RETHINKING THE ROLE OF TRADITIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN CONFLICT MANAGEMENT IN THE NIGER DELTA: THE EXPERIENCE OF BRASS, 1800-2022

The study investigated of the role of indigenous traditional institutions in management of conflict in Brass. This study is significant, as it revealed age long practices, as well as contemporary strategies used in the management of conflicts in Brass. The study employed the primary, secondary, and the multidisciplinary approaches in its collations and interpretations of data. It made use of the Structural functionality and Role theories in its analysis. The study, however, revealed that conflict in Brass Local Government Area takes the same pattern as in most traditional African society. It stressed that conflicts in Brass Local Government Area, emanate from the family setting and snowball to the larger society, where its consequences ranges from mild to hostile conditions. The research revealed that claims to ownership of land, conquest and territorial expansion, competition for natural resources, trade monopoly, siting of basic infrastructure, and cultism etcetera are the main causes of conflicts in Brass L.G.A. The study, thus, argued that indigenous institutions like Kings, House Chiefs, and Family were traditional mean through which conflict are addressed in Brass Local Government Area. The study recommended that resolution of disputes can be facilitated by the active involvement of the chiefs and elders from the disputing parties, who should consistently engage in constructive dialogue and collaboratively propose viable solutions, measures, and procedures. The study concluded that conflict is a natural phenomenon that affects all societies of the world, as such, requires sincerity, competence and innovativeness in addressing it, as none innovative methods, may lead to disastrous outcomes.