Conflict resolution in traditional African societies provides opportunity to interact with the parties concerned, promotes consensus-building, social bridge reconstructions and enactment of order in the society while the western world places more emphasis on the judicial system presided over by council of elders, kings’ courts, assemblies for dispute settlement and justice dispensation.
BODE DUROJAIYE, the Director of Media and Publicity to the Alaafin , Paramount Ruler of Oyo Kingdom, examines traditional conflict resolution techniques such as mediation, adjudication, reconciliation, and negotiation as well as cross examination being employed by the Alaafin’s administration, and how these offer great prospects for peaceful co-existence and harmonious relationships than the modern method of litigation settlements in law courts.
Conflict is as natural as the concept of peace, contrary to the global or universal conception.
Africans have particular ways of conceptualizing conflict.
Conflicts are in the magnitude of rage, rift, misunderstanding, family and market brawls, skirmishes and wars, public insurrections and assaults. It also includes chieftaincy and land disputes.
These storms of conflicts are wide spread in Yoruba land.
A conflict situation emerges when two or more parties could not agree on an issue.
Yoruba conflicts are not susceptible to prediction, although it can be explained.
Overt manifestations of conflict are seldom unremitting, even in relations between rival cultures.
The Oyo Empire was a West African empire that thrived in the middle to later part of the last millennium.
The empire was the largest in present day Yorubaland and one the largest West African Empires encountered by colonial explorers.
What was to become the Oyo Empire began as the State of Oyo, founded sometime before 1400, with its capital at Oyo-Ile, (also known as Katunga or Old Oyo or Oyo).
Rising to preeminence through wealth gained from trade and through the possession of a powerful cavalry, the Oyo Empire was the most politically important Yoruba state from the mid-17th to the late 18th century, holding sway not only over other Yoruba states, but also over the Fon kingdom of Dahomey (located in the state now known as the Republic of Benin).
Due to the prevalence of oral history in old Oyo, the factual origins of Oyo are nebulous at best.
However, the mythical origins of Oyo have a spiritual importance to the Yorubas in general due to the predominant role an earlier kingdom at Ife played in influencing Yoruba history.
Oyo Empire was the most politically organized entity founded by the Yoruba speaking people in the present day Nigeria.
The empire was well organized and was influential and powerful. It at a time controlled the politics and commerce of the area known today as a southwestern Nigeria.
The political administration of Oyo Empire was based on complex system of checks and balances involving layer and structure of traditional rulers. At the center of the political structure is the Alaafin who was the king. Most powers were controlled by him. He wielded both political and spiritual powers.
His administration was headed by three lieutenants namely the Ona Efa who was the Empires Chief Justice, the Otun Efa who was in charge of the Sango shrine and the Osi Efa who was the controller of he palace finances.
The next political structure was the Oyomesi. The Oyomesi was a Council of prominent chiefs of the Empire numbering about six or seven sometimes.
The Bashorun was the title of the head of the Oyomesi. The main function of the Oyomesi was to act as a check to the excessive powers of the Alaafin. The selection and dethronement of Alaafin was the exclusive powers of the Oyomesi.
Another important political structure was the Ogboni headed by the Olowu. The Ogboni was made up of representatives of various lineages. The Ogboni acted as checks to the excessive power of the Bashorun. For someone to be a Bashorun, the Ogboni must give their own approval.
In some cases the Alaafin made use of Olowu to check the unnecessary presentations of power by the Bashorun led Oyomesi.
Next in line was the army leaders headed by the Are-Ona-kakanfo that was the army commander.
Other Yoruba areas that formed part of the empire were ruled by their Oba, council of Elders or the Ogboni confraternity.
Each of these communities had an Alaafin supervisor resident in it known as Ajale.
Because of communication gap Ajale enjoyed relative freedom making some of them corrupt.
In order to check this, the Alaafin established very special messengers known as Ilari. Their role was mainly to supervise different Ajale under their jurisdiction. Some Ilari became corrupt and very oppressive.
There were levels or phases of conflict resolution, such as inter-personal or family level, the extended family level and village or town level.
The smallest unit called Idile (Nuclear family) is headed by a Bale. The next unit is the Ebi, (extended family headed by Mogaji who is the most influential or usually the eldest person in the Ebi.
Extended family includes all people who have blood ties.
The last tier of the units is the quarter which comprises of several family compounds is headed by a Baale, (the chief-of-ward/quarter, while the head of household which includes the man‘s immediate family of wife or wives and children.
Cases resolved by Bale include conflicts among co-wives, brothers and sisters, truants, and street fights involving his children and his foster children or dependants.
There were many principles guiding conflict resolution in the Empire.
Those who want their conflicts resolved must have confidence in those that would resolve the dispute.
Truth is a covenant logo that disputants or parties in conflict must not miss. The disputants must have confidence in the adjudicators.
They (disputants) must be ready to submit themselves to the constituted authorities. This is the major significance of conflict resolution mechanism by the Alaafin’s administration.
The mediators or arbitrators must not only be truthful, conscientious, upright, but be blunt and fair, they must be well prepared because truth is not static.
Indigenous laws are derived essentially from customs and traditions.
Conflict solved immediately includes minor conflicts by scolding the trouble makers and appeasing whoever was offended.
Reports on land and chieftaincy conflicts would first be reported to some Obas who were in the palace on special duties.
These would be communicated to His Imperial Majesty, the Alaafin, who will instruct the Oyo-Mesi to look into them and adjudicate.
After the Oyo-Mesi verdict, disputants not satisfied could take their case to the Appeal Court headed by the Alaafin himself.
Before the verdict is delivered, disputants, no matter their level of temperaments, would be wholeheartedly satisfied with the handling of their cases.
This because, Alaafin would neither compromise, be sentimental no matter how close the accused and defendants are, but be strictly guided by moral conviction, sense of devotion and divine wisdom devoid biased determination.
As the verdict is pronounced, both the accused and the defendants would openly embrace one another and appreciate the unblemished intellect, knowledge of the Iku Baba Yeye.
This age-long legacy is still being sustained till today in the present Oyo and its environs, thus preventing bloodletting, violence and other forms of criminal activities within the metropolis,
unlike what is obtainable in other communities, and parts of the country where lives were lost and properties destroyed over land and chieftaincy disputes.
This indicates that the Alaafin, Epitome of Culture and Traditions in Yoruba-land, remains the Power House of Wisdom and Knowledge.
In an interview, the late Imperial Majesty, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi 111, said ‘’there is nothing wrong with conflict, it is a critical mechanism by which goals and aspirations of individuals and groups are articulated, a channel for definition of creative solutions to human problems, a means towards creative solutions to human problems, and a means to the development of a collective identity’’.
Peace, he stated, has always been among humanity’s highest values, and for some, the Supreme Being, adding that the most disadvantageous peace is better than the most just war, as peace is more important than all justice.
According to the late Paramount Ruler, ‘’the confounding power of cultures to drive growth can never be underestimated even when they are in their traditional forms and isolated, let alone when they are appropriated as collectivities in a nation as viable as Nigeria.
Unfortunately, these cultures have been largely seen as given, familiar, problematic and unimportant to national growth and development.
“Cultures as viable tools of development are under-estimated and not annexed even when the Western nations are doing everything possible to annex their many cultures for national and regional sustainable development drive. The Cultures of people are veritable social capital that could be deployed for growth, unity, peace, development and even translated to economic and technological capitals. Culture is a cure for all for growth and development’’, the late Alaafin submitted.
