Curbing Multi-Dimensional Violence in Nigeria Society: Causes, Solutions and Methods of Solving this Trend

AbstractAll over the world conflict, crime and violence where ever they occur is seen as aberrant to societal consciensous. Violence is a criminal act and combination of a motive not itself and operation not in absence - but a combination of these that causes harm to certain objects and prohibited by law. It should be noted however that violence is the abuse of power or force which is detrimental to an individual: but mere use of force is not wrong but the intent and impact it has on others. It is on this premise that this paper anchors its concern i.e. multi-dimensional violence in Nigeria: causes and methods of curbing the trend. Issues considered are, the spate of violence and conflict, viz; intra and interstate ethnic; religious; political and resource base; and structural violence which is expressed in such conditions as poverty, inequality, oppression and social exclusion. The purpose of this work is to unravel the remote and immediate causes of violence (region, political, ethnic etc) and to proffer solutions, significantly, this humble research endeavour presents a template for policies maker and implementors to consult in dealing with conflict and violence related issues. Also would be beneficial to conflictant in terms of creating awareness and resocializing them. Though the research had some limitations in gathering information viz people were not willing to give information for fear of arrest by the security officers. Because of this, the work was restricted to Buachi, Yobe and Borno State in the Northern part of Nigeria. Based on what the researchers exhumed, the following recommendations amongst others were made; national integration should be encouraged, tolerate people no matter their ethnic or religious background and those responsible for this behavioural act that transgresses socio-legal prohibition brought to justice.Keywords: violence, ethnic, religion, society, resourceINTRODUCTIONPost-colonial Africa has experienced a spate of conflicts and violence, namely Intra and interstate, ethnic, religious, political and resource control based violence, including structural violence, that is, violence that is expressed in such conditions as poverty, inequality, psychological violence, oppression and social exclusion, have ravaged one African country after another. National armies have continuously and violently intervened in the political affairs of African countries through bloody coup d'tats, leading in some cases to civil wars.Apart from actual military interregnums, a major development in the style of violence in African countries is the militarization of these conflicts, through the use of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW), the involvement of child soldiers and in the struggle for the control of mineral resources, as experienced in the Niger-Delta area of Nigeria and the persistent wars between Muslims and non- Muslim groups, especially in the Northern part of Nigeria.Apart from Nigeria, countries like Ethiopia, Sudan, Liberia, Somalia, Canada, Burundi, Angola, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Cote d'Ivoire have suffered greatly from widespread and intense internal conflicts. These conflicts have exploited the myth of national solidarity, undermining the social fabric of these nations and destroying their fragile economies (Alli, 2007).Conflicts and violence with their multi-dimensional consequences has been an obstacle to progress, political stability, economic prosperity and overall socio-economic development of African countries because of its destructive nature. While conflicts may not always be accompanied by bloodshed, most conflicts in Africa, degenerate into violence, quickly leading to the destruction of lives and properties. Violence provoked by conflicts, has often turned the people's intention from creative production to creative destruction (Nnoli, 2003). This academic enterprise, therefore, is an attempt to analyse the nature of violence in Africa, with Nigeria as a case study, analyzing the causes and recommending solutions, and using the theoretical underpinnings of structural functionalism and the Marxian dialectical materialism, as our guide. …

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