Umunna and Conflict Resolutions in the PostIndependence Igboland: The Case of Amaruru Autonomous Community in Orsu Lga, Of Imo State.

Abstract

Conflict is an integral part of human nature. It tends to manifest extensively as a result of human interactions between one another and over scarce resources. Although, there had been a general perception of conflicts as being dysfunctional because of its destructive and damaging nature without taking into recourse the functional perspective of conflict. However, in Amaruru autonomous community, they had developed over the years a mechanism called “Umunna” meaning “Kinsmen” for effective conflict resolution. Umunna is an important aspect of Igbo cosmology or world view which originated from persons or group of persons from the same lineage. The paper applied the descriptive approach to bring to fore the dynamics of Umunna on conflict resolutions. The paper examined also the dexterity, expertise and tactfulness of the Umunna in resolving conflicts with the sole aim of uniting and consolidating the peace and harmony of the society. The findings revealed that the application of this skillful mechanism was made successful and possible based on these methods of conflict resolution, which is democratic in nature and not partial. The methods applied in achieving results were based on cultural norms/values of the community which were internalized in the socialization of the people from childhood to adulthood. The paper suggested that to achieve effective approaches to conflict resolution in the 21st century, these methods should be applied and integrated in our conflict resolution mechanism. The paper concluded that the conflict resolution mechanism of the Umunna is suited to de-escalate the upsurge of conflicts that have been witnessed in recent times.