Good Governance And Conflict Management
Abstract
This exploration studies Good Governance and conflict resolution in Anambra state with focus on the Umuleri and Aguleri communities ’ experience. Both communities were gulfed in intractable conflicts over the power of Otuocha land. Away the contest over land, both communities have been engaged in the reconstruction of their history with each claiming to be the direct assignee of Eri. The exploration adopts qualitative evaluation system. The exploration principally draws from primary and secondary sources. The exploration hypothecated that good governance is the major constituents in conflict resolution. The exploration from its findings discovered that good governance promotes peace in Nigeria policy and can be achieved through a translucency and responsibility, Respect for the rule of law, Prudent operation of coffers, strict adherence to the principle of civil character in movables . It further discovered that good governance is a critical element for peace, security and sustainable development. The exploration among others recommend that the present administration should endeavor to ground this wide gap by showing true political will in resolving the distrust, revamping the frugality and effectively address the development requirements and bournes of citizens.
Chapter One
Preface
Background to the Study
Governance, according to the World Bank Report( 2010) is the exercise of political power in the operation of a nation’s affairs. This description therefore implies that governance encompasses the state’s institutional and structural arrangements, decision- making processes and perpetration capacity, and relationship between the governing outfit and the governed- that is the people in terms of their standard of living.
Odock( 2011) in his analysis sees good governance as “ a system of government grounded on good leadership, respect for the rule of law and due process, the responsibility of the political leadership to the electorate as well as translucency in the operations of government ”. translucency, Odock editorialized that it has to do with the leadership carrying out government business in an open, easy to understand and unequivocal manner, similar that the rules made by government, the programs enforced by the government and the results of government conditioning are easy to corroborate to the ordinary citizens. Responsibility as a element of good governance refers to the fact that those who enthrall positions of leadership in the government must give account or subject themselves to the will and desire of the society and people they lead. Unfortunately, this is lacking in the public sphere in Nigeria. Governance generally emphasizes leadership which suggests the way political leaders meaning the outfit of the state, use or abuse power, to promote social and profitable development or to engage in those dockets that largely undermine the consummation of the good effects of life for the people. Good governance is in tandem with popular governance which is largely characterized by high valued principles similar as rule of law, responsibility, participation, translucency, mortal and civil rights. These governance rates have the capacity to give the development process of a country.
Onifade( 2011) has posed a critical question as to whether it’s possible to have good governance without good leadership. Our understanding of reality points to the fact that the former is logically deduced from the ultimate because where there’s effective and effective leadership, there’s bound to be good governance. Achebe( 1983) had argued convincingly in his seminal book, ‘ The Trouble with Nigeria ’, that the failure of leadership to rise to its responsibility, to the challenges of particular exemplary life easily shows why the nation has the problem of true leadership. It’s exemplary leadership that can hoist the people, better the lives of the populace and see that the people as much as possible enjoy the public coffers without ado as is the case in utmost advanced republic similar as the United States, Canada, Switzerland and some forthcoming developing nations similar as Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and Korea, theoretical explanations have been advanced by similar scholars Migdal( 1988), Zartman( 1995) about the fact that in the absence of governance, a nation may witness state collapse or failure. This has been the lot of utmost African countries including Nigeria where lead governance has held sway. A state immaculately is meant to be an association, composed of several agencies led and coordinated by the state leadership( administrative authority) which has capacity and authority to make and apply the finding rules for all the people and applying force if necessary to have its way.
Zartman( 1995) specifically notes that the status of a state is reviewed as failed or collapsed when it exhibits incapability to fulfill the functions of a state similar as the autonomous authority, decision- making institution and security patron for its population. This can lead to structure, authority( licit power), law and political order falling piecemeal.
On the other hand, conflict has come an evitable miracle in mortal actuality. As long as there are social connections between individualities and groups in the society, conflict will persist. Although, conflict frequently initiates change in society, its violent form is negative and reverses societal progress, promoting poverty and lawlessness. There’s n o mistrustfulness that violent conflict has extorted annihilation on our collaborative and public social fabrics since 1999, in particular, when electoral republic was ennobled in Nigeria. Compounding the problem of underdevelopment in Nigeria is micro nationalism, ethnical, religious and collaborative conflicts which pose great trouble to peace, security and progress. The heads had closed the doors of fellowship, commerce and fellowship among the colorful ethnical groups in the nation. thus, attempts at promoting peacefulco-existence among the colorful individualities that exists in the nation becomes antithetical if not fugitive as colorful ethnical, religious, political, profitable and social catastrophe keep one reenacting in the polity. This has compounded the situation of instability in Nigeria’s fragile civil system which, over the times, has endured ethnical, religious and political heads of monumental proportions. The most ruinous amongst these have been collaborative conflicts in all corridor of the country. The frequent circumstance of conflict in Nigeria in recent times is a trouble not only to republic but also to the commercial actuality of the country as a political reality. Since good governance is an essential component in the creation of peaceful concurrence in the society given its necessary rudiments of rule of law, mortal right protection, free and fair election, responsibility, independent court of law as well as creating the right terrain for socio- profitable development( AbdulMaleek 2011).
thus, this work seeks to estimate the relation between good governance and conflict circumstance with special reference to Aguleri and Umuleri conflict.
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