Examining Threatsto Global Peaceinthe 21 ST Century

See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.
net/publication/339940114
Examining Threats to Global Peace in the 21st Century
Chapter · July 2019
CITATIONS READS
0 1,024
1 author:
Ndifon Neji Obi

University of Calabar
21 PUBLICATIONS 31 CITATIONS
SEE PROFILE
Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:
Essays in Honour of Professor Alake Bolanle Awe. Ibadan: Institute for Peace and Strategic Studies View project
Essays in Honour of Professor Isaac Olawale Albert View project
All content following this page was uploaded by Ndifon Neji Obi on 15 March 2020.
The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

How to cite this paper:
Obi, Ndifon Neji (2019). “Examining Threats to Peace in the 21st Century”. In Elias Suleiman Bogoro, Matt Meyer and Nathaniel D. Danjibo
(Eds) Readings in Peace and Conflict, Essays in Honor of Professor Isaac Olawale Albert. Ibadan, Society for Peace Studies and Practice,
Institute for Peace and Strategic Studies, University of Ibadan. Pp. 498-507
EXAMINING THREATS TO GLOBAL PEACE IN THE 21 ST CENTURY
OBI, NDIFON NEJI, PhD

Department of Political Science, University of Calabar, Nigeria.
ndifon.neji@unical.edu.ng, obino2@yahoo.com
Introduction
Threats to global peace gained traction after the 9/11 attack. On September 11, 2001, terrorists
associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked four airliners and carried out
suicide attacks against targets in the United States. During this attack, the World Trade Centre in
New York City and the Pentagon outside Washington, D. C were hit. Often referred to as 9/11,
the attacks resulted in extensive death and destruction, triggering major United States initiatives
to combat terrorism. This significant milestone in global terrorism became a wake-up call to
countries to guard against threats to global peace.
This attack has shaped and sustained international consensus around the evidence that global
peace has been threatened and levels of peace have continue to deteriorate generally due to
developments bordering on terrorism, natural disaster, nuclear threats, climate change, economic
recession, racial killings, xenophobia, war, migration, unemployment, poverty, kidnappings,
poorly conducted elections, corruption, lack of grazing lands, religious intolerance and general
criminality. With the nuclear threats from missiles testing in North Korea and Russia, the crisis
in Gaza, the rise of Islamic militants in Iraq and Syria, the role of the United States in the Middle
East and around the world, the Arab Spring, the activities of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
(AQIM), the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon, the threat pose by
poorly conducted elections around the world, the arms tussle in South Sudan and the economic
contraction in Nigeria have made the world more vulnerable to conflicts and peace erosion. The
vulnerability of the world to threats to peace is so because according to Albert (2008:32) many of
the states are weak and have been ‘replaced’ by criminal and political ‘godfathers’, ‘warlords’,
militia leaders and fundamentalist religious movements.
The above background on global peace coheres with the conclusion of the Report of the Global
Peace Index (GPI, 2016), where it was declared that the “World is becoming less peaceful”. The
summary of the GPI Report revolves around four basic points. The first is that the last decade has
seen a historic decline in world peace; second, that terrorism is an all-time high as the terrorism
impact indicator had the greatest overall deterioration; third, that battle deaths from conflict are
at a 25 year high. The total number of conflicts has jumped sharply in recent years, rising from
31 in 2010 to 40 in 2014, fourth, that the number of refugees and internally displaced persons
increased dramatically over the decade, doubling from 2007 to 2015, to approximately 60
million. The majority of terrorist activities are highly concentrated in five countries: Iraq,
498
Nigeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Syria. Between them, these countries accounted for 78 per
cent of deaths from terrorism in 2014. The Report further mentioned that there are signs that
terrorism is becoming more common across the globe, with almost every region having an
increase in its terrorism impact score from 2008 to 2016.
It is obvious by now that many of the challenges facing humanity are fundamentally global in
nature. This include climate change, decreasing biodiversity, terrorism, poverty, nuclear threats,
poorly conducted elections, religious intolerance, continued economic instability and increasing
migration. All of these challenges are interconnected and multifaceted, requiring a re-
conceptualization of peace. It is within this context that this paper examines global peace with
the intent of identifying incidents that threaten it and suggest recommended actions.
Providing conceptual clarity

The concept of peace is one of the most commonly used words by people of different
orientations yet, it is one word that has suffered from definitional inexactitude. Peace is
obviously desired by all societies yet, there is no universal consensus as to what constitute it.
This perhaps explains, why to some, peace is conceived as the absent of war and to others, the
presence of justice. Yet, to another genre of scholars, peace can only be attained through war
hence the cliché ‘if you need peace, prepare for war’. This assertion is further given a head when
consideration is given to the paradox inherent in the evidence that one of the most destructive
nuclear bombs ever invented by man was nicknamed ‘The Peacemaker’ in the 1980s (Assefa
1993:1).
Albert (2008) quoting Assefa (1993) made the point that those who hold the view that peace is
the opposite of violence gloss over the fact that psychological and structural violence which are
mostly products of ‘social and personal violence arising from unjust, repressive, and oppressive
national or international political and social structures’ are left out (p:3). This kind of peace
according to Galtung (1964:2) is technically referred to as ‘negative peace’. Here, referring to
‘the absence of violence and absence of war’, while positive peace as ‘the integration of human
society’
In spite of the difficulties in forging universal consensus on the concept of peace, globalization
has aggregated three significant values that provide guidance to the pursuit of peace. These are
identified to include: respect for life and human dignity (Harris 1990), universal responsibility
(Reardon 1988; Brenes 1990) and global cooperation (Fischer 1996). These generic indicators
are further placed in perspective when it was noted by Johnson (1976) that peace should be
construed as: a world without war; world justice; and as world order. Johnson’s position
therefore, clearly presupposes that a world that is engulfed by episodic wars, injustice and
disorder cannot be considered peaceful.
499
The importance of global peace is the foundation upon which the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) rest. The interrelated nature of national and international interactions in a
globalized world means that a threat to peace anywhere, is a threat to peace everywhere. This
understanding is further given expression in the 17 Goals of the SDGs. The 17 SDGs are a new
set of goals to target poverty, inequality, injustice hunger, and climate change, provide quality
education, health, clean water, energy and a sanitized environment by 2030. All of these Goals
are predicated on Goal 16 which specifically relates to the promotion of peace, justice and
strong institutions. The understanding here is that without peace, justice and strong institutions,
it will be difficult to achieve the other Development Goals. The lesson from the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) is that conflict prevents many countries from reaching their
development goals on poverty, health and education outcomes. The keywords in Goal 16 are
‘peace, justice and strong institutions’. There seems to be a mutually reinforcing relationship in
this trilogy. Peace from this perspective is contingent on justice and development of strong
institutions. Strong institutions on the flip side are necessary to ensure justice and entrenched
peace. Global peace therefore cannot, from the above understanding be attained in isolation. It
can only be attained through a composite of efforts to curb hunger, poverty, corruption, ensure
equality, provision of quality education and health services, energy, clean water and a sanitized
environment. It also involves managing human actions to reduce harmful practices that may
negatively impact the environment.
Goal 16 specifically relates with such activities that are directed at significantly reducing all
forms of violence and related death rates everywhere, ending abuse, exploitation, trafficking and
all forms of violence against and torture of children, promoting the rule of law at the national
and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all, significantly reducing illicit
financial and arms flows, strengthening the recovery and return of stolen assets and combating
all forms of organized crime, substantially reducing corruption and bribery in all their forms,
developing effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels, ensuring responsive,
inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels, broadening and
strengthening the participation of developing countries in the institutions of global governance,
ensuring public access to information and protecting fundamental freedom, in accordance with
national legislation and international agreements, strengthening relevant national institutions,
including through international cooperation, for building capacity at all levels, in particular in
developing countries, to prevent violence and combat terrorism and crime and promoting and
enforcing non-discriminatory laws and policies for sustainable development. Developments and
the interactions of conflict elements globally, have inadvertently undermined global peace
efforts. In this context therefore, Lama (2009) persuasively declared that “…peace, in the sense
of the absence of war is of little value to someone who is dying of hunger or cold, it will not
remove the pains of torture inflicted on a prisoner of conscience. It does not comfort those who
500
have lost their loved ones. Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where the
people are fed and where individuals and Nations are free”.
Threats to Global Peace

The interactions of conflict elements have contributed to threatening global peace. When poverty
interact with joblessness, hunger, inequality, injustice, xenophobia and racial killings, natural
disaster, nuclear threats, climate change and economic recession, the tendency for attaining
global peace is diminished. Against this backdrop, a few identifiable threats to global peace can
be listed. This range from man-made and threats caused by natural actions. Such threats to peace
at the global level include war, terrorism, racial killings, xenophobia, nuclear threats, global
recession, climate change, natural disaster, migration and the expansionist tendencies of some
major powers.
War
War is perhaps, the most patent threat to global peace. It is often the culmination of the negative
interaction of a plethora of factors. Quest for power, forceful occupation of territories;
proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALWs), marginalization and testing of
nuclear warheads are some of the push factors. It is considered a state of armed conflict between
regular and irregular military forces. Civil wars that were very common especially in the 1990s
were mostly waged between the state and armed guerrillas who are (irregular armies) deviants’
non-actors. It is characterized by aggression, destruction, and mortality. In the contexts of war,
no target is respected in spite of the Articles in the Law of Armed Conflict that stipulates that
certain institutions like hospitals and civilians should not be a target of warfare. It is therefore not
limited to legitimate military targets and has often resulted in massive civilian casualties. Human
nature has been propagated by some scholars as reason for war (Smihula, 2013) others strongly
hold the view that war is a result of the negative interaction of socio-cultural or ecological
circumstances (James and Friedman, 2006). White (2011) declared that the deadliest war in
history, in terms of the cumulative number of deaths since its start, is the Second World War,
from 1939 to 1945, with 60–85 million deaths, followed by the Mongol conquest which was
greater than 41 million. Mongol invasions and conquests which progressed throughout the 13 th
century, culminated in the vast Mongol Empire, which by 1300, occupied much of Asia and
Eastern Europe. It is considered one of the deadliest raids and invasions in human history
(Vincent and Gilbert, 2014, Robert, et al. 2008). War is identified by Smalley (2003) as the sixth
(of ten) biggest problem facing humanity for the next fifty years. War usually results in
significant deterioration of infrastructure and the ecosystem, a decrease in social spending,
famine and large-scale emigration from the war zone. The threats posed by World Wars 1 and
11 still lives with humanity.
501
Another dimension of threats is that occasioned by civil wars that have been waged for various
reasons. Civil wars have a long history and can be clearly categorized. A few examples of civil
wars (List of Civil Wars, 2014) in the various categories include:
Ancient and Medieval period: the First Barons' War (England-1215–1217), Byzantine civil war
(1321-1328), Armagnac-Burgundian Civil War (1407–1435), German Peasants' War (1524–
1525) and Count's Feud (Denmark-1534–1536).
Early Modern (1550–1800): French Wars of Religion (1562–1598); Wars of the Three
Kingdoms (England, Ireland, and Scotland - 1639–1651 involved a number of civil wars);
Monmouth Rebellion (England-May-July 1685); American Revolutionary War (Modern United
States and Canada-1775-1784); Pugachev's Rebellion (Russia- 1773–1775).
Modern (1800–1945): Zulu Civil War (1817–1819); Uruguayan Civil War (1839–1851);
Taiping Rebellion (China-1851–1864); Irish Civil War (1922–1923); Italian Civil War, (1943–
1945).
1945 to 2000: Korean War (1950–1953); Vietnam War (1955–1975); Nigerian Civil War (1967–
1970); First Liberian Civil War (1989–1996); Rwandan Civil War (1990–1993).
Since 2000: First Ivorian Civil War (2002–2007); Iraq War (20 March 2003 – 18 December
2011) Fourth Chadian Civil War (18 December 2005 – 15 January 2010); Libyan Civil War (15
February 2011 – 23 October 2011); Tuareg Rebellion in Mali (16 January 2012 – 6 April 2012).
On-going Civil Wars: Israel-Palestinian conflict (since 1948); Somali Civil War (since 1988);
War in Darfur (since 26 February 2003); Syrian Civil War (since 15 March 2011) South
Sudanese Civil War (since 15 December 2013).
Another perspective of the threat pose by wars but that is often overlooked is the increased
revenue accruing to war entrepreneurs. War entrepreneurs are those who benefit from war
through especially the manufacturing and sales of weapons. The Global peace process is
threatened by these ‘spoilers’ who still have the technology to manufacture and circular weapons
of warfare (Obi, 2018b). The threat pose by nuclear technology by North Korea, America’s
deployment/sales of arms to conflict zones (which in some instances are created by them) are all
pointers in this direction. This category of people hugely benefit from war through sales of arms
and admonition as well as provision of mercenary services. It is therefore, difficult to ensure
global peace in a context where the residue of unresolved grievances interacts freely with war
entrepreneurs.
502
Terrorism
The waves of democracy have been greeted with terror since 9/11. Several reasons have often
been adduced for these acts ranging from perceived marginalization (of minorities from
mainstream politics and governance) to injustice and alleged negative influence of western
education. Opposition to different strand of perceived injustice has been registered through
intermittent but consistent bombings, shootings, hostage taking and the most worrisome, children
(female) suicide bombers. Terrorism has become one of the greatest threats to global peace
because act of terror may have happened in Iraq, but its impact on the global peace process is felt
globally. Unfortunately, there is no continent of the World that has not directly been threatened
by acts of terrorism. A few of these terror organisations can be listed.
Al-Qaeda leads the pack of the ten deadliest (Rikarnob, 2015) terrorist organisations in the
World. Others are identified to include: the Taliban, Lashkar-E-Toiba, Tehrik-I-Taliban, ISIS,
Hezbollah, FARC, Naxal/Naxalites and the Iris Republican Army. On the African continent a
few groups including Al-Qaeda in Sinai Peninsula, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Muslim
Brotherhood, Al-Shabaab (militant group), Armed Islamic Group of Algeria and Ansaru and
Boko Haram in Nigeria have been named. These groups and others not listed have carried out
terror attacks that have threatened and continue to threaten global peace. Some of these attacks
are recorded in such places like Jalalabad (Afghanistan), Beit El (West Bank), Ouagadougou
(Burkina), Bodo (Cameroon), Arish Sinai (Egypt), Paris (France), Jakarta (Indonesia), Baghdad
(Iraq) Tripoli (Libya), Dalori (Nigeria), Quetta (Pakistan), Mogadishu (Somalia), Tanum
(Sweden), Aleppo (Syria), Istanbul (Turkey), Philadelphia (United States) and Aden (Yemen).
The most potent threat to global peace from the perspective of terrorism is the emerging
phenomenon of ‘child and female suicide bombers’. This means that mental poisoning and
indoctrination has been deployed by terror groups to instil hate in the minds of children to the
extent of laying down their lives. From this perspective, terror has become generational and a
way of life to some people.
Nuclear Threat
This is one potent threat to global peace that cannot be overlooked. The accumulation of nuclear
war-heads by countries as a strategy of deterrence is indicative of a possible deployment when
the context is right. The impact of nuclear weapons such as the uranium gun-type device-code
name "Little Boy" that was detonated by the United States near the end of World War II on
August 6, 1945 over the Japanese city of Hiroshima is still felt more than half a century after.
Today, nine countries together possess more than 16,000 (Nuclear Age, 2015) nuclear weapons.
The United States and Russia maintain roughly 1,800 of their nuclear weapons on high-alert
status – ready to be launched within minutes of a warning. Most of these nuclear heads are many
times more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped on Japan in 1945. This threat is further
compounded by the illicit activities of North Korea, Iran and Syria who are covertly pursuing
503
nuclear weapons capabilities. In the post-9/11 world, the potential for catastrophic nuclear
terrorism is also a serious threat.
Climate Change
The actions of man have continued to impact the environment, exposing it to various degrees of
threats and vulnerability. This vulnerability is occasioned by indiscriminate deforestation and the
carbon pollution which freely interacts with other factors in the environment to deplete the ozone
layer. The global effect of this change is that the environment is exposed to stronger winds like
stronger hurricanes and severe heat waves all contributing to threatening human security and
global peace. It poses fundamental threat to places, species and people’s livelihoods. Climate
change has often resulted in avalanches and mudslides, earthquakes, sinkholes, volcanic
eruptions, floods, limnic eruptions, tsunamis, typhoons and blizzards. Natural disasters are part
of the reasons for migration that has led to lose of lives of the migrants and have often put
pressure on existing resources of the host community.
Some of these climate change induced disasters are so severe that there can and have threatened
people’s livelihood. The Indian earthquake that happened in December 2004 for instance is said
to have lasted for only 10 seconds, but it caused a tsunami that killed 200,000 to 310,000 people
along the shores of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, South India, and Thailand with one death even
occurring at Port Elizabeth in South Africa, 8,000 miles away from the epicentre (Josef, 2013).
Others are Hurricane Katrina (2005), Pakistan Earthquake (2005), Cyclone Nargis (2008) and
Haiti Earthquake (2010). As part of the strategy of tackling climate related issues, Goal 13 of the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) calls the attention of concerned citizens to promote
responsible climate actions.
Xenophobia and Racial killings

War, terrorism, climate change, natural disasters are all part of the reasons for migration. Yet,
migrants (foreigners) are treated with utter disregard for life/human rights. Xenophobia and
racial killings leads the pack in the identifiable threats to global peace through threatening
mutual coexistent. Foreigners are often accused of spreading diseases, stealing jobs and sponging
off basic government services like electricity, running water and healthcare (Khadija and Azad
(n.d). In this context, suspicion is resuscitated and every foreigner becomes a suspect and
vulnerable to attack. Consensus is forming around the evidence that South Africa tops the list of
countries where xenophobia has resulted in the death of several people. Racial killings on the flip
side, account for ninety-six deaths since the death of Stephen Lawrence in 1993(Institute of Race
Relations, 2012). The major challenge to global threat in the context of xenophobia and racial
killings is the associated suspicion that would rarely allow for mutual peaceful coexistence.
504
Expansionist tendencies of some major World Powers

Over the years, the multitudinous desire to conquer and occupy more and more territories has
patently remained unchecked thereby, accounting for threats associated with the quest for self-
determination. Every opportunity that each sovereign nation state gets to encompass and enlarge
its borders, it grabs it as soon as possible. The Middle East crisis is a glaring example of this
form of territory expansion by the United States interest in the region. The acute distrust of
parties in conflict over a territory to settle for an accord that will delegitimize the claim of the
other is the reason behind the perpetual war. Entire towns and cities have often been devastated
and in most cases hordes of civilians killed over the vaulting quest for territorial expansion.
Other potent example is the Kashmir dispute, which has defied attempts at settlement. Territorial
disputes therefore, maybe one of the major reasons for a probable world war. The activities of
the United States in the Middle East, Iraq and Syria for instance, have only succeeded in
expanding the ‘axis of evil’ and entrenching a reason for a perpetual war. Irredentist activities of
those who will wage wars to reclaim lands alleged to be unjustly taken will further deepen
threats to global peace.
Resources
Resources are generally in short supply and even some that are renewable may not regenerate
within the human time framework. In the absence of very many alternate sources of energy such
as hydroelectricity, wind and most recently nuclear, it is possible that the lack of the same
resources may result in conflicts hence threatening global peace. Given that the most powerful
nations in terms of economy may get the most shares in this contestation, there is no guarantee
that this discrimination in distribution will be let off without much protest. The contest for
limited resources may be a major threat to global peace. Other possible treats to peace from the
global perspective may include diseases and threats occasioned by contest over food and water
resources.
Threats to National Peace

Some of the threats to global peace as identified above also affect the national context. A few
salient ones that are unique to Nigeria are briefly highlighted here to include:
Unemployment
Unemployment is considered a major threat to peace in Nigeria. The teeming population of
unemployed youths coupled with the recession that has made some organizations to either shut
down services or retrench their staff has made this army of unemployed a potent threat to peace.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) declared that in Q2 2016, the “labour force population
(i.e. those within the working age population willing, able and actively looking for work)
increased to 79.9 million from 78.5 million in Q1 2016, representing an increase of 1.78% in the
labour force during the quarter. This means 1.39 million persons from the economically active
505
population entered the labour force that is, individuals that were able, willing and actively
looking for work”. It is appropriate to think that these unemployed youths in a context where
jobs are relatively scarce may want to create jobs for themselves by engaging in unconventional
activities that may further threaten global peace.
Poverty
There is a relationship between unemployment and poverty. This relationship fits into the
perception that unemployment deepens poverty and predisposes the unemployed to various
degrees of vulnerabilities. The tendency for the services of the unemployed to be enlisted by
conflict entrepreneurs is not unlikely (Obi, 2018a). Peace is threatened whenever this happens.
According Nwabughiogu (2015) quoting Nigeria’s Vice President, Yemi Osibanjo declared that
about 110 million Nigerians were still living below poverty line despite the policies of past
governments to improve their welfare. This point was further reinforced by Opejobi (2016) when
it was mentioned that a United Nations, report on Nigeria’s Common Country Analysis (CCA)
described Nigeria as one of the poorest and unequal country in the world, with over 80m of her
population living below poverty line (62.6%). It further notes that poverty and hunger have
remained high in rural areas, remote communities and among female –headed households and
these cut across the six geo-political zones, with prevalence ranging from approximately 46.9
percent in the South West to 74.3 percent in North West and North East. It also declared that
youth unemployment of 42% in 2016 is very high, creating poverty, helplessness, despair and
easy target for crime and terrorism. Over 10 million children of school age are out of schools
with no knowledge and skills. This background is indicative of a country that is inadvertently
sitting on a keg of gun powder.
Terrorism/Militancy
Unresolved grievances occasioned by alleged acts of injustice have predisposed the Nigerian
state to consistent threats. The activities of Boko Haram in the north east, Indigenous People of
Biafra (IPOB) in the South east, Niger Delta Avengers in the south-south clearly point to the
interaction of conflict elements that threatens peace. According to Ukpong (2015), Nigeria was
rated the third most terrorized countries in the World with the total number of people killed in
Nigeria by terrorist attack in 2014 at 6,118, compared to the 1,595 killed in 2013. Perpetrators of
acts of terror and militancy have frequently pitched their explanation around allegations of
marginalization, unjust distribution of resources, undue and corrupting influence of western
education and inequitable development. These allegations whether there are real or imaginary,
are yet to be fully investigated and addressed. This explains why there are pockets of terror and
militant attacks across Nigeria (Simbine and Obi, 2018). Attempts at peaceful coexistence and
the desire to settle and work in any part of the country have been threatened and limited by acts
of terror and militancy (Obi, 2018).
506
Elections
Election is another threat to national peace. This is because during elections, political actors
(candidates, supporters and parties) are pitched against one another (Obi, 2017). In this win-lose
context, it is only possible for one person to win and be declared winner. In order to secure
victory, candidates resort to all sort of strategies (legal and illegal) including assassination of
opponents, propaganda based on hate speeches and recruitment of hoodlums to intimidate voters
and electoral officers as well as connive with some electoral officials to stuff ballot boxes and in
extreme cases, snatch such boxes. The processes of reclaiming stolen electoral victory is often
too long, expensive and threatening and Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanism (ADR) is yet
to be fully embraced in dealing with most cases of electoral frauds. Political assassinations of
political actors are hardly conclusively investigated. These unresolved grievances are Early
Warning Signs that national peace can hardly be attained.
Corruption
The dictum ‘if you fight corruption, corruption will fight back’ suggests that war on corruption if
not properly conducted can actually threaten the process of governance. The reports of
Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) aptly capture global
perceptions of corruption in Nigeria. Nigeria for instance, was ranked 90 th of the 90 countries
that were ranked in 2000 by TI on Corruption Index. Based on this survey, Nigeria was the most
corrupt country in the world. It was ranked 90th out of 91 countries in 2001, in 2002, Nigeria was
ranked 101th out of 102 countries surveyed based on CPI, same rank in 2003, 144 out of 146 in
2004; 150 out of 158 in 2005; 142 out of 163 in 2006; 147 out of 180 in 2007; 139 out of 176 in
2012; 144 out of 177 in 2013; 136 out of 134 in 2014; 136 out of 168 in 2015. This negative
corruption perception has been sustained because our common wealth is in the hands of a few
people at the expense of developing and sustaining infrastructure. A clear case of threat to peace
could be seen in a context where groups based on religious and ethnic affiliation would threaten
to make the country ungovernable by attacking critical installations if one of theirs is probed
(Obi, 2018). Primitive cleavages of this kind further expose the country to threats by highlighting
the link between corruption and threat to peace.
Herders Conflict
This is an emerging threat to peace that has not been accorded commensurate seriousness. From
the north to the south, there have been pockets of attacks on farmers by people alleged to be
Fulani herdsmen. There are however, contending positions as to whether or not the herdsmen are
Fulani’s. Some hold the view that even though nomadic agriculture is associated with the
Fulani’s, Yoruba’s and a few others have recently been involved in cattle rearing. Whether the
herdsmen are foreigners as some school have alleged, it is better to err on the side of caution by
referring to the attackers as ‘herdsmen’. These attacks have been allowed to go uninvestigated
and where attempts are made, no recommendations leading to the prosecution of culpable actors
507
have been initiated. The grievances of those who have lost love ones have been allowed to fester
and potentially becoming a reason for implosion against herdsmen in the future. The National
Grazing Reserve Bill before the national Assembly has seemingly pitched one region against
another in what may exponentially result in overt altercation. From Kaduna, through Benue to
Ogun States, the graffiti left behind by herdsmen attacks clearly suggest that peace can hardly be
guaranteed in the future.
Religious Intolerance
This is a potent threat to peace in Nigeria. Political actors and religious zealots have often
manipulated religion to wage war against the country as a means of advancing their personal
goals. A few of these religious related conflicts could be cited. The 1980s witnessed a few
volatile crises including the Maitatsine crisis, Kafanchan in southern Kaduna, Kaduna riots
(2002), Jos riots (2001), Miss World riots (2002), Jos riots (2008) and Jos riots (2010). Issues
bordering on religion are often very sensitive and actors are quick in exploring it at any point in
time. The ‘we’ and ‘them’ syndrome has only succeeded in further deepening the divide and
intolerance between one religion and the other (Obi, 2015).
Communal Clashes
Nigeria has been, and is still threatened by communal clashes. These are clashes occasioned by
contest over farmland or other related resources. Records of such clashes are found in almost all
the states of the country. In particular, the Middle Belt states of Benue, Taraba and Plateau.
These clashes that are also as a result of poorly demarcated boundaries, will continue to threaten
peace in Nigeria
Concluding Remarks
Peace is a global commodity that is desired by all but often bought with different currencies.
These currencies represent strategies adopted by people and nations in the quest for peace.
History is replete with instances of war of conquests and independence for the purpose of
attaining peace. History is also replete with examples in which after war of conquests and
independence, such conquered and independent territories are further plunged into wars and acts
that threatens the very essence of the struggle. A recent case in point is South Sudan. This study
has advanced an argument that when elements like war, terrorism, nuclear weapons proliferation,
unhealthy climate actions, xenophobia and racial killings including the expansionist tendencies
of some world powers, unemployment, poverty, insensitive election programming, corruption,
religious intolerance, grazing issues and communal clashes interact with the environment, global
peace would hardly be attained. In most or all of the instances that have informed the interactions
of conflict elements with the contexts, underlying conflict (remote and immediate) issues are
hardly addressed. Global peace will continuously be threatened because remote and immediate
causes that have sustained the threats against it have remained principally unaltered.
508
At the global level, the United Nations system would have to reactivate and implement all
existing international instruments that will facilitate good governance. Another strategy that is
considered appropriate in whittling the effect of the interaction of conflict elements within the
global context is mainstreaming peace education in global education curricula. This incorporates
developing and moulding the minds of pupils’ in their formative years in nursery and primary
schools through secondary and tertiary education. The nucleus of the peace education curricula
should be designed to revolve around stereotypes and peaceful coexistence. In addition to the
above, is mainstreaming conflict sensitivity in all areas of human endeavours, from development
interventions to government and even the family. This also integrates conflict sensitive election
programming especially in the contest of the fact that election and its processes have some
conflict inducing elements. This will involve expanding the space for participation by ensuring
the inclusion of all actors including people with special needs. Putting in place transparent and
credible complaint mechanisms may help stem the tides of electoral violence hence stemming
the tides of associated threats to global peace.
Deliberate and feasible strategies to create jobs should be put in place to redirect conflict
energies of unemployed youths into more productive ventures. This will reduce poverty,
strengthen self-reliance and contribute to economic development. Threats associated with
religious intolerance can be stemmed if Pastors or Imams can be made to implement what this
study would like to refer to as ‘Change of Altar’. This means that for anybody to be qualified to
practice as a pastor or Imam, such must undergo training in a religion other than his/her
traditional religion i.e. a pastor would have to undergo training in Islamic studies and Imam in
Christian religious studies. This is to enable the pastor during ‘Change of Altar’ to preach to
Muslims in the mosque and Imam in the church. This may go a long way to blunt the sharp edges
of religious intolerance. The fight against corruption and terrorism should not be selective; to do
otherwise is to further threaten global peace.
References
Albert, Isaac Olawale (2008). “Understanding Peace in Africa” In David, J. Francis (ed) Peace
and Conflict in Africa. London. ZED Books.
Assefa, H. (1993). Peace and Reconciliation as a Paradigm: A philosophy of peace and its
implications on conflict, governance, and economic growth in Africa, Nairobi: Nairobi
Peace Initiatives.
Brenes, A. (1990). ‘Educating for universal responsibility’, Peace Review, spring.
Lama, Dalai, (2009). The concept of Peace. Accessed 29 July 2009 at:
www.wisdomquotes.com/cat_peace.htlm.
Fischer, D. (1996). ‘A global peace service’, Peace Review, 8.
Galtung, J. (1964). ‘Editorial’, Journal of Peace Research, 1(1): 1–4.
Global Peace Index (2016). Report and Highlights. Global Peace Index 2016. Accessed 13th
September 2016 at: http://www.visionofhumanity.org/#/page/indexes/global-peace-index
509
Harris, I. M. (1990). ‘The goals of peace education’, Peace Review, Spring.

Institute of Race Relations (2012). 96 murders since Stephen Lawrence’s. Accessed at:
http://www.irr.org.uk/news/96-murders-since-stephen-lawrences/
Josef (2013). 25 Worst Natural Disasters Ever Recorded. Accessed at: https://list25.com/25-
worst-natural-disasters-recorded/
Khadija Patel and Azad Essa (n.d). No Place like Home. Accessed at:
https://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/2015/xenophobiasouthafrica/
James, Paul, Friedman, Jonathan (2006). “Globalization and Violence”, Globalizing War and
Intervention. Vol. 3. London: Sage Publications.
Johnson, G. L. (1976). ‘Conflicting concepts of peace in contemporary peace studies’,
International Studies, 4(2).
List of Civil Wars (2014). Accessed at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_civil_wars
National Bureau of Statistics (2016). Unemployment/Underemployment Report Q2 2016
Nuclear Age (2015). Nuclear Weapons. Accessed at:https://www.economist.com/leaders/2015/0
3/05/the-new-nuclear-age
Nwabughiogu, Levinus (2015). “Over 100m Nigerians living below poverty line – Osinbajo”
Vanguard. Accessed at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/08/over-1-million-nigerians-
living-below-poverty-line-osinbajo/ on September 24th 2016.
Obi, Ndifon Neji and Sovereign Felix Nyong (2018). “Rethinking Civil Society Participation in
the Implementation of the UN Convention against Corruption in Nigeria” Journal of
Economics and Sustainable Development ISSN 2222-1700 (Paper) ISSN 2222-2855
(Online). Vol.9, No.16.
Obi, Ndifon Neji (2018). “Domestic Terrorism and Inter-Group Relations in Nigeria”. Veritas
Journal of Religious Studies (A Biannual Publication). Abuja, Veritas University. Maiden
Edition. Vol. 1, No. 1. Pp. 66-80
Obi, Ndifon Neji (2018a). “Election, Security and Development: Interrogating the Interface”
PACEM Journal of Peace and Development. Abuja, Centre for Peace and Development,
Veritas University. Vol. 1. No. 1 June. Pp.1-12.
Obi, Ndifon Neji (2018b). “Threats to Peace and Security in the Republic of Guinea”. Journal of
Peace, Security and Development. Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies, University of
Ilorin, Nigeria. Ilorin, UniIlorin Press Vol. 4, No. 1, 2018. Pp.175-190
Obi, Ndifon Neji (2017). “Youth involvement in cultism and its implication for leadership in
Cross River Central Senatorial District”. Guest lecture delivered on the occasion of the
Cross River State Peace and Security Summit, Ikom.
Obi, Ndifon Neji (2015). Domestic Terrorism: Rethinking the role of Islam in the emerging
Boko Haram Phenomenon in Nigeria. Scholarly Journal of Scientific Research and Essay
(SJSRE) Vol. 4(3), pp. 47 -57.
Opejobi, Seun (2016). “Nigeria one of the poorest countries in the world, over 80m living below
poverty line – UN report” Daily Post September 5. Accessed at:
http://dailypost.ng/2016/09/05/nigeria-one-poorest-countries-world-80m-living-poverty-
line-un-report/
Reardon, B. (1988). Comprehensive Education: Educating for global responsibility, New York:
Teachers College Press.
510
View publication stats

Rikarnob, Bhattacharyya (2015). Top 10 Most Dangerous Terrorist Organizations in the World.
Accessed at: https://listovative.com/top-10-most-dangerous-terrorist-organizations-in-the-
world/
Robert Tignor et al (2008). Worlds Together, Worlds Apart A History of the World: From the
Beginnings of Humankind to the Present (2nd ed. 2008) ch 11 pp 472-75
Simbine, A. T. and Obi, N. Neji (2018). The Niger Delta Crisis: Perspectives of Its Domino
Effect on the Gulf of Guinea (GoG). Journal of Political Science and Leadership
Research ISSN 2504-8821 Vol. 4 No. 2.
Smalley, Richard E. (2003). "Top Ten Problems of Humanity for Next 50 Years", Energy &
Nanotechnology Conference, Rice University, May 3.
Smihula, Daniel (2013). The Use of Force in International Relations, p. 67, ISBN 978-80-224-
1341-1.
Transparency International (2015). Corruption Perceptions Index
Ukpong, Cletus (2015). “Nigeria now third most terrorized country in the world – Report”
Premium Times
Vincent Barras and Gilbert Greub (2014). "History of biological warfare and bioterrorism" In
Clinical Microbiology and Infection (2014) Pp. 497-502.;
White, Matthew (2011). “The Great Big Book of Horrible Things: The Definitive Chronicle of
History's 100 Worst Atrocities”. The Cambridge History of China: Alien regimes and
Border States, 907–1368, p.622.
511

Examining Threatsto Global Peaceinthe 21 ST Century

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Examining Threatsto Global Peaceinthe 21 ST Century

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

Examining Threats to Global Peace in the 21st Century

Chapter · July 2019

Ndifon Neji Obi

Essays in Honour of Professor Isaac Olawale Albert View project

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

EXAMINING THREATS TO GLOBAL PEACE IN THE 21 ST CENTURY

OBI, NDIFON NEJI, PhD

Providing conceptual clarity

Threats to Global Peace

Xenophobia and Racial killings

Expansionist tendencies of some major World Powers

Threats to National Peace

Harris, I. M. (1990). ‘The goals of peace education’, Peace Review, Spring.

How to cite this paper:

You might also like