"Heritage-for-Peace and Development": An Opportunity Not to be Missed

The dominant approach of the international community to the subject of our research and teaching is to instrumentalise cultural heritage safeguarding within stabilisation and development programs in post-conflict regions. Since the turn of the Millennium, cultural heritage safeguarding has been among the crucial instruments used by the international community, especially in post-conflict regions, for: reconciliation and peace building; development of a common sense of belonging; promoting mutually respectful dialogue in culturally complex societies. Many international organizations, such as the UN, the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, NATO, the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, the World Bank, the United Nations Development Program, the Council of Europe, and the EU, promote the management of ethno-political conflicts as their priority. Their agendas follow the principles of a) the overall relevance of cultural heritage for society and b) the importance of social networks for peace-building and peacekeeping in post-traumatic contexts. Instead of opposing this peace and development oriented paradigm from either anti-realist or nationalist perspective, we can recognize it, apply it and use it to improve the social status of social sciences and humanities in Serbia. Anthropological and critical heritage studies-based criticism of UNESCO-driven, state-governed ICH safeguarding fails to comprehend that standard academic constructivist analyses of a community’s key symbols of identity are offensive from the native’s point of view. Our typical analyses unwittingly confuse, annoy or even insult a great majority of the wider public who view/perceive collective identity as something given, inherited and real analogously to the objects and processes of the physical world. Consequently, our theoretical work counterindicates both peacekeeping, stability-building efforts by the international community in post-conflict regions and the goals of critical social science (which it nominally represents). Hence, a novel approach is required, one prioritising heritage stakeholder inclusion (and not our theoretical or ethnoreligious commitments). It is precisely the studies of nationalism and its consequences which forbid us to think of heritage as something useful, a counter-intuitive method for achieving fundamental anthropological goals. As communities regularly perceive their identities as objective and real, and see a critical social theory approach to their customs and traditions as confusing, non-academic, illegitimate or even offensive, I here propose a shift from constructionist criticism, standard in anthropology, to realist instrumentalism, typical of ethnology, in order to boost ICH safeguarding potential for achievement of both social and disciplinary-specific goals.

Prospective Scenarios: Sucre, Territory of Peace and Development 2030

Once a war conflict has been overcome, uncertainty always arises regarding what awaits the territories that left the violence and its development behind. Hence, it is necessary to propose the scenarios that may occur in the near future in order to define actions capable of building lasting peace and sustainable development. In this sense, the main objective of this paper is to do a prospective exercise referring to the probable scenarios for the Department of Sucre, Colombia, in its path of overcoming war, scope of peace and territorial development. The results indicate that the wager scenario, called «A treasure of incomparable beauty», will be the way to achieve a territory of peace and development in the department of Sucre.

Africa faces the challenge of ‘choiceless democracy’

Significance Behind both phenomena lies popular frustration with the perceived inability of democracy to deliver peace and development, and an absence of manifest differences in socio-economic fortunes despite changes in governments, in what has become known as ‘choiceless democracy’. Impacts Political instability will undermine national and foreign direct investment, and therefore economic recovery. Instability and economic difficulties may fuel irregular migration to Europe and the Middle East. Weak state capacity creates possibilities for the emergence of insurgencies, terrorist groups and organised crime.

FARMERS-HERDERS CRISIS AND FOOD SECURITY IN NIGERIA: CAUSES AND IMPLICATIONS

The paper examines Farmers-Herders crisis and food security in Nigeria: Causes and Implications. It viewed that Farmers-Herders crisis in Nigeria threatens food security, peace and sustainable development of the nation, Nigeria. The work maintains that the incessant crises occasioned by Herdsmen and Farmers in Nigeria, has claimed so many lives and property, and displaced so many, with attendant socio-economic consequences on sustainable development of the nation, Nigeria. Using Resource Access Theory (RAT), the work explains that the crisis between Herders and Farmers can be understood as the problem of access to land for economic survival, which as a result, has caused economic, political and environmental tensions in Nigeria, especially in the middle belt and southern parts of Nigeria since the return to democracy in 1999. The theory argues succinctly that the inability of the Fulani Herdsmen to have unhindered access to land for grazing, is to a significant extent responsible for why they often go into conflict with the host communities and farmers in Nigeria as access to the resource is the main cause of the conflict and violence. With this thriving crisis and violence of Farmers and Herders in Nigeria without proper steps by the Nigerian Government to tackle it to a standstill, the work posits that it portends grave implications for Nigeria’s food security, peace and national development. Therefore, in order to create an enabling environment for food security, peace and sustainable development, the paper suggests among others that there is need for the Nigerian Government to come up with a proper re-orientation programme that will breed good and social interaction, irrespective of religious and ethnic background. Government at all levels should be firm and fair in its resolution and implementation decision so as to tackle the crisis to a standstill. There is need for the Federal Government of Nigeria to invest on national orientation programme that will make herdsmen to see the need to value human lives and property in Nigeria, even as the Government should also strengthen its security apparatus and make it fully independent. The paper also recommended that there should be border policing to guide against illegal entry and possession of illegal arms and ammunitions for peace and development of the nation, Nigeria. <p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0871/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Access to justice for Nigerian women: A veritable tool to achieving sustainable development

Access to justice promotes the achievement of sustainable development as it promotes the participation of citizens of a country, reduces poverty, increases the productivity of persons and strengthens the peace and development of nations. In Nigeria, however, most women are deprived of justice in several ways. Using the doctrinal method of study, this article examines the concept of access to justice and its importance to the achievement of sustainable development in Nigeria. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) five and 16 are discussed as well as the various ways in which women are deprived of justice and barriers to such access. The study discovers that women have limited access to justice as a result of challenges plaguing Nigeria’s justice system. The study concludes that urgent steps must be taken to solve these challenges so that the SDGs will stand a better chance of being achieved by 2030.

Character Training as a Prophylactic to Leadership-Followership Divergence in Nigeria’s Quest for Peace and Development.

There has been proliferation of concerns on political leadership in most sub-Saharan Africa. Scholars have unequivocally identified nepotism, greed, ethnicity, religious chauvinism, and corruption of the leaders as the bane of development. In contradistinction, successive leaders have accused the followers of exhibiting unpatriotic attitudes to policies consciously designed to facilitate societal peace and development. These divergent opinions are the secondary catalyst that hinders the positive transformation of African society. Primarily, is the neglect of shared moral values by both the leaders and the led. The fundamental task of this paper, therefore, is how the disjuncture in value orientation between the leaders and the followers can be forestalled and meaningful development enhanced. Also, to identify ways by which the visions of the leaders and the aspirations of the followers can be reconciled to achieve the desired transformation. The paper argues for the cultivation of core moral values of trust, honesty, transparency, concerns for others, justice and, active participation in governance. In achieving this, effective character training at all levels of the society’s moral infrastructure is necessary. The paper recognizes the inherent difficulties in achieving this goal among the untrainable elders and aged ones hence, the prescription of sanctions on deviants. The paper adopts the analytic and prescriptive approaches of the qualitative method of research to clarify relevant terms and to recommend that, the ethical leaders and followers required for the development of African society are better achieved through character training that focuses on core moral values and civic participation of both the leaders and followers.

The challenges of internally displaced persons and the way forward: the Nigerian experience

Internally displaced persons (IDPs) are usually forced to flee or leave their homes, particularly in situations of armed conflict. They are displaced within their national territories and are generally subject to heightened suffering and vulnerability in many cases. It is also essential to state that the issue of internal displacement has become prominent because of the realisation that peace and reconstruction in conflict-ridden societies depend on the effective settlement and reintegration of displaced persons. Nigeria is a country that has a history of conflicts and displaced people. There has been a challenge in finding lasting peace through the employment of conflict resolution techniques and also the challenge of catering for the welfare of internally displaced persons in the country. However, peace and development without taking into account the settlement, return, and reintegration of IDPs. These desirous objectives are proving quite difficult in Nigeria as many challenges confront the government, policymakers, and humanitarian NGOs in providing the IDPs with their rights and needs. Some of the challenges can easily be overcome while some are more tasking requiring concerted efforts and massive resources to overcome. The aim of this article is to highlights the significant challenges confronting IDPs and provides some solutions to these challenges. In adopting the doctrinal method in discussions, the article finds that enormous challenges abound that confront IDPs in Nigeria, and it finds that there is the need for the government to find urgent solutions to the challenges of IDPs for the wellbeing of IDPs

Afghanistan Post US Withdrawal: Security Challenges and Future Prospects

After 9/11, the mission “Operation Enduring Freedom” was to root out terrorists from Afghanistan and to establish good governance in shape of democracy. However, the current internal law and order situation is worse even after years of US forces staying in Afghanistan. While President Trump has directed Pentagon to decrease nearly half of the more than 14,000 troops stationed in Afghanistan. All the regional and global powers have their interest in Afghanistan, have no clear policies for peace and development, but everyone is in struggle to solve the Afghan problem according to their own interest. To establish democracy, improve governance, rule of law and security situation in Afghanistan, the US withdrawal without proper homework will create more problems and lead to chaos. It is believed that the abrupt withdrawal may further strengthen the Taliban and increase violence in Afghanistan. This paper aims to investigate those internal and external factors which may become the cause of insecurity for Afghanistan. Furthermore, the research work enlightens over the solution of security problems in Afghanistan and suggests possible option.

Consolidating Peace in the Niger Delta for National Development in Nigeria: Rising Beyond Tokenism

This study attempts an investigation into oil politics and other related issues that have generated security crisis in the Niger Delta region, which made peace to elude the people over the years. For decades, peace in the Niger Delta remains a mirage because of the violence and counter violence unleashed by the different stakeholders in oil production in the Niger Delta. While the militants in the Niger Delta resorted to kidnapping of expatriates, oil theft, and the destruction of oil installations of the international oil companies to register their grievances against the Nigerian state and international oil companies over the debilitating development conditions in oil producing communities, the Nigerian state had militarized the region to maintain law and order in the oil producing areas in order to secure oil installations of the international oil companies which were targeted for destruction by the militants who felt the federal government and oil companies have not done enough to improve the living conditions of the people. To pacify the Niger Delta people and to ensure seamless oil production in the region, the federal government introduced some initiatives and created different Commissions such as the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission, increased derivation formula in revenue allocation to 13 percent and the establishment of the Niger Delta Development Commission to engender peace and development in the region. In recent times however, the federal government in furtherance of its commitment to resolve the Niger Delta crisis created the Ministry of Niger Delta and equally granted Amnesty for repentant militants with a view to re-integrating them back to the society in the interest of national peace and development. Except for Amnesty Programme which introduced relative peace in the Niger Delta, which itself failed to address the root causes of underdevelopment, all other initiatives have not engendered development and lasting peace in the oil-rich Niger Delta region. These initiatives and Commissions were simply tokenism as they failed to fundamentally, reposition the region on the path of sustainable growth and development. However, in generating data for this research, both primary and secondary data were used for analysis. The primary data were obtained from questionnaires, interviews and focus group discussions carried out in Bayelsa and River states. The study concluded that peace and development is possible in the Niger Delta if conscious and deliberate efforts are made by the government and international oil companies to improve the lots of the people who bear the devastating consequences of oil production in Nigeria.