Oral History and Conflicts in Abakaliki, Nigeria: The Role of Traditional Institutions in Achara Unuhu Izzih and Ezza Nwogharu Crisis

Kelechi Johnmary Ani ORCID iD 

Issue: Vol.10 No. 6 June  2024 Special Issue Article 9 pp.89-97
DOI : https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.20241069 |   Published online 6th June, 2024.
© 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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Inter-group relations are a popular form of relations between traditional African people and their neighbours. In Nigeria, the Achara Unuhu and Nwogharu Ezza people shared the same ancestral origin. This study used oral history and other qualitative methods to trace the nature of the conflict that manifested between the Achara Unuhu and Nwogharu Ezza people of Ebonyi State Nigeria. Data was collected through focus group discussions and interviews of randomly selected respondents. It found that the conflict led to the loss of lives and properties. This loss of lives and properties in turn led to the reactive peacebuilding action of the people using multi-track strategies to bring back peace. The study maintains that there is therefore need to sustain the peacebuilding and inter-group relation efforts of the Achara Unuhu Izzih community and Nwogharu-Ezza forefathers thereby terminating the factors that drive conflict in the two communities. This study will advance the body of knowledge in traditional peacebuilding processes in Africa.

Keywords: Armed conflict, peace, inter-group relations, Achara Unuhu and  Nwogharu

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Kelechi Johnmary Ani, Ph.D., is a Senior Postdoctoral Researcher, at the School of Public Management, Governance and Public Policy, College of Business and Economics, University of Johannesburg, South Africa, and a South African Association of Political Studies (SAAPS) member. Before joining the University of Johannesburg, he served in different capacities towards the development of teaching and learning as pro-bono staff in the Afrocentric Governance of Public Affairs Research entity, North West University South Africa (his Alma mater) and Visiting Scholar, International Relations and Diplomacy, University of The Gambia. His research interest includes Peace, Security, and Conflict Management in Africa; African History, Politics, Governance and Diplomacy. Dr. Kelechi Johnmary Ani has published more than twelve (17) research articles in DHET-accredited journals in three years with the School of Public Management, Governance and Public Policy, College of Business and Economics, University of Johannesburg, South Africa

Ani, Kelechi Johnmary. “Oral History and Conflicts in Abakaliki, Nigeria: The Role of Traditional Institutions in Achara Unuhu Izzih and Ezza Nwogharu Crisis,” E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies, 10 no.6 Special Issue(2024): 89-97. https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.20241069

© 2024 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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