International Journal of Law and Legal Studies

International Journal of Law and Legal Studies ISSN 2463-5634 Vol. 8 (1), pp. 001-008, January, 2020. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

“Agba (elder) as arbitrator: A Yoruba socio political model for conflict resolution” - A review of Lawrence O. Bamikole

Fayemi, Ademola Kazeem

Department of Philosophy, Lagos State University, Badagry expressway, Ojo, P. M. B 1087, Apapa, Lagos State, Nigeria. E-mail: [email protected].

Accepted 10 October, 2019

Abstract

The paper is a critical review of Lawrence O. Bamikole’s paper, “Agba (elder) as Arbitrator: A Yoruba Socio-political Model for Conflict Resolution”. It challenges the fundamental assumptions of Bamikole’s paper as well as its central arguments as false interpretations, incongruent with the Yoruba worldview. Contra Bamikole, the paper argues that the capacity of the agba (elder) to manage conflict shrewdly in traditional Yoruba society was a combined function of the elder’s personality, proverbial communicative prowess, as well as an understanding of the social principles of conflict management in Yoruba culture. Beyond Bamikole’s narrow conception of agba (elder) as arbitrative agents, the paper holistically explores the concept of agba (elder) as a vital complementary institution for conflict management in contemporary Africa.

Key words: Conflict, arbitration, conflict management, agba (elder), peace.