CULTURE, TOURISM AND PEACE BUILDING IN NIGERIA

OLUWANIYI, O. Oluwatoyin, PhD

Department of History and International Relations College of HumanitiesRedeemer’s University, Ede Osun State

And

CHIDOZIE, Felix, PhDDepartment of Political Science and International RelationsCollege of Development Studies Covenant University, OtaOgun State

AbstractThis paper examines the dialectical relationship between culture, tourism and the building of peace architecture in the Nigerian state. The role of culture and tourism in achieving peace and consequently, development in multi-ethnic, multi-lingua and multi-religious societies cannot be over-emphasised. While culture is the way of life, which people have fashioned out for themselves as a dynamic outcome of a society’s struggle to harness the resources of its environment, it is a platform for promoting tourist attractions, which in the final analysis, help foster co-existence, peace and development in the state. However, the lack of knowledge of this relationship, has foisted conflicts of immense proportions among various ethnic groups in Nigeria, including ethnic rivalry, ethno-religious crises, sectarian violence and terrorist activities. Based on content analysis and review, this paper draws attention to the imperatives of a culture-centred tourism strategy of enduring peace, which contributes and facilitates national development. It draws successful examples from country cases where culture and tourism have helped in engendering peace, and their implications for the Nigerian state. It concludes by arguing that without peace in a country, the possibility of development is unimaginable.

Introduction

In many developing countries, tourism has not only become an integral part of national development

strategies, but also has emerged as an increasingly important sector of the economy, providing a vital

source of employment, income and foreign exchange as well as a potential means of redistributing wealth

from the richer nations to the world. According to the 2001 UN Conference on Trade and Development1,

“tourism development appears to be one of the most valuable avenues for reducing the marginalization of

LDCs from the global economy.” Tourism represents 3-5% of the GDP, jobs and investment in

industrialized countries, and up to 30% in developing countries. One immediate fall out of these

observations is that tourism is one of the most important industries in global economy; broadly

servicing other sectors either directly or indirectly.2

This assertion does not suggest that tourism does not have its own challenges. Not only is

tourism highly susceptible to external forces and events but many countries have become

increasingly dependent on tourism as an economic sector, which remains dominated by wealthier

nations. Moreover, the political, economic and social structures within developing countries

frequently restrict the extent to which the benefits of tourism development are realized.

However, these challenges do not undermine the potentials of tourism. As an export, it represents

a significant source of foreign exchange earnings. It is also widely considered as a labour-

intensive industry, and hence an effective source (direct or indirect) of employment in

destination areas, and to cap the potentials, tourism brings together cultures from around the

world.3 Cultural attractions and historic monuments are part of the attraction in many developing

countries. Cultural attractions generate tourism flows and thereby present opportunities for locals

to interact with and generate income from the tourists. Festivals, souvenirs, traditional dances

and local food are all part of the attraction.

Culture, in this sense, is known to have direct bearing on sustainable peace and development.

Globally, cultural heritages in most cases, have served as memorable and attractive tourist sites.

Apart from encouraging domestic tourism among various ethnic groups in those countries,

culture has also influenced international tourism and consequently, increased foreign revenues to

the state, which culminates in development. In fact, in most developing countries, it is the only

viable means of stimulating development. There is a desire to portray and celebrate ethnicity

through commodification since it engenders job security and hence economic prosperity. The

commodification of culture is viewed as imperative and positive mechanism in the pursuit of

sustainable development, as it is seen as inseparable from economic development. Most

importantly, it fosters peace and stability in the system4. From this foregoing, it is quite glaring

that in whatever form one may perceive culture in relation to tourism, its potential in securing

peace and security in post-conflict situations is strong.

However, civil unrest, civil wars, ethno-religious, communal conflicts, sectarian violence and

more recently, terrorism have resulted in the destruction of human lives and property. Sometimes

in the contest for economic or political (or both) power, the ethnic, religious, and regional

features of the country are exploited by the various political groups and elites to serve their

selfish interests. In other cases, these conflicts have created hatred, deep division and

polarization of the polity and widespread use of violence, which invariably leads to deaths,

displacement of people and economic disruption. While civil unrest or conflict is more confined

to specific destinations and the frequency is quite low, terrorism has evolved into a major global

concern for the tourism industry, tourists and hosting communities5. Regrettably, while

prominence is given to peace for the sustenance of tourism in countries, post-conflict

peacebuilding strategies always sideline or totally ignore the potentials of tourism, mostly,

domestic, in addressing some of the inter-ethnic, regional and religious crises. In other words,

strong connections about how tourism can actually engender peace have not been fully explored.

Therefore, this article explores and draws inferences from best practices of how cultural and

natural resources in various communities have been explored to configure tourist centres of

shared interests among various cultural or ethnic groups in social terms.

Against this backdrop, this article is divided into four sections. Besides the introduction, this

article explores the linkage between culture, tourism and peace-building to show the relevance of

culture in the construction of sustainable tourism for peace and security in Nigeria’s deeply

divided society. The second section investigates ethnic conflicts in Nigeria and their

consequences. While the third section draws examples of global best practices, to show the

potency of tourism in post-conflict contexts as well as how Nigeria can benefit from its abundant

resources. The fourth section summarises the issues and recommend ways of achieving

sustainable peace in ethnically divided areas in Nigeria through tourism.

Conceptualizing Culture, Tourism and Peace Building

A myriad of clichés, phrases and references have been used to describe culture in contemporary

literature such as ‘popular culture’; ‘high culture’; ‘national culture’; ‘youth culture’; ‘consumer

culture’; ‘global culture’; ‘multicultural’; and ‘cultural clash’ to mention but a few.6 To this end,

it is not easy to pin down culture with a precise and singular definition. This probably explains

why Williams described culture as “one of the two or three most complicated words in English

language”.7

The elusive nature of the concept of culture is perhaps best reflected in the fact that it has a long

history, and this is indicated in the variety of ways the term has been defined and used across

various disciplines, ranging from literary studies to anthropology and sociology. Many of the

everyday ways in which the word is used suggests this history and diversity, often incorporating

bits and pieces of several different definitions or historical usages. Hence, it is valid to say that

culture is ubiquitous, complex and all-pervasive and has had multiple meanings in different

disciplines and different contexts.8

According to Triands, culture is a set of human made objectives and subjective elements that in

the past have increased the probability of survival and resulted in satisfaction for the participants

in an ecological niche, and thus became shared among those who could communicate with each

other because they had a common language and they lived in the same place.9 This definition

includes what Samovar et al call the “subjective elements of culture” – elements such as values,

attitudes, beliefs, orientations, and underlying assumptions prevalent among people in a society.10

Similarly, culture has been perceived by Keesing as a system of socially transmitted behaviour

patterns that serve to relate human communities to their ecological settings.11 According to him,

these ways- of- life- of –communities include technologies and modes of economic organization,

settlements patterns, modes of social grouping and political organization, as well as religious

beliefs and practices. Writings aptly capture these “forms” of relationships within cultural

settings in this manner:

A society’s culture consists of whatever it is one has to know or believe in order to operate in a manner acceptable to its members. Culture is not a material phenomenon; it does not consist of things, people, behaviour, or emotions. It is rather an organization of these things. It is the form of things that people have in mind, their models for perceiving, relating and otherwise interpreting them... hence, culture consists of standards for deciding what is, what can be, what one feels about it, what to do about it, and how to go about doing it.12

Culture is a way of life of the people. It comprises the philosophies, norms, values, languages,

dressing, etc of a group of individuals. To this end, culture is that complex whole which includes

knowledge, beliefs, art, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a

member of society.13 It is pertinent to note that change in culture can either be the one that is

consciously and deliberately tolerated by the carriers of a culture or the one that unconsciously

imposed itself on the culture and the carriers of the culture unsuspectingly. Thus Daramola

argues that culture could be seen as a stable phenomenon; that is, culture does not change

wholesale and overnight.14 In other words, cultural change is a gradual process, which allows

threads of continuity to run through it. He concluded that change in culture could therefore be

considered against a background of stability. Most times, cultures are recognised and preserved

through tourism whereby both non-tribal members and foreigners can explore and appreciate

their existence. In fact, culture has been the major driver of tourism in destination countries.

However, tourism as a subject area, until recently, was not considered worthy of serious

academic study.15 Even now, the subject area is bedevilled by conceptual weakness and

fuzziness, encompassing a number of diverse industrial sectors and academic subjects, raising

the question as to whether or not tourism is, in fact, too diverse and chaotic to merit separate

consideration as a subject or economic sector.16 Though the industry may be susceptible to

periods of recession and more fundamentally terror attacks, it has the ability to create

employment for both skilled and unskilled workers, and create source of foreign revenue to the

governments at all strata. Furthermore, it serves as a mechanism for protecting natural

environment, preserving historical, archaeological and religious monuments; and stimulating the

practice of local cultures, folklores, traditions, art and crafts, and cuisine.17 Lastly, a major

impact of tourism is its building of a strong platform upon which peace can be negotiated. In

other words, if well designed and implemented, it contributes to peacebuilding in the aftermath

of conflict in societies. The connecting link between tourism and peacebuilding can only be

appreciated when peacebuilding is conceptualized.

The concept of peace-building was introduced by the former United Nations Secretary-General,

Boutros Boutros-Ghali as “action to identify and support structures which will tend to strengthen

and solidify peace in order to avoid relapse into conflict.”18 Peacebuilding aims at rebuilding the

institutions and infrastructures of nations torn by civil war and strife; and building bonds of

peaceful mutual benefit among nations formerly at war.”19 Since its inception, practitioners,

scholars, international and regional organizations, and states have attempted to better identify

what institutionalizes peace after conflict and what the critical ingredients and steps likely to

further that goal are. Peacebuilding is to enhance the security of people’s livelihoods while

promoting sustainable resource use and better environmental governance.20 Similarly, Lederach

contends that the concept of peace-building ought to be understood as a comprehensive concept

that covers, generates and sustains the full array of process and approaches and stages needed to

transform conflicts towards more sustainable, peaceful relationship. He stresses that the term

thus, refers to a wide range of activities that both precedes and follows formal peace

agreements.21

To Barnett et al, peace-building is perceived as external interventions that are designed to

prevent the eruption or return of armed conflict.”22 But going by the peacebuilding institutional

structures and implementation laid down in the post-Niger Delta crisis, peacebuilding could also

be purely internally-driven and still be successful, depending on the approaches, goals of and

commitment to the process. Peacebuilding could focus on the production of stability and security

in the early days of a peace agreement’s implementation or on building vibrant civil societies and

furthering development, democracy, justice and the rule of law, poverty reduction, reconciliation

and economic recovery.

However, regardless of the nature of the peacebuilding process, there exists prevailing

international mandate that must be respected. In a similar vein, Milner, while recognizing the

importance of peace-building in post-conflict reconstruction, especially since the early 1990s,

however, identifies numerous gaps in the conceptual and practical understanding of the concept

by different agencies concerned. One of the gaps is the lack of coordination of all peacebuilding

strategies such as the security, political, economic, justice, and reconciliation needs of a country

emerging from conflict by a single international body. He, therefore, canvasses for a stronger

leadership and institutional coherence required to ensure that peace-building is more effectively

and systematically undertaken by post-war states.23 Another gap that may exist strongly is the

possibility of some countries sliding back into conflict if the process is not well handled.24

In this light, peace-building becomes a dynamic process with the twin objectives of consolidating

peace (building positive peace) and averting a relapse into conflict (preserving negative peace)

depending on the underlined variable factors. It can be submitted therefore, that peace-building is

a dynamic approach to managing armed or violent conflict in all spheres.

From the above distinct categorizations of the concepts of culture, tourism and peace-building, it

is apparent that a link can be established. For instance, Sofowote advances25 the concept of the

‘culture of peace’ to mean the state of being in which societies attain harmony and development

in co-existence and interaction, and individuals experience in their environment and generate

into it, further waves of goodwill and progress. In essence, the ‘culture of peace’ is an absolute

pre-requisite for societal stability, civilization and progress.

In the same vein, Jimenez and Kloeze 26 postulate the ‘peace through touroposition which stands

on the belief that cultural understanding can promote attitudinal change and thus facilitate peace.

It is believed that tourism is the most vital channel through which this condition of peace can be

achieved. In other words, it is generally understood that tourism works at the track two

diplomacy level, creating the opportunity for tourists (who undertake local/international travels)

to get first-hand experiences from culturally different hosts, and become aware of their

personalities, beliefs, aspirations, culture, political inclinations and life perspectives.27 Thus, it

can be submitted that, tourism, largely acknowledged as a ‘peace industry’ is a means to promote

intercultural understanding. Despite the pockets of conflicts that have been prosecuted in

Nigeria, government’s efforts in building tourist attractions and sites have not been geared

towards facilitating peacebuilding. Rather, the focus has tilted towards revenue making at the

expense of the peace architecture. From 1976 when the military government established the

Nigeria Tourism Board (NTB) through Decree 54 till date, Nigeria has invested in tourism as a

formal recognition of its potential economic activity. It was purely aimed at positively impacting

the lives and living conditions of the local people. Some of the tourist programmes revolve

around wildlife conservation, museum and archaeological site preservation, and the development

of accommodations and other facilities in areas of outstanding aesthetics. Some of them include

Yankari Games Reserve, Bauchi; Kainiji National Park; Old Oyo National Park; Okomu

National Park; Cross River National Park; Owu Water Falls; Awhum Waterfall, Kogi; Ogbagada

Waterfall; Owu Waterfall, Ondo State; Asspo Falls; Ikogosi Warmspring; Wikki Warmspring;

Ihuneke Lake; Ihu-Ogba Cave28; New Yam festivals; Argungun festival and . Apart from their

economic benefits, none has been designed to bring various cultures together in order to

appreciate their unique resources and interact positively in ways that would guarantee peace and

security among the various ethnic groups, except for a few of them such as Argungun festival in

Kebbi state and Ofala festival in Anambra State, which were borne out of the need to bring

fighting groups together. However, in recent times, the festivals have lost their essence. It is

imperative to show the relevance of cultural heritages and resources should bring communities

together in a more peaceful coexistence. All the resources destroyed during conflict can be

developed as domestic tourism as a way of acquainting citizens with other cultures in the country

and build appreciation for the homeland. This paper is concerned with the potential of

multiculturalism to constitute such a policy response.

Nigeria’s Conflicts and the Ethnic Dimension

Towards the end of the twentieth century, the postmodernist Francis Fukuyama published his

famous thesis called ‘The End of History’29. Fukuyama predicted that with the end of the historic

battle called the Cold War, a new “posthistory” would develop, that democracy had triumphed,

and that war as we had understood it had come to an end. However, he predicted that while the

posthistory would be a time of nostalgia, it would not be a time of tranquility. Instead he

predicted boredom fuelled by lack of major conflict would “continue to fuel competition and

conflict even in the posthistorical world for sometime to come”.30 True to his statement, several

ethnic conflicts became glaring. In the Balkan wars, there was the slaughter of Serbians by

Albanians, an age-long conflict animated by a centuries-old reciprocal hatred, with good and evil

cutting across both communities.

In Africa, the period of the publication of the “The End of History” also coincided with the era of

conflicts in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Cote d’Ivoire to mention but a few. In other

words, in this post-history, wars are no longer fought against nations but rather on a new

battlefield-the centre of civilian leisure life. Therefore, civilians are not victims of what the

military often calls friendly fire or collateral damage. Rather, they are now the specific intended

targets. Beyond the deaths of victims, the destruction of tangible monuments, displacement of

people within and outside country’s boundaries, these conflicts have implications for the tourism

industry. Nigeria is also a victim of the “End of History” feature with a civil war from 1966 to

1970, and subsequently, several internal imbroglio and crises, leading to wanton destruction of

lives and property. But interestingly, due to the multicultural nature of Nigeria, most of the crises

are directly or indirectly ethnic-related. Perception Survey date cited in the APRM Country

Report on Nigeria identified communal conflicts as the most prevalent form of conflict in

Nigeria, followed, in descending order, by political, resource control, ethnic and religious and

land conflicts.31

Nigeria, which is Africa’s largest country, has some 370 ethnic groups, 4000 dialects, and over

140 million people which constitutes one-seventh of the continent’s population. Nigeria has an

area of 356,669 square miles with over 150 million people. Nigeria, erstwhile a loose generation,

was given its name by Flora Shaw, Lord Lugard’s wife in 1897. Nigeria is therefore, the result of

British colonial conquest rather than an African creation that reflected the affiliations and

sentiments of the people living there (Gordon, 2003: 4).

The country, with its rich cultural heritage has 36 states, three major groups, namely, the Hausa-

Fulani, the Yoruba, and the Igbo, and six divisions along regional lines, namely, geopolitical

zones that group people largely by ethnic background: North-West, North-East, South-West,

South-South, South-East and Central Nigeria. The various ethnic groups are bound by cultures

inherited from past generations. Nigeria is also fragmented in religious lines. Roughly half of the

population is Muslim with a large Christian minority, about 40%. About 10% of Nigeria

continue to embrace indigenous religions. Interestingly, all these lines of division are cross-

cutting. For instance, the Hausa-Fulani mostly are Muslims and they live in the North. The

Yoruba are found mainly in the Southwest and are Christians, with a sizeable number of

Muslims among them, especially in the more Northern parts of Yorubaland. The Igbo are mainly

in the southeast and are largely Christians. Other ethnic groups are scattered throughout the

regions. For instance, in South-Western Nigeria, we have mostly the Yoruba ethnic groups with

various dialects such as the Ijebu, Ekiti, Egba, Ijesha, and Igbira to mention but a few.

Globally, ethnic and racial diversity is not a new phenomenon even if there has been

considerable variation in the terms used to describe societies, which include within their

boundaries diverse ethnic groups. However, the patterns of ethnic relations and the extent to

which they are associated with incidences of intra and inter-ethnic conflict extremely vary.

Frequently, inter-ethnic relations are associated with considerable distinctions in the access to

power and material resources between dominant and minority ethnic groups. Invariably, peaceful

coexistence may be fragile and problematic. Therefore, policies need to be developed that would

contribute to the development of cordial relations between the various ethnic groups.32

Beyond Nigeria’s civil war, which had ethnic colouration, recent conflicts in Nigeria stem from

ethno-religious differences. Nigeria has grappled with ethnic, communal and ethno-religious and

sectarian conflicts of violent nature as a result of the colonization of Nigeria and balkanization of

groups during the same period to the extent that the post-political behavior of citizens is

influenced by the assumption that one’s political destiny is deeply linked to one’s ethnic,

linguistic and to some extent, religious identity.33 A major result of the division has been

incessant recurrence of ethno-religious, and intra and ethnic conflicts. In some cases, these ethnic

conflicts have given rise to ethnic militias like Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), the Bakassi

Boys, the Ijaw Youth Congress (IYC), the Igbo Peoples Congress (IPC), Arewa Peoples

Congress (APC) and the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra

(MASSOB).34 Some of the ethnic-religious crises, include Zango-Kataf (1992), Cross vs

Crescent conflict at the University of Ibadan (1981-1985), the Bulumkutu Chrstian-Muslim

conflict (1982), traditional religious Yoruba Oro cult-Muslim Hausa riots in Sagamu, Ogun State

(2002), the Hausa-Yoruba/Muslim-Christianity conflict in Lagos (2000) and the Tiv-Jukun

ethnic crisis (2001) to mention but a few. The states in the middle belt, otherwise known in geo-

political terms as north-central, have witnessed more ethno-religious conflicts as well as

communal conflicts in Nigeria. Communal conflict has manifested itself as the most pandemic

issue next to ethno-religious conflicts in Nigeria, though it has also assumed the posture of

ethno-religious conflict to the extent that differences are sometimes, blurred. Communal

conflicts occur in all the geo-political ones in Nigeria. Despite its intensity, the phenomenon is

not being explored and solutions are not sought. Several communal (intra-ethnic or inter-ethnic)

conflicts in Nigeria include the Yoruba-Hausa community in Shagamu with respect to the Oro

traditional festival, Hausa-Yoruba clashes in Idi-Araba, Lagos, the Aguleri-Umuleri crisis in

Anambra State over land problem, Ife-Modakeke crisis in Osun State over land, Ijaw-Ilaje

conflict over land ownership that is potentially rich in crude oil, and the Eyo Abasi and Idua

crisis over oil rich land.

The other major conflict zone is the Niger Delta with a population of about 30 million people

and Nigeria’s major oil and gas deposits that account for 80 per cent of the country’s annual

foreign exchange earnings. However, this earning has not translated to economic development

for the region. Rather, the region has experienced violent conflicts as a result of the paradox of

poverty in the midst of plenty. Indeed in spite of huge oil resources, local communities in the

Niger Delta remain some of the poorest in the world. These injustices have led to murders,

kidnappings, gang warfare, sabotage of the pipelines, and stealing of crude oil. This struggle has

pitted local communities against oil companies, the state and federal governments, and one

another, resulting in massive loss of life and property and disruption of oil prospecting and

extraction. Worst of all, the need to gain access to the wealth that accrues from oil has pitted

several communities against each other in form of intra and inter communal and state conflicts.35

A few of these clashes include the Ijaw-Itshekiri bouts, Eleme-Okrika communal conflicts over

land ownership, Ogoni-Adoni in Rivers State over land ownership, In the North, Benue state has

witnessed over 20 communal conflicts between communities, the Tiv-Jukun in Wukari over

indigene/settler issue, the bassa-Egbura in Nassarawa, the Hausa/Fulani-Sawaya in Bauchi,

Fulani-Irigwe, Yelwa-Shendam, Farmers-Nomadic Fulani in Plateau State, Tiv in Guma and

Gwer West, are just a few of the various communal conflicts in Nigeria. Several reasons are

perceived as factors responsible for communal conflicts in Nigeria and they include poor

economic conditions, high level of illiteracy, the quest for and fear of domination by other

groups, soil erosion, ownership of land, scarcity of natural resources, deprivation and

exploitation, chieftaincy tussles and party politics.36

The impacts of these conflicts are enormous. Apart from the direct impacts of physical

destruction of lives and property, the impacts on ecosystem and wildlife through the release of

polluting and hazardous substances into the natural environment during conflict cannot be over

emphasized. Moreover, coping after conflict can become very difficult with the deaths or

displacement of the household heads. Lastly, it causes a disruption of state institutions, initiatives

and mechanisms of policy coordination, which in turn creates space for poor management, lack

of investment, illegality and the collapse of positive environmental practices. Government’s

financial resources are diverted from investments in public infrastructure and essential services

towards military objectives.37 Unfortunately, most of the measures and policies initiated and

implemented by the government, only resuscitate most of the conflicts.

From Global to Local: Replicating Best Practices in Nigeria

Drawing from best practices on how to utilize the diversity in cultures to create friendly

coexistence and interaction, some countries that have experienced communal conflicts, civil wars

and international wars, engaged the diversity in cultures and ethnicity to create tourism as way of

building peace within fighting groups. Some cases would be considered here. In Southern Africa,

the governments of South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe came together to convert their

three parks into one, known as Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park (35,000 square kilometer). The

essence goes beyond economic benefits to include engendering peace and stability in a region

that had been ravaged by wars and political instability, and heal the wounds of pre-and post-

independence wars of destabilization.38 It was aimed at achieving the ‘cultural harmonisation’ of

divided ethnic groups. It joins South Africa’s Kruger, Mozambique Limpopo and Zimbabwe’s

Gonarezhou

Giving another instance, which is also inter-state war, the common border between Peru and

Ecuador was a source of tension between the two countries for over 150 years.39 The last major

conflict took place in 1942, when Peru invaded Ecuador, triggering a ten-day war that ended

with the signing of the Rio de Janeiro Protocol. The Protocol established a new border between

the two countries by granting Peru approximately 200,000 square kilometers of formerly

Ecuadorian territory. The new border remained poorly defined, however, leading to further

skirmishes and larger-scale hostilities – most notably in 1981 and 1995. After a series of

prolonged discussions, the Acta Presidencial de Brasilia was signed in 1998. This agreement was

unique in that it recognized the potential for fostering transboundary cooperation and reducing

tension between the countries while protecting biodiversity. In particular, the treaty called for

Peru and Ecuador to establish Adjacent Zones of Ecological Protection on both sides of the

border in the Cordillera del Cóndor. In 1999, Ecuador established the El Cóndor park, while Peru

created an Ecological Protection Zone and the Santiago-Comaina Reserved Zone.

These peace parks were established as mechanisms for bilateral cooperation for conservation, as

well as to promote the social, cultural and economic development of local communities in both

countries. The treaty has led to subsequent bi-national initiatives to manage and conserve the

parks such as the “Peace and Bi-national Conservation in the Cordillera del Cóndor, Ecuador-

Peru” project.40 In addition to helping to resolve a long-term territorial dispute between the two

countries, the 1998 Brasilia agreement initiated an important phase of bilateral diplomacy,

cooperation and commercial relations in the post-conflict phase. Not only has the establishment

of the Cordillera del Cóndor peace parks created a foundation for confidence-building and

collaboration, but local communities have been building their capacity to manage the protected

areas and have directly benefited from ongoing conservation efforts.

The experience of the Cordillera del Cóndor propelled the development of similar parks in the

Golan Heights, that is, between Israel and Syria as well as between North and South Korea in the

demilitarized zone. It was aimed at transforming disputed border areas into transboundary

conservation zones with flexible governance arrangements, facilitating cooperation between the

countries involved.41

At the inter-state level, this measure goes beyond achieving peace and security through the

encouragement of inter-state collaboration and cooperation, also, it helps ameliorate political and

cultural tensions related to disputed borderlands and competition for shared resources. By

strengthening or re-establishing good political relations between neighbouring states, it gives

booth governments opportunity to engage in mutual action on issues of common interests and

concern.

At intra-state conflict level, especially of inter-ethnic nature, Malaysia has holistically developed

the tourism sector to palliate conflicting groups and therefore, pave way for positive coexistence.

Malaysia used domestic tourism to promote inter-cultural understanding among various groups

in the country, and therefore, foster peace. Tensions between the Bumputra and other indigenes

(Malays) on one hand, and the Chinese and Indians (non-Malays) on the other, started right from

independence in 1957. But the need to douse the tensions and foster national peace and security,

influenced the Malaysian government to initiate the policy of domestic tourism as a way of

fostering national integration

According to the Sixth Malaysian Plan (1991-1995), “tourism is a newly emerging industry. The

industry not only mates considerable high multiplier effects and linkages in the economy but also

fosters national integration and unity “.42 Malaysian government sought domestic tourism to

eliminate poverty and restructure Malaysian society to correct ethnic and spatial imbalance in the

country since economic growth favoured a particular group (the Chinese/Indians or non-malays

and foreigners) against the indigenes (Malays).43

The case studies here revealed the importance of tourism in reducing tensions while promoting

peace among ethnic groups as well as states through resources, especially cultural or historic

heritages, including environmental ones. How can Nigerian government explore some of these

tourism practices in resolving the pockets of ethnic crises in Nigeria? In the 2006 Progress

Report of the UN Secretary-General on Preventing Armed Conflict, he stressed both preventive

and peacebuilding environmental initiatives.44 The report emphasizes the need to flag

environmental protection as a peacebuilding tool for promoting dialogue around shared resources

and enabling opposing groups to focus on common problems. The shared management of water,

land, forests, wildlife and protected areas are the most frequently cited examples of

environmental cooperation for peacebuilding, but environmental protection (in the form of

protected areas, for example) has also been used as a tool to resolve disputes over contested land

or border areas.45 In the Nigerian context, several environmental protection strategies can be

taken to douse tensions between conflicting groups in the society. Several aspects of Nigeria’s

ethnic groups’ cultures can be explored for the benefit of every Nigerian. In the Niger Delta

region, apart from the DDR programme that is being executed in the region, tourist attractions

can also be explored to totally douse tensions and conflicts through their capability of providing

access to economic livelihoods. Environmental resources include the Niger Delta rivers, which

could used for sailing as an adventure for tourists to visit the creeks and communities with

important historical relics such as the first oil well in Oloibiri, Bayelsa State. It would divert

much attention away from the oil as well as provide employment opportunities for the teeming

youth. National parks and museums could also be developed between communities in the region.

Cultural festivals could be explored since the region has various groups with beautiful and rich

cultures spanning from Edo to Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River states that

could attract tourists in their large numbers. Cultural festivals could focus on ancestral veneration

and worship of deities such as the Osun Osogbo festival in Osun State. In addition to festivals,

traditional relics or even colonial heritages, which are common sites in areas such as Cross

River, Bayelsa and Rivers States will go a long way increasing locals’ standards of living, reduce

poverty and in the long run, intra and inter-community will be extinct. In communities, where

border disputes have disarrayed the whole system, such places should either be turned to

conservative areas for tourism. Such efforts attempt to capitalize on parties’ environmental

interdependence, which can serve as an incentive to communicate across contested borders or

other dividing lines of tension.46 Interaction between people of different cultures cal also have a

positive outcome, whereby knowledge and understanding are generated among the groups. Ideas

on topics such as empowerment, human rights and peace, maybe shared, thereby contributing to

broader notions of development.

Moreover, a diversification of Nigerian economy from crude oil into sustainable tourism would

have social and environmental effects, such as the emergence of private investors that would

develop the various communities. This would go a long way to reduce political crimes,

communal conflicts over oil interests while providing employment opportunities for the Niger

Delta youth. All these tourist attraction sites should be replicated in areas where conflicts are

endemic. Rural tourism is one of the surest ways to open up the rural areas, therefore, the

preservation of wildlife sanctuaries and parks as well as national monuments and other cultural

resources should be focused on very strongly especially when tourism begins to gain recognition

in the society. In the North, cultural festivals that would involve erstwhile fighting groups and as

well attract domestic and international tourists should be encouraged. Examples abound of the

Birom and Hausa/Fulani in Plateau State and Tiv-Jukun ethnic groups in Taraba State to mention

but a few. Tourism will go a long way in recreating friendly co-existence and in the long run,

generate peace and sustainable development in Nigeria.

Conclusion

This paper has attempted to show the relevance of tourism as a major strategy for building peace

in post ethnic conflict situations in Nigeria. In achieving this purpose, this paper intricately

provides a strong link between culture, tourism and peacebuilding. It explores the various ethno-

religious conflicts, communal and regional conflicts in Nigeria, showing the three main regions.

Since most measures initiated by the government and civil society as palliatives in engendering

peace, have only survived as fragile peace, this paper explores another avenue for restoring

sustainable peace in such imbroglio, which is tourism. However, to consolidate the argument of

the need to explore tourism as a way of bridging gaps in conflict situations, best practices were

drawn from across the globe including Southern Africa Limpopo park, Ecuador and Malaysia.

The implication of showing these global practices is to see the possibility and practicality of

utilizing cultural and environmental resources within ethnic groups to create and sustain peace

through tourism. Rather than war-war, locals and communities can begin to jaw-jaw, based on

the premise, which lies in the notion that cooperative efforts to plan and manage shared natural

resources can promote communication and interaction between adversaries or potential

adversaries, thereby transforming insecurities and establishing mutually recognized rights and

expectations.

However, given the practicality of achieving peace through tourism, several measures need to be

developed in order to actualize its success given the sensitivity of ethnicity as a concept and its

political manipulation to cause infraction in the society.

First, government should make tourism pay for the purpose of achieving peace and not only for

the revenue purpose. Therefore, the government should make it a priority to explore areas of

conflict in Nigeria and bring out some treasures that can serve as tourist attractions in a way that

would prompt peaceful coexistence between and among warring groups. In other words, at the

outset of peacebuilding processes, government should identify “hotspots” where natural

resources may create tension between groups, as well as opportunities for environmental

cooperation to complement and reinforce peacebuilding efforts. Conversely, make dialogue and

confidence-building between divided communities an integral part of environmental projects, so

that peacebuilding opportunities are not missed. _ Include environmental rights in national

constitutional processes as a potential connecting line between diverging interests. Build on

existing community-based systems and traditions of natural resource management as potential

sources for post-conflict peacebuilding, while working to ensure that they are broadly inclusive

of different social groups and interests.47

Second, the public and private sectors should embark on campaigns and advocacy, which would

focus on encouraging domestic tourism, a major aspect of tourism that is lacking in Nigeria. The

rationale is to acquaint several ethnic groups in Nigeria with their rich cultures and value system.

Moreover, its potential to bring about community development should be emphasised. In the

long run, it will bring about understanding of others’ strengths and weaknesses, and would

further lead to cooperation rather than indifference and hatred. Domestic tourism has the

prospects to provide the basis for developing greater social cohesion, national cultural identity or

as in the case of South Africa, encouraging national reconciliation.48

But a major clause here is in the area of infrastructural development such as good roads that can

lead to such tourist sites, good and affordable transportation system for all classes, and cheap and

qualitative accommodation in all communities to facilitate the success of domestic tourism.

Some of the agencies that should prod the campaigns include; the Nigerian Tourism

Development Corporation (NTDC), the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) and the

National Troupe of Nigeria (NTN). Others are the Centre for Black and African Arts and

Civilization (CBAAC) and the National Gallery of Arts (NGA), and the Federal Ministry of

Culture, Tourism and National Orientation.

Third, care should be taken so that the tourist environment is not damaged by the influx of

tourists and the impact it would have on the culture of the people. While other groups (domestic

and international tourists) bring their own customs and traditions through dress and attitudes,

efforts should be made to ensure that they do not interact and despoil local culture. Another fear,

which must be averted is the possibility of the urban elites and private investors, taking over

tourist projects from community indigenes, including carting away the revenues accruing from

the sites. But this can be fully resolved by ensuring that there is strong community participation

in the planning, implementation and maintenance of any tourist activity that would be instituted

for peace purpose in order to avoid further conflicts.

Lastly, in developing tourist sites and attractions in deeply divided societies, government should

ignore the major structural issues leading to such conflicts, which must be fully addressed. It is

only after resolving the deep-seated issues of marginalization, oppression, environmental

degradation, poverty and manipulation of the less privileged as well as prompt actions to early

warning system, that sustainable peace and development can be fostered and guaranteed among

the various ethnic groups in Nigeria.

ENDNOTES

1 UNCTAD, “Tourism and Development in the Least Developed Countries” Presented by UNCTAD on the Third United Nations Conference on Trade and Development at Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain from 26-29 March (2001): 1 2 Carmen Jimenez. and Jan te Kloeze “Analyzing the Peace through Tourism Concept: The Challenge for Educators”. Sociology and Anthropology 2(3) (2014): 633 Louis D’Amore, “Tourism-A Vital Force for Peace” Tourism Management 9 (2) (1988), 151-54; Ian Kelly. “The Peace Proposition: Tourism as a Tool for Attitude Change”, IIPT Occasional Paper, (2006), Accessed on 15 September 2014 from http://www.iipt.org/educators/OccPap09.pdf4 David J. Telfer & Richard Sharpley, Tourism and Development in the Developing World. (New York: Routledge, 2008): xiii 5 Yoel Mansfeld and Abraham Pizam, Tourism, Security and Safety. (Oxford: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, 2006: 29)6 Lawrence E. Harrison and Samuel P. Huntington (eds.), Culture Matters: How Values Shape Human

Progress. (New York: Basic Books, 2000); Susanne Schech and Jane Haggis. Culture and Development: A Critical Introduction. (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2000).7 Raymond Williams, Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society, (London: Fontana Books, 1983): 878 Harrison and Huntington, Culture Matters: How Values Shape Human Progress. 20009 Harry Triandis Culture and Social Behaviour. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1994)10 Larry A. Samovar, Richard E. Porter and Edwin R. McDaniel, Communication between Cultures (6th ed). (United States: Thomson Wadsworth, 2007)11 Roger M. Keesing, “Theories of Culture”, Ronald W. Casson (ed.) Language, Culture, and Cognition: Anthropological Perspectives (New York: Macmillan, 1981)12 Ward H. Goodenough “Introduction” Ward H. Goodenough (ed) Explorations in Cultural Anthropology. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1964): 16-713 O. D. Kolawole and V. O. Okorie 2008, “Traditional Yam Festival Amongst the Igbo People of South-Eastern Nigeria as a Strategy for Agricultural Extension Communication and Identity Preservation”, Akin Alao and Tunde Babawale (eds.) Culture and Society in Nigeria: Traditions, Gender Relations and Political Economy, (Lagos: Concept Publications Limited, 2008): 363; Ebunoluwa C. Ulelu Sotubo and Felix. C. Chidozie “Cultural Diplomacy and National Development: A Study of the Nigerian Entertainment Industry”. AFRREV IJAH3 (2) (2014): 6714 Yomi Daramola “Triculturalism in Islamized Yoruba Music: The Effect of Cultural Infusionism”, In Akin Alao and Tunde Babawale (eds.) Culture and Society in Nigeria: Traditions, Gender Relations and Political Economy. (Lagos: Concept Publications Limited, 2008): 35015 Chris Cooper, John Fletcher, Alan Fyall, David Gilbert and Stephen Wanhill 2005, Tourism: Principles and Practice (3ed) (London: Pearson Education Limited, 2005): 616Cooper et al, 2005:7; B. Gilbert, “Conceptual Issues in the Meaning of Tourism”, Chris Cooper (ed), Progress in Tourism, Recreation and Hospitality Management. (London: Belhaven Press, 1990): 4-2717 Culture, Tourism and National Re-orientation Thematic Group, “Report of the Vision 20-20 National Working Group” on Culture, Tourism and National Orientation (2009): 11. Accessed 11 August 2014 from http://www.ibenaija.org/uploads/1/0/1/2/10128027/culturetourism__national_re-oreintation_ntwg_report.pdf18 UN, “Agenda for Peace”, Report of the UN Secretary-General, Para.21. (1992). Accessed 15 September 2014

on www.cfr.org/peacekeeping/report-un-secretary-general-agenda-peace/p23439, 2 19 UN Report, 1992, 1520 Roland Paris, At War’s End: Building Peace after Civil Conflict, (Cambridge: Cambridge University, 2004)21 K. C. Udegbunam, “Peace-building or Pacification: A Critique of Nigeria’s Post-Amnesty Programme for Ex-Militants in the Niger Delta Region”, In V. Adefemi Isumonah; Musibau Olabamiji Oyebode and Adeola Adams (eds.) Nationalities, Identities and Terrorism: The Nigerian Experience, (Ibadan: John Archers Publishers Limited, 2013): 27222 Michael Barnett, Hunjoon Kim, Madalene O’Donnell, and Laura Sitea 2007, “Peace-building: What is in a Name?” Global Governance, 13(1) (2007): 3723 James Milner “Refugees and the Regional Dynamics of Peace-building”, Refugee Survey Quarterly, 28(1) (2009): 1524 Abu Bakarr. Bah “The Contours of New Humanitarianism: War and Peace-building in Sierra Leone”. Africa Today, 60 (1) (2009): 725 S. Sofowote “The Mass Media in Mediation and Promotion of the Culture of Peace”, Hakeem B. Haruna, Osisioma B.C Nwolise and Dayo Oluyemi-Kusa (eds.), A Guide to Peace Education and Peace Promotion Strategies in Africa. Volume 1: The Nigerian Approach. (Lagos: African Refugee Foundation, 2003): 81

26 Jimenez and Kloeze, 2014, 6527 D’Amore, 1988; Carmen Jimenez and Jan te Kloeze, 2014, 6428 Emeka E. Okonkwo and Chigozie J. Odum, 2013, Community-Based Tourism Development in Selected Villages in Enugu State, Lagos: Nigeria” Society for Research and Economic Excellence. Accessed 16 September 2014 on http://academicexcellencsociety.com/community_based_tourism_development.html; Afolabi M. Tunde “Harnessing Tourism Potential s for Sustainable Development: A Case of Owu Water Falls in Nigeria” Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa, 14 (1) (2012): 119-133.29 Francis Fukuyama. 1989, “The End of History”, The National Interest 16 (1989) (Summer): 3-1830 fukuyama, 1989, 6-731 Bola o. Adeleke, Peace and Tourism in Nigeria. (Washington, DC: Centre for Responsible Travel (CREST) and Stanford University, 2009): 532 Christine Inglis Multiculturalism: New Policy Responses to Diversity, Management of Social Transformation (MOST)-UNESCO, Policy Paper (1996)33 S. P. I. Agi History of Religious Violence in Nigeria, (Calabar: Ushie Publishers, 1998): 5634 Biodun Salawu, Ethno-Religious Conflicts in Nigeria: Causal Analysis and Proposals for New Management Strategies” European Journal of Social Sciences 13 (3) (2010): 347-348; S. P. I. Agi, 1998, 55-5635 Oluwatoyin O. Oluwaniyi 2010, “Oil an Youth Militancy in Nigeria’s Niger Delta Region” Journal of Asian and African Studies, 45 (3) (2010): June, 309-325; N. Chinyere Alimba 2014, Probing the Dynamics of Communal Conflict in Nigeria” African Research Review, Vol. 8 (1), Serial 32 (2014): 17936 Isaac Olawale Albert 2001, Building Peace, Advancing Democracy: Experience with Third Party Interventions in Nigeria’s Conflict. (Ibadan: John Archers Publishers: 2001); Charity A. Angya And Gowon Ama Doki 2006, “Women Participation/Involvement in Conflict Management in Benue State: A Review” T. T. Gyuse & O. Ajene (eds) Conflicts in Benue Valley. Makurdi: Benue State University Press; Yecho, J. I. 2006, “An Overview of the Tiv-Junkun Crisis”, Gyuse, T. T. & Ajene, O. (eds), Conflicts in the Benue Valley. Makurdi: Benue State University Press 37 UNEP, 2002, “Sustainable Development of Tourism-Impacts of Tourism: Environmental, Socio-Cultural, Economic Aspects”,(2002), Accessed 12 September 2014 on http://www.uneptie.org/pc/tourism/sust-tourism38 Eddie Koch 1998: Traditional Villages: He who dances last dances best, in B. Ludman (ed), Arts and Heritage 1998: Guide to South African Arts, Culture and Heritage, Department of Arts, Science, Culture and Technology, Pretoria.199839 United Nations Environmental Programme 2009, From Conflict to Peacebuilding: The Role of Natural Resources and the Environment. Nairobi, Kenya: UNEP 40 UNEP, 200941 UNEP, 2009, 542 F. Leong, Tourism Development in Malaysia: The Role of Domestic Tourism. A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts, Department of Geography, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, (1997): 29***43 Leong, 1997: 7644 UNGA, “Progress Report on the Prevention of Armed Conflict: Report of the Secretary-General”, A/60/891(2006). July 18. www.ipu.org/splz-e/unga06/conflict.pdf45 UNEP, 200946 UNEP, 200947 Paris, 2004: 948 Eddie Koch and Peter John Massyn 2001, “South Africa’s Domestic Tourism Sector: Promises and Problems” K. Ghimire (ed), The Native Tourist: Mass Tourism within Developing Countries. London: Earthscan.(2002) 142-171