A Peace and Conflict Studies perspective of the use and misuse of the theory and practice of self-determination is what would be at stake Wednesday, March 22nd, 2023 at the Conference Chamber of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, (NIIA) in Lagos. NIIA is bringing a resource person from the United States to speak to the topic “Self-Determination and Secessionism in Postcolonial States: Reflections on Solutions from Peace and Conflict Studies”.
Prof Achankeng
The resource person is named in an NIIA promo on the event as Prof. Fonkem Achankeng of the College of Education & Human Sciences at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh in the USA. Prof Fonkem’s biodata on his university’s webpage suggests that there might be no better resource person than himself to handle the topic. Although his theoretical standpoint in conflict analysis is not loudly proclaimed, he is highly, highly published and very scholarly on the topics on which he has written. Two samples might suffice, with one being “Resolving African Conflicts: Imagining Today’s Challenges” in a 2018 book edited by the well-known African scholar of decoloniality, Prof Sabelo Ndlovu-Gatsheni. The second is his book The Biafran War and the Geostrategic Stakes for Cameroon, 1968 – 1970.
Notwithstanding the Cold War character of much of the violent conflicts across Africa between 1960 and 1991, much of them also were justified by a resort to ‘self-determination’. Self-determination and secessionism have reduced numerically but not gone. It is strategic to hear from those trained in healing fissures in the society what about Self-Determination and Secessionism all this while.
The seminar starting at 11:00 am (West Central Africa) can be accessed via a https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83606941870?pwd=aGpIajBwMS9CRXoxeU1Cck4xWHJ5dz09, with the Meeting ID: 836 0694 1870/Passcode: 621785.
