenization at African Universities: Issues and Recommendations.” Journal of African Universities in the Twenty First Century, 2 (1986):321-340. Nkoane, Molebatsi. “Constructing Knowledge through Learner-centered Approach.” Paper: presented at University of Witwaterstand. Johannesburg South Africa, 2002. —. “The Africanization of the University of Africa.” Alternation 13.1 (2006):49-69. Ntuli, Peters. “The Missing Link between Culture and Educative: Are we Still Chasing Gods that are not our Own?” In White Makgoba, African Renaissance: The New Struggle. Cape Town: Mafube Publishing (PTY) Ltd, 1999. Ocholla, Onyancha. “The Marginalized Knowledge: An Informetric Analysis Of Indigenous Knowledge Publications (1990-2004).” South African Journal Of Library And Information Science, 71. 3 (2005), 247-258. Odora-Hoppers, Andrew. “Indigenous Knowledge Systems and the Transformation of Thinking and Practice of Academic Institution in South Africa.” Paper presented at HSRC Pretoria, 2002. Ornstein, Hunkins. Crurriculum: Foundations, Principles and Issues. New York: Reason Education, 2004. Prah, Kwesi, (1994). In Peter Crossman (2002). “Perceptions of ‘Africanization’ or ‘Endogenization’ at African Universities: Issues and Recommendations” Journal of African Universities in the Twenty First Century 2 (2002):321-340. Reynar, Ralph “Indigenous people’s knowledge and education: A tool for Development.” In Semali, Kinchelve. What is Indigenous Knowledge? Voices for the Academic. New York, NY: Falmer, 1999. Rufai, Saheed. (2010). “Core Principles of an Islamic-Based Teacher Education Curriculum Model: Implications for Teacher Education Programmes in the Muslim World.” Unpublished Ph.D Thesis, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). —. (2012). “Proposing an Islamic Based Alternative to Dominant Western and Dominant Islamic Teacher Education Curriculum Model.” Asean Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education 4. 1 (2012) 4460. Samuel, Michael. “Working in the Rain: Pressures and Priorities for Teacher Education Curriculum Design in South Africa: A Case Study

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of the University of Durban-Westville.” International Journal of Educational Development. 22 (2002) 397-410. Saylor J. Galen, Alexander, William, M., and Lewis, Arthur J. (1981). Curriculum Planning for Better Teaching and Learning. 4th edition. New York: Holt, 1981. Sisebo, Simasiku. “The Effect of an Argumentation Instructional Model on Pre-service Teachers’ Ability to Implement a Science IKS Curriculum.” Unpublished Doctoral Thesis. University of the Western Cape, 2012. Taba, Hilda. Curriculum development: theory and practice. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World Inc, 1962. Thomson, Nyke. “Science Education Researchers as Orthographers: Documenting Keiyo (Kenya) Knowledge Learning and Narratives about Snakes.” International Journal of Science Education 25. 1 (2003) 89-115. Tom, Allen. Redesigning Teacher Education. New York: State University of New York Press, 1997. Tyler, Ralph Basic principles of curriculum and instruction. Chicago& London: The University of Chicago Press, 1949.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN CLASSROOM APPLICATION OF ICTS IN A DEVELOPING ECONOMY: A ROADMAP FOR CAPACITY BUILDING AMONG TEACHERS SILAS ENIOLA EGBOWON

Introduction Indigenous knowledge (IK) is a local knowledge that is unique to a given culture or society. Decision-making in all spheres of life – health, education, governance, social interaction, and information dissemination – are all propelled by indigenous knowledge. Indigenous knowledge is localized but can be shared through interaction. Most African communities have had their indigenous knowledge eroded away because of a lack of contact with the outside world, or a lack of proper documentation. Others have had theirs eroded as a result of dominance by the elitist class who have distorted the cultural values to suit their purposes, or as a result of ‘civilization’ that eroded the traditional norms of the society. Worse still, adults who were custodians of the indigenous knowledge passed away without handing over proper documentation of said knowledge to the next generation. This chapter identifies the indigenous knowledge and investigates how ICTs can be applied to reflect and disseminate indigenous knowledge through classroom teaching, which will ultimately make indigenous knowledge a global issue. It suggests how ICTs can enhance work force training for the preservation of cultural heritage, and capacity building, in a developing economy. The tradition and culture of any group of people are projected or expressed through the indigenous and local knowledge (Gorjestani, 2000 & Horsthemke, 2004). Because of contact with other races, there is a tendency for this indigenous and local knowledge to be subsumed by the

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culture of other races with whom they have contact, or for the culture to be adulterated as a result of a loss of contact with the root of the culture and tradition of the people. Africa has a rich culture that is expressed in various forms like songs, poetry, folklore, and artwork. The mode of documentation was majorly oral in nature. Every group of people has its cultural rituals and arrangements ranging from marriages, naming ceremonies, burials to governance. Elders in families and clans are regarded as the custodians of the people’s heritage; it is often said that in Africa, when an old person dies, it is a library that has been burnt down as all that resided in such a person dies with him or her without any documentation. This accounts for the reason there are distorted histories of Africa. Until Africans came into the consciousness of documenting their traditions, the African history and culture was projected through the writings of those who knew very little about African tradition. These writers painted Africans as being uncivilized, and they never celebrated the ingenuity of Africans who started the early civilization in Egypt. For any cultural value to be sustained, it has to be documented and taught from generation to generation. The paucity of knowledge about African history and culture is because of the lack of documentation. This paper therefore focuses on the traditional mode of preserving African culture; the attendant problems of preserving the culture and its traditions; and how Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can be applied in the teaching, learning and preservation of indigenous knowledge and traditions.

Indigenous Knowledge Indigenous Knowledge (IK) is a local knowledge that is unique to a given culture and society (Warren, 1991; Gorjestani, 2000; Horsthemke, 2004 & Moahi, 2005). It is also seen as a collection of beliefs and as such is manifested in superstition, divination, soothsaying and the like (Semali, 1999 and Crossman & Devisch, 2000). It is a sum total of the traditional and cultural heritage of a group of people, is localized, and is the springboard for decision-making in all spheres of life within the community. This can be seen in agriculture, education, governance, health-care, natural resource management, and other social activities. Indigenous knowledge is informal and is based on the culture and tradition of the people. It is unique because it is the force that enhances internal cohesion in the community, and indeed is the key to the survival of the community. It is transmitted orally, and the lack of documentation

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accounts for why it is easily distorted and often goes into extinction as a result of the death of the custodian, who could not pass it to the next generation before his or her demise. The lack of a database where indigenous knowledge may have been recorded in the past has caused many communities to lose their cultural identity, and they have been overpowered by stronger neighbours who in turn imposed their tradition and culture on their subjects. This is the case of most colonized African communities. Europeans painted Africans as uncivilized or unknowledgeable but were oblivious to the Egyptian civilization with whom the Africans had been involved. They distorted the truth because they had the wherewithal to propagate their interests concerning Africa. Knowledge has the capacity for truth; it is propelled by language, and language is learnt. Every group of people has its culture residing in its language, thus Indigenous Knowledge can be appreciated only if the language of the people is known. The language carries the thoughts, knowledge and ideas of the people. Indigenous Knowledge is entrenched in the language that reveals the ingenuity of the elders in the society who are the custodians of the traditions and norms of the society. The valueladen language that reveals the uniqueness of Knowledge is manifested in the proverbs, riddles, folklore, music and dance of the people. The language also reveals the reverence for deities. However, there is a paucity of this indigenous knowledge because of the lack of proper documentation. The development in science and technology has turned the world into a global village, and it is the awareness of this fact that is being advocated in this paper for the preservation of the Indigenous Knowledge. The tools of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can be employed to enhance the preservation of Indigenous Knowledge.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is globally acknowledged as a catalyst for social transformation and national progress. The extent of its utilization accounts for the disparity in technological growth and the economic development of the nations. Information and Communication Technology influences every sphere of the development of a nation – political, economic, security, not to mention educational and social transformation. That ICT has some benefits that can be harnessed by almost all segments of human endeavours is not an understatement. Governments

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and people around the world are now appreciating the ability of ICT to stimulate rapid development in all sectors of the economy (Ugweje, 2011). In Nigeria, there is a reawakening in the education sector, which is exemplified in the National Policy on Education (FRN, 2004). The policy recognizes the prominence of ICT in the modern world and has integrated it into the education sector in Nigeria. Currently in Nigeria, the demand for ICT literacy is on the increase, for example, an emphasis is placed on ICT literacy for new employees, while workshops and training initiatives are being mounted for those on the job, to keep them abreast of developments in ICTs integration, application and utilization. However, there are attendant challenges ranging from the frequent change of products as a result of: the developments in technology; computer literacy; a lack of adequate facilities; and a lack of funding to maintain realistic, consistent, and qualitative training. This paper focuses on the application of ICTs in the classroom, and how teachers and learners can harness the benefits of ICTs application in education to improve the preservation and dissemination of Indigenous Knowledge.

ICT in Education Whenever ICT is mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind is a computer. Although computers are prominent in ICT, it is, after all, only a platform and ICT cannot be defined any longer under one platform. ICT is now seen as a convergence of technologies, services and devices. Thus, it can be conceived as a phrase, which describes a range of technologies for gathering, storing, retrieving, processing, analyzing and transmitting information. It is used to describe any communication device or application, which encompasses radio, television, cellular phones, computers, network hardware and software, satellite systems, as well as the various services and applications associated with them. Such services include distance learning, audio conferencing, video conferencing, internet technologies and multimedia utilization (Ugwueje, 2011). ICT is generally misconstrued as computer literacy or computer application, but in a very real sense, these developments - brought about by the convergence of technologies, which are now commonplace in, say, digital cameras; mobile phones; the opening of the internet through ones own personal web space; and other services - are integrated into a single box sitting on a user’s desktop, which today’s learners or teachers can harness for educational purposes. This convergence is what makes computers the focal point of Information and Communication Technology (Egbowon, 2009; Egbowon and Akindoju, 2010)

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The basis of ICT is to help improve the way one deals with information in all facets of life. It is in recognition of this that the Federal Republic of Nigeria has entrenched the use of ICT in its National Policy on Education (2004) Section 4, No. 19, Article (m) and Section 5, No. 30, Article (f): In recognition of the prominent role of Information and Communication Technology in advancing knowledge and skills necessary for effective functioning in the modern world there is urgent need to integrate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) into education in Nigeria. Government shall therefore provide basic infrastructure and training for the realization of this goal at primary school level.. Government shall provide necessary infrastructure and training for the integration of ICT in the school system in recognition of the role of ICT in advancing knowledge and skill in the modern world..

The focus of the Government on ICT emanates from the recognition of its benefits in advancing the knowledge and skills that are necessary for effective functioning and transformation of a developing economy. There would be access to rural areas where Indigenous Knowledge would be appropriately harnessed to foster unity, improve living standards, and encourage access to education, which will eventually enhance the development of such communities. These assumptions have to be concretized by setting the machinery in motion for the actualization of the objectives. Thus, the Government came up with some pronouncements like “Internet access in schools”, “free computers”, etc. but many of these plans are only very slowly implemented, or even not at all (Ugweje, 2011). To chart the course of the provision of adequate ICT infrastructure, the Federal Government of Nigeria took the ‘bull by the horns’ by taking these proactive measures: x x x x

Creation of Ministry of Communication Technology (2011) New National Telecommunication Declaration of ICT as a national priority project Approval of National Policy on IT (2001) and subsequent establishment of NITDA as an implementing agency x Nigeria Satellite System programme by the National Space Research and Development Agency

In line with these bold steps some specialized government agencies are now into actualizing ICT operations. Such agencies working around ICT, according to Ugweje, (2011), include:

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1. Ministry of Communications Technology x x x x x

National IT Development (NITDA) Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Nigerian Cyber crime Working Group (NCWG) Galaxy Backbone NigComSat

2. Ministry of Information x National Broadcasting Commission (NBC)

3. Ministry of Science and Technology x National Space Research and Development Agency Some private sectors are also getting involved and some of the noticeable involvement, according to Ugweje (2011) includes: x Telephony infrastructure – (Glo 1, Main 1,..) x Aggressive competition within the Telecoms and computing sectors – leading to innovation and promotion of value added services x Private manufacturing, assembling and exports of PC – Omateck, Zinon, Beta, UNIC x Mobile applications (e.g., m-Banking) are being introduced x e-Payment and ongoing banking consolidation, and heavy investment in ICTs and system integration x Proposed (now in operation) cashless banking x Connectivity The Telecom sector seems to be making waves in ICT, while academia, and media NGO’s are getting involved in national, regional, and international processes, at a slow pace occasioned by the lack of sponsorship and an inability to get proper training in computer education. Is the educational sector really involved in ICT? Are classroom teachers really involved? Are ICT facilities available in Schools? Are they utilized by teachers? If yes, do they address the indigenous and local knowledge that is necessary for the preservation of culture? Are teachers trained in the use of these facilities? How can the teachers improve their skills through ICT? These are the questions posed for the capacity building of

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teachers that deal with the learners who may be future leaders of the nation.

Capacity Building for ICT in Education What is capacity building in education? Capacity building is not about making people computer literate only, but is also about making those involved able to develop their ability to utilize ICTs on their own to achieve desired results- i.e. the ability to utilize ICTs to improve their skills to effect positive achievement. The capacity building of teachers should include the knowledge of the vision, and the understanding and application of ICTs for effective performance. To create a shift from teacher-centred methodology to learner-centred methodology, the focus of capacity building has to be centred on providing the teachers with the needed skills and expertise required to use ICTs in order to teach the curriculum. Capacity building in ICTs should focus on the acquisition of necessary skills to manipulate respective technology, and master its practical application for the promotion and application of indigenous and local knowledge. For example, a teacher handling a digital mobile phone should go beyond contacting people, sending SMS, and browsing the internet. He/she can bring resource personnel to the classroom live; go on a field-trip with his students; and use the camera phone to take some relevant pictures, which can be downloaded onto the computer and projected through the multimedia projector. In this way, the teacher does not only enrich his work, but will also develop the skills of his learner by having a real contact with learning resources. Every race has some culture-laden values that are transferred to successive generations. In most African communities, such values are still transferred through oral tradition, and most of the custodians of these values dwell in rural areas where many cultural values have been eroded or forgotten because of a lack of continuity, either because of the death of the custodian or the lack of documentation. Teachers with the knowledge of ICT can have these values documented and taught in the classroom thereby making these values real, concrete, and immediate to the learners. For example, the song of a spinster about to get married in a typical Yoruba land, known as “Ekun Iyawo”, is no longer in vogue in the cities, however, a teacher versatile in ICT can go to the village with his digital mobile phone, or camcorder, to record an aged woman that has the knowledge of the song live and bring the recorded tape back for classroom teaching. This can be mass-produced by burning it onto a CD

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and copies made for the students. On the other hand, such an aged woman could be brought to the class, interviewed and recorded live. There is a sense of apathy in applying ICTs by teachers because of the high cost of some ICT facilities and because of the frequent change of products as a result of improved technology and electricity generation since most of the products are electrically powered. A summary of some of the facilities that can be used, and the cultural values they can enhance, is provided below. Teachers can avail themselves of the opportunity to select which one they can afford to apply in the classroom situation. CULTURAL VALUES

TECHNOLOGY

STRATEGIES

Marriage Ceremony Naming Ceremony Cultural Festival

Digital Camera, Video, Camcorder

Farming, Fishing, etc.

Digital Camera, video, mobile

Cultural values – greeting, coronation, marketing, etc.

Video camera, copy work with CD, play with computer

Kinship and genealogy

Video recorder, radio for oral recording

-Live recording at the location -Bring resource person ‘live’ to class and record Assignment for Students to take Group work for student, to be submitted to the class. Record and post on the internet Create a folder for future work Micro teaching Where it is difficult to use videotape, use audiotape to record narration.

Language learning, numeracy and pictorial documentation

Scanner, video, radio for oral recording, computer, smart board

Scanner for pictorial preservation and documentation, post on internet for learners to access, oral recording Group assignment

In essence, teachers do not need to wait for a large amount of money before they can apply ICT in a classroom setting. A typical example of this is the ÈKÓ Project. ÈKÓ is a Yoruba word for ‘learning’. The Lagos ÈKÓ Secondary School Project is a partnership between the Lagos State

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Government and World Bank. The primary objective was to improve the quality of public junior and senior secondary schools in Lagos State. This programme supports over half a million public school students in 637 secondary schools, and over 7,000 teachers and school administrators; over 5.000 teachers have been trained since the inception of the programme. The programme covered core subjects like English, Mathematics and the Sciences. In addition, the production and utilization of instructional material was included. During the process of training, those who were trained on the production of instructional materials expressed their ignorance of the use of the mobile phone. At the end of the training, they were able to use the mobile phone to produce instructions on different actities. An SSS1 student commented that he was formerly “only a ‘C’ student”, however, after the Eko project, the teaching qualities of the teachers changed and that also translated into improving his level of education. Some parents also commented that their children in public schools now compete favourably with their counterparts in the private schools. The training given to them was to make use of materials already available around them. If teachers can adopt this method, their performance will not only improve, but the students also will benefit immensely from their novel teaching methods.

Recommendations African teachers should identify ICTs around them, develop them, and use them for teaching and learning. African governments should encourage teachers and students that are innovative, and Community Resources should be incorporated into the teaching and learning system. Indigenous Knowledge is the only way through which developing countries can promote and strengthen their cultural values and language, which in turn will give them leverage regarding western knowledge in compatible manners, which will be suitable for their situations. In order for African culture to remain vital in a globalized age, the array of ICTs available should be harnessed to document, store and retrieve, African cultural heritage for the future of children yet unborn, and the world at large.

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Works Cited Egbowon, Silas Eniola. “Information and Communication Technology (ICT) In Education.” Lagos (Nigeria): National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), 2009. Egbowon, Silas E, & Akindoju, Olugbenga G. “Application of ICTs in Social Studies Instruction”. In Training Manual For Oyo SUBEB Social Studies Teachers, Faculty of Education, Lagos State Unversity, Ojo, Lagos, Nigeria, 2010. Federal Republic of Nigeria (2004). National Policy on Education (Revised Edition). Lagos: NERDC. Gorjestani, Nicolas. “Indigenous knowledge for development: Opportunities and challenges.” Paper presented at the UNCTAD Conference on Traditional Know-ledge.” Geneva: November 1, 2000. Horsthemke, Kai. “’Indigenous knowledge’ – Conceptions and misconception.” Journal of Education 32 (2004): 33-47. Lagos Eko Secondary Project (Undated) http.//www.flickr.com/photos/worldbank/scts/72157629013844189 Moahi, Kgomotso H. “Documenting indigenous knowledge systems in Africa: Prospects and challenges.” Journal of the Eastern and Southern African Regional Branch of the International Council of Archives 24 (2005). Semali, Ladislaus M. & Kinchebe, Joe L. What is indigenous knowledge?: Voices from the academy. New York and London: Falmer Press, 1999. Ugweje, O. "ICT Capacity Building for the Nigerian Armed Forces: Issues and Prospect.” Digital Bridge Institute, Abuja, 2011. Warren, D. M."Using Indigenous Knowledge in Agricultural Development"; World Bank Discussion Paper No.127. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank, 1991.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN THE IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING AND SUPERVISION OF TRADITIONAL BIRTH ATTENDANTS (TBAS) IN THE PREVENTION OF MOTHER TO CHILD TRANSMISSION OF HIV IN AFRICA SOTUNSA JOHN OBAFEMI

Introduction According to the Republic of Namibia Ministry of Health and Social Services, in Guidelines for Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV (2008), approximately 90% of HIV infection among children is acquired through mother to child transmission of HIV (MTCT). Transmission from an HIV-positive pregnant woman to her child can occur during pregnancy, labour and delivery, or through breastfeeding. The World Health Organization estimates that the risk of transmission ranges from 15% to 30% in non-breastfeeding populations, and from 20% to 45% in breastfeeding populations. Without intervention, most HIV infected children eventually die during infancy and early childhood. WHO Member States, attending the UN summit in September 2005, reaffirmed their commitment to fully implement all goals contained in the 2001 United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS (UNGASS) Declaration of Commitment, which included a 50% reduction in the proportion of infants infected with HIV by 2010. In December 2005, the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) High Level Global Partners Forum in Abuja, Nigeria, issued a Call to Action “Towards an HIV and AIDS Free Generation”. The Call to Action expresses the political will and commitment of national governments and stakeholders to work together towards the goal of eliminating HIV infection in infants and young children, which will lead to a worldwide

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HIV/AIDS free generation. The implication of this commitment is that governments, with support from development partners, must accelerate the provision of PMTCT services, including use of more efficacious regimens for PMTCT, and furthermore, the establishment of efficient monitoring and evaluation systems for tracking progress in the elimination of HIV transmission to infants and young children. (Guidelines for Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV, 2008) Despite the laudable intention of African governments however, the goals have not been attained due to a number of factors, including a lack of integration of indigenous systems and personnel involved in the care of pregnant women, and the delivery of babies.

The Importance of Traditional Birth Attendants in the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV As quoted by Ellen Isreal et. al (2002), in Sub-Saharan Africa, HIV prevalence rates among 15 to 24 year-olds have reached 36% in Botswana, and 25% in Swaziland, Zimbabwe, and Lesotho. Sentinel surveillance among pregnant women, which reflects prevalence in the general population, has shown prevalence of greater than 40% in some parts of Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Swaziland (US Census Bureau website, November 2002). UNICEF estimates that close to 1.8 million pregnant women living with HIV/AIDS deliver 600,000 to 700,000 infants with HIV/AIDS annually. Ninety-five percent of children with HIV/AIDS are born in developing countries, and an estimated 14 million children have been orphaned due to AIDS (Coutsoudis, 2002). The HIV prevalence in Nigeria has been on the decline since 2001. In 1991 it was 1.8%; in 2001 it was 5.8% but reduced to 5% in 2003 (Inem A V et al, 2003). Though the prevalence for 2009 was put at 3.6%, there has not been a significant reduction in the burden of HIV in children, as 15% of pregnancies in Nigeria - and 4% in Sub-Sahara Africa - are complicated by mother to child transmission of HIV. (Inem et all, 2003). Worldwide, about 70,000 babies test HIV positive annually due to the inadequate utilization of available initiatives to prevent the transmission of HIV through the mother to child route. Unfortunately, Nigeria is responsible for 30% of the global burden of newborns that are HIV positive. (Nigerian Vanguard, 2012) Nigeria is the second most burdened country in the world, with a prevalence rate of 4.1% and 3.1 million people living with HIV as per the 2010 sentinel survey. (Ogundipe S, Obinna C, 2011) Recent reports showed that Ogun State has the second highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS in South-West Nigeria. There are 135,000 people

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living with HIV/AIDS in Ogun State. The prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS in the state was 1.5% in 2003, then 1.7% in 2008, but this has further increased to 3.1% in 2010. The prevalence is highest in Ijebu-Ode, which has a prevalence of 5%, and is lowest in Ayetoro, which has a prevalence of 1.3%. (Olukoya O, Agberu S, 2012) It has been noted by Itina, that the traditional birth attendants (TBA) (Itina, S M, 1997) attend from between 70% - 75% of all deliveries in some areas of Nigeria. A traditional birth attendant is an individual who assists the mother at childbirth, and is someone who initially acquired her skills through delivering babies by herself, or by working with other traditional birth attendants. When trained, TBAs have been instrumental in the reduction of negative perinatal outcome in pregnancy. Pregnant women in rural and urban areas continue to patronize TBAs despite booking into orthodox clinics because of their beliefs and closeness to the community. The goal set for Nigeria is a reduction of mother to child transmission of HIV, and a 50% increase of access to quality voluntary, counseling and confidential testing of HIV by the year 2010. This was, and will remain, a mirage until the TBAs are integrated adequately into the primary health care, or are replaced by skilled health personnel at the grassroots level. (Gills C J, 2011) The mother to child transmission of HIV accounts for 90% of the transmission of HIV in to the newborn babies in Nigeria. (Federal Ministry of Health, 2005, Nkwo, P O, 2012). This can be controlled through health care providers who are close to the people. Therefore the TBAs that attend to 60% (or more) of the deliveries in Nigeria need to be skilled in the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV. Balogun and Odeyemi, in their study in Lagos State, found that only 8.6% of the traditional birth attendants in the study have correct knowledge of the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV, while about 30% believe they can cure HIV and promote such in their practice (Balogun, A M, Odeyemi, K, 2010). The deficiency of this skill among this cadre of health workers is a contributory factor to the high rate of HIV in children in the country. In Nigeria, like most Sub-Sahara African countries only one-third of the population reside in urban areas, which is the location of two-third’s of the health facilities. Though about 63% of women have at least an antenatal visit, it is just about 40% that have their delivery attended by professional health care providers. Home birth remains a strong practice with 60% to 90% of deliveries in the rural areas assisted by the traditional birth attendants (Habinama P, et all 1994, Abdul Hakeem et all, 2005, Piper C J, 1997).

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The traditional birth attendants are relevant to the people in Sub-Sahara Africa because they speak the local languages of the people, and understand - and allow - traditional birthing practices in the culture of the people they serve. They have the trust of the community (Habinama P, et all 1994, Abdul Hakeem et all, 2005, Piper C J, 1997) and live among the people, therefore, their involvement obliterates the challenge of availability and accessibility of PMTCT services if located in health centres, which are often far away. They are able to communicate the message in culturally acceptable ways that engender compliance. In addition, they are able to follow up care at the community level and mediate acceptance where needs be. TBAs are better able to mobilise community resources to ensure effective referral systems. Their involvement will promote project ownership and sustainability of the program at grassroots level.

The Tasks of Traditional Birth Attendants in PMTCT The tasks of the traditional birth attendants in the prevention of mother to child transmission include: 1. The dissemination of information about PMTCT. 2. Identifying pregnant women in their communities and facilitating their use of available antenatal and maternity care. 3. Making sure that pregnant women, and their partners, are routinely offered HIV counselling and testing, and that their uptake is facilitated. 4. Reinforcing health messages, including the importance of improved nutrition during pregnancy. 5. Supervising direct observed treatment of mother and infant with nevirapine. 6. Offering advice on reducing the risk of HIV transmission to women, and their partners. (Bulterys M et all, 2002)

Study Design This chapter is a cross sectional study. A questionnaire was used to collect information about bio data; socio-economic status; occupational history; knowledge of HIV and PMTCT; practice of PMTCT; and the use of universal precaution. Information collected with this instrument was analyzed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 18. The study area in Ogun State, Nigeria, was determined by multi-stage

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sampling involving all the twenty Local Government Areas of Ogun State. The Local Governments were grouped into the various zones in the state, namely Egba, Yewa, Ijebu and Remo zones. Two of these four zones were randomly selected, which were Ijebu and Remo zones. The Local Government Areas in each of these zones were grouped and a Local Government Area was randomly selected from these zones, which were Ijebu-Ode and Ikenne Local Government Areas. The study was limited to the Ikenne and Ijebu-Ode Local Government Areas of Ogun State. The population studied is the traditional birth attendants in the selected two local governments in Ogun state. One hundred and forty two (142) traditional birth attendants were involved in this study after proper education. About 56.3% (80 respondents) were from Ikenne Local Government, while 43.7% (62 respondents) were from Ijebu-Ode Local Government.

Analysis of Results Table 1: Age Distribution of Respondents AGE 20 and below 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61 and above TOTAL

FREQUENCY 2 18 20 40 34 28 142

PERCENTAGE (%) 1.4 12.8 14.1 28.1 23.9 19.7 100

The youngest traditional birth attendant was 19 years old, while the oldest was 75 years old. The mean age was 48.69 + 13.6. Fifty-eight (40.8%) of the respondents were males, while eighty four (59.2%) were females. Table 2: Educational Status LEVEL None Primary Education Secondary Education Tertiary Education TOTAL

FREQUENCY 18 38 74

PERCENTAGE (%) 12.7 26.8 52.1

12 142

8.5 100

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60.6% of the respondents had secondary education and above, while only 12.7% had received no formal education. Table 3: Duration of Respondents Practice as Traditional Birth Attendant YEAR OF PRACTICE 1-10 11-20 21-30 31 AND ABOVE TOTAL

FREQUENCY

PERCENTAGE (%)

74 38 24 6 142

52.1 26.8 16.9 4.2 100

The majority (52.1%) of the TBAs had practiced between 1-10 years. Thirty eight of them (26.8%) had practiced for 11-20 years, twenty four of them (16.9%) had practiced between 21-30 years, while six (4.2%) had ‘practices’ that had lasted over thirty years. Table 4: Source of Training TRAINER FATHER MOTHER OTHER TBA RELATIVE OTHERS TOTAL

FREQUENCY 60 14 46 14 8 142

PERCENTAGE (%) 42.3 9.9 32.4 9.9 5.6 100

Most of the TBAs involved in this study were trained by their fathers (42.3%) and other TBAs (32.4%). Other respondents received their training from their mother (9.9); other relatives (9.9%), while the rest picked up the skill without any formal training (5.6%). Table 5: Duration of Training DURATION OF TRAINING 1-10 YEARS ABOVE 10 YEARS TOTAL

FREQUENCY

PERCENTAGE (%)

122 20 142

93 7 100

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The duration of the training of most of the TBAs (93%) was between one and ten years. Table 6: Number of Deliveries per Month DELIVERIES PER MONTH 1-5 6-10 ABOVE 10 TOTAL

FREQUENCY

PERCENTAGE (%)

96 24 22 142

67.6 16.9 15.5 100

Ninety six (67.6%) TBA’s conduct 1-5 deliveries per month; twenty four (16.9%) conduct between 6 -10 deliveries per month; while twenty two (15.5%) conduct over 10 deliveries monthly. Table 7: Respondents’ Awareness of HIV Response YES NO TOTAL

Number 138 4 142

Percentage (%) 97.2 2.8 100

Table 7 assesses the respondents’ awareness of HIV. One hundred and thirty eight respondents (97.2%) affirmed an awareness of HIV, while four (2.8%) were unaware of HIV. Table 8: Sources of Information Sources Media Church/mosque Government hospitals Private hospitals Workshops/Seminars Total

Number 46 6 50 18 22 142

Percentage (%) 32.4 4.2 35.2 12.7 15.5 100

Table 8 shows the source of the TBAs information. Most of the TBAs received information from government hospitals (35.2%), or from the media (32.4%). Other sources of information included workshop/seminars (15.5%), private hospitals (12.7%), and the church/mosque (4.2%).

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Table 9: Respondents’ Perception of how HIV is Transmitted Mode of Transmission Contaminated blood and body fluid Unprotected sexual intercourse Contaminated instrument Spell Kissing From infected mother Demonic attack Sharing utensils

Yes (%) 130 (91.5)

No (%) 6 (4.2)

142 (100) 134 (94.4) 12 (8.5) 16 (11.3) 116 (81.7) 6 (4.2) 30 (21.1)

0 (0) 8 (5.6) 130 (91.5) 126 (88.7) 26 (18.3) 136 (95.8) 112 (78.9)

Table 9 explores respondents’ perception of how HIV is transmitted. The knowledge of the respondents, on the mode of transmission of HIV, reveals that all the respondents acknowledge the fact that HIV can be transmitted through unprotected sexual intercourse; 94.4% acknowledge that it can be transmitted through contaminated instruments; 91.5% acknowledge that it can be transmitted through contaminated blood and body fluids; while 81.7% agree that it can be transmitted through infected mothers to their children. 88.7% disagree that HIV can be transmitted through kissing; 95.8% by demonic attack; 83.1% said it cannot be transmitted by casting a spell; and 78.8% agree that it cannot be transmitted through shared utensils. Table 10: Knowledge about When Mothers Infect their Babies? Event Pregnancy Labour/delivery Breastfeeding Infant feeding formulae Herbal concoction Demonic attack

Yes (%) 96 (67.6) 106 (74.6) 88 (62) 108 (76.1) 12 (8.5) 12 (8.5)

No (%) 46 (32.4) 36 (25.3) 54 (38) 34 (23.9) 130 (91.5) 130 (91.5)

Table 10 shows the respondents’ perception about how and when the mother can infect her child. The assessment of the understanding of mother to child transmission of HIV reveals that 96 (67.6%) of the respondents believed that HIV can be transmitted by the mother to the child during pregnancy, while 46 (32.4%) did not believe this. The possibility of HIV transmission from mother to child, during labour and

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delivery, was agreed to be 106 (74.6%), but 34 (25.4%) disagreed. 88 (62%) agreed that mother-to-child transmission of HIV can occur during breastfeeding, but 54 (38%) did not agree with this assertion. 108 respondents (76.1%) agreed to the possibility of mother to child transmission occurring during feeding the baby with formulae, while 34 (23.9%) disagreed. While 130 (91.5%) asserted that mother-to-child transmission of HIV cannot occur by giving herbal concoctions, and cannot transmit because of demonic attack, 12 (8.5%) believed it can occur through both means. There is a significant statistical relationship between the awareness of HIV/AIDS and the knowledge of mother-tochild transmission of HIV during pregnancy (p