WARFARE AND PEACEMAKING IN PRE-COLONIAL IGBOLAND

Abstract

States have disparate interest groups, which may be ethnic, economic, ideological etc. Dealing with all these forces often involved the use of diplomacy and coercion, to prevent or balance destructive conflicts of interests and values. And so one of the most important functions of any State is to ensure peaceful co-existence and social justice among the various groups within and outside its borders through its social, legal, political and military institutions. In pre-colonial times, Igbo States like others in the area that later morphed into Nigeria, experienced various forms and levels of conflicts that sometimes escalated into intra-group and inter-group wars. This work considers such wars, by using historical data from primary and secondary sources as well as interviews to survey selected wars that occurred in certain parts of Igboland. These accounts formed the basis for careful generalisation on warfare in the region during the pre-colonial times. The work infers that warfare and the processes of peace making in Igboland before the colonial period were determined by among other things socio-political structure of the society and the world view of the Igbo at the time, such as abhorence for shedding of a kinsman's blood in time of peace or war. Finally, their humane conduct of wars and treatment of the defeated and prisoners of war have much to recommend them even in present times.