Old Testament measures for quelling resource wars: Panacea for the Nigerian experience

Abstract

In human history, there has always been one form of war or the other, including resource wars, leading to the wanton destruction of lives and property. Nigeria is not an exception to this ugly global phenomenon. For instance, there are two major resource wars in Nigeria – war over oil and farmers and herders wars that have taken more deadly dimensions in recent times. In fact, the much talked about insecurity in Nigeria is basically about the herder and farmer clashes and the insurgency in the North-East. While acknowledging the political measures deployed to contain the situation, this article presents solutions from the religious perspective, to complement the existing measures that have largely proven to be inadequate. Resource wars occurred during the time of Abraham. However, he averted the violent consequences by the peaceful mechanism he adopted. Therefore, this peaceful mechanism modelled from Abraham and compensation approaches can be applied to the Nigerian situation, especially among Nigerian Christians while interfaith dialogue will accelerate discussions with non-Christians. Thus, this biblical and pragmatic model outlined in the Bible can be implemented in the search for peace and reconciliation. To achieve the aim of this article, historical and hermeneutical methodology was engaged.

Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article moves between Old Testament and measures for quelling resource wars. It is therefore by intention interdisciplinary. There are implications for the understanding of Old Testament narrative text and how it could be deployed to address the issue of resource wars.