Traditional Communication in Peace Building and Dispute Resolution

Communication is the goal of language as mutual agreement is the goal of conflict resolution. As a result of too many violent situations, there is a desperate search for peace and conflict resolutions in our societies. The search for causes of conflict, its management and resolution have led to the use of such terms as peace-making, peace-keeping and peace-building. Peace, therefore, is the most pressing challenge faced in the 21st century, without which, there will be no development. Apart from litigation there are other cordial, transparent and comprehensive approaches to dispute resolution in all human societies. This study examines the conceptual and theoretical instrumentality of some of the non-conventional alternative mechanisms for the settlement of the perpetual ethno-religious and political conflicts in southern Kaduna. The paper argues that the scale and magnitude of the conflicts are rooted and sustained in the non-integration of conciliation, negotiation and arbitration as effective traditional communication mechanisms for the resolution of individual, institutional and societal disputes in Nigeria.