Barr. Chijoke Nnanna Ibeku, a legal practitioner and mediation expert, has said that mediation at all levels, especially in the 2023 elections in Nigeria, is key to maintaining peace, values and resolving all forms of conflict emanating from the political process.
He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Abuja that mediation gives a form of leverage to the complainants, and that negotiations can be easily applied to resolve all conflicts.
According to him, conflict cannot be completely eliminated but can be reduced to the barest minimum.
His words: “Mediation is about two parties reaching an agreement, guided by a neutral third party. Mediation is voluntary. It gives you a form of leverage to get your rights without paying so much money for it by going to the court.
“It is about negotiations and structures. If politicians can begin to appreciate the place of mediation and values, mediation will work, peer mediation in Africa should be highly harnessed.
“Peer mediation should be instilled at a very early stage. A young child who understands and imbibes the art of mediation will appreciate one’s self worth, he will know where his right stops and where another individual’s right begins.”
Barr. Ibeku further stressed that enough hasn’t been done to inculcate this into the educational system in Africa, especially in Nigeria, adding that “if the place of mediation is recognized, so also will the place of peace and value for human life and human dignity be recognized.”
He also maintained that politicians will become more aware that people don’t have to die for them to hold political office in the country, and that they will not insist on staying 20 years on a particular seat because they would have planned their work templates and become productive in no time.
“We are pioneers of peer mediation in Africa, a programme many young lawyers in Asia are very enthusiastic about, and so the place of peer mediation in Nigeria cannot be over emphasized.
“We have established other platforms in South America and Asia. if every young child between ages seven and 17 years can go through this programme, they would relate across the borders of tribe, religion, culture and race. They would not go all out to get power by every means,” he added.
As said by Barr. Ibeku, election mediation is a mechanism to deal with election related issues during the election period, which means that it covers both the pre and post-ballot seasons.
Mediation, in his own words, “covers every facet of human life; it’s not magic, it requires training. In the course of our programme, we do training before certification as peer mediators.
“We are billed to certify 60 children at the end of March, and by the end of the year, we are looking to certify a total of 240 children.
“We certified 60 children last year December, to be precise on the 15th of December, 2022. We also have on our template to certify 100 adult participants in 2023.”
The legal practitioner and renowned mediator concluded that, with respect to all these issues, it will be fool hardy to leave these issues only within the purview of political parties, and that it should indeed involve all stakeholders .
(NAN)
