AFRICAN PEACE INSTITUTION BEFORE SLAVE TRADE AND COLONIALISM
By:Abdulrazaq O Hamzat
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I have previously talked about the major causes of crisis in Africa which is not entirely internal ,but local and foreign problems mixed to climb the back of internal grievances.



I have also examined the causes of escalation of internal conflicts in my previous publication and since conflict is inevitable in human existence, what usually cause the escalation from internal is the perceived unfair and un African court position in most cases and lack of trust which usually create permanent enmity.



Peace in the world can not be achieved until there is peace in Africa, and the peace in Africa can not be a reality until the Africa peace institution are revised and reintroduced.



It is on record, that Peace institutions in Africa before slavery and colonialism varies in different communities,but there is one distinguished quality that merge them together, It is called the African Palaver.



The concept of African Palaver is widely used to settle conflicts in Africa before slave trade and colonialism,however,various communities call it different names.



Among the Kpello people of Liberia,it is called,the house of moot. It is a council made up of the kinsmen and neighbors of the conflicting parties to a conflict,every claim from both sides would be investigated with honesty,transparency and at the end of the findings,judgment would be delivered and all party would share drinks no matter how complicated the issue may be initially.



In Chad,it is called Cofono among the Toubou society. it is also known as Adzo in beti society in Cameroon.



In Tanzania,among the people of Arusha,there was instituted Golib,which was a peace institution used for the prohibition of feuds and hostilities between and within families,clans,villages and communities as emphasis was laid on abundant food,harmony,fecundity and the common interest of all the people. The African palaver was recognized in Kenya,The Gikuyu elders of kenya had it impressed on them that their primary responsibility to the community is the prevention of conflict between members of their communities and the prevention of violent and deadly conflict that would involved the use of supernatural powers,open hostilities,bloodshed and destruction of properties.



In Nigeria, this concept varies and can be summed up as follows,The council of Elders,kings in council,town or village assembly,masquerade system,hunters association,oracle and deities.



The guilty party is made to compensate the other party in a proportional manner that is made to be symbolic rather than as punishment. in Mali,it is called the keeper of the word of authority,they render justice in the name of their ancestors. when conflict is brought before them,they 1st listen to both parties,call witnesses,then question both sides and the witnesses begining from the eldest of these local judges to clarify issues and get the true picture of the conflict.



The use of palaver is the emphasis on restoration of harmony rather than on who is right or wrong



This concept involve 3 stages,one,Persuasion stage where delegation would be sent to both party for persuasion,stage two is where both party would speak or give a speech on the issue involved,their fears and worries etc and the stage three is the decision stage, where the institution settle the conflict and restore harmony.



AFRICAN APPROACH FOR CONFLICT PREVENTION



The Traditional approach to conflict prevention is done through socialization, Africans see human existence as unified,interlinked and integrated.



In south Africa,there exist the concept of Ubumtu which means,collective person hood. This concept is contained in the Nguni proverb that states that,i am because we are.



From childhood,people were taught to live in harmony and avoid trying to win at all cost. Africans impart in the children that a quarrel with others is to be regarded as a fight between blood relations.



INCULCATION OF MYTH

Many people do not know how myths,idioms and proverb were initiated,in yoruba tribe of Nigeria, at a point of sorrow to a person,when consoling him or her, they would say, ''ironu ko ni dada tio se fun ara'' which means that thinking has no good to offer the body. but at other times when they try to force one into thinking for positive, they would say, a lai ni iro nu'' which means that thoughtless person. this is done to always suit different purpose all in the name of managing situations.Inculcation of myth,use of proverbs,idioms,folktales and songs to describe nature and how to live in it was a way to preventing,managing and resolving conflicts.



CONFLICT MONITORING AND PREVENTION

The use of traditional institutions in conflict monitoring,the family,council of elders,king in council,clan, etc were used in the task of conflict monitoring and prevention. Each family head is employed and mobilized to prevent conflict through peace education,conflict monitoring,mediation and reconciliation.



Ritual treaties and blood covenant were used to remove fear and engender trust,bind families,villages and avoid wars. Such treaties involved powerful deities which makes it not easy to violate as violation would bring dire consequence. institutions and celebration of festivals during which the virtue of peace were extolled in songs,rituals are performed and prayers for peace are made by all. The use of sanctions,marriage,oath taking,diplomacy like such between the ruler of mali and shangai are all means to monitor and prevent conflict in Africa before the advent of slave trade.



Slave trade,Colonialism,Religious misunderstanding and the European commerce which promote crass materialism and individualism was, factor that destroyed the family solidarity and corporate integrity,which was responsible for the weakening and eroding of indigenous peace institutions.



Holocaust Maya Angelou

It takes more than a horrifying transatlantic voyage chained in the filthy hold of a slave ship to erase someone's culture -Holocaust Maya Angelou



Africa's history did not begin in slavery, and despite the peculiarity, horror, and duration of enslavement of Africans, slavery occupies a minor timeframe



FACTS



See African Kingdoms for the vast civilizations that existed in Africa. Christianity existed in Ethiopia long before there was the "Church of England". Islam exited in Africa before it even reached outside of what is today Saudi Arabia. Libraries and universities existed in Islamic cities such as Timbuktu, where advance mathematics and astrology were studied. In Ethiopia for 100s of years the Kebra Negast was written in the only surviving African native script Ge'ez. Ethiopia was the only African nation to actively repel colonialism and is one of the world oldest continuous civilizations.



Africa has always been part of the Biblical, Jewish and Islamic world. It was a common site to see Ethiopians in Rome or anywhere in the "known" world. Modern day Israel was also a site for Ethiopian pilgrimage and Mecca was for Muslim Africa. The historical trip of Kanka Musa was said to alter the economy of every state he passed through on his way to Mecca.



Some of the most notable civilizations in human history come out of the Nile Valley in Africa, of these we know KMT (Ancient Egypt) and Nubia. Still today Western historians, as in the past, have tried to deny the African identity of these kingdoms, which are geographically located in Africa. Yet no one has ever said Greece was not a European civilization, or Ancient China was not an Asian civilization. So this double standard is the legacy of the white washing of Africa history to satisfy the myth that Africa is outside of humanity, civilization and thus suitable for harvest by more advanced nations. The denial of African agency has had a profound impact on how the world sees general history in the context of the African agent. Christian history is African history (Axsum). The history of World civilizations is the history of Africa. The history of Islam is the history of Africa (1st Hijirah, Sokoto, Islamic Spain), you cannot divorced one from the other. The history of humanity is an African history.



History and development didn't happen in isolation of African agency. Slavery and Colonialism did victimize the Africans but Africans are not histories perpetual victims. Africans in antiquity had agency and made conscious choices which contributed to the development of humanity. In Axsum the course that Ezna took to make Christianity the state religion was based on his sovereign agency.


Regardless of orientation, to believe Africans have been on the receiving any of other people's whims is to deny African human agency. Agency swings both ways and as much as it holds us accountable it also defines our station in civilization. The African peace institution before slave trade would not only restore peace but foster development and unity. Abdul AOH.
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