University of Nigeria Research Publications

Aut

hor

NZEKWU, Emy F. PG/M.Sc/91/12138

N

Nigeria, Ecomog and the Liberian Crisis:

Implications of Peace-Keeping by a Sub-Regional Organisation

Facu

lty

Social Sciences

Dep

artm

ent

Political Science

Dat

e

April, 1993

Sign

atur

e

N I C E R I X , ECOMOG AND THE L I B E R I I I N ' C R I S I S :

IMPLICATIONS O F PENCE-KEEPING BY 4

SUB-REGIONML ORG&NISBTION

A P r o j e c t Heport Submit ted t o t h e Dept. o f Political Science i n P a r t i a l F u l f i l m e n t o f t h e Requirement f o r the Award of t h e Master of Sc ience Degree i n

I n t e r n a t i o n a l Re la t ions .

U n i v e r s i t y of Niger ia , N sukka.

Supervi sor : P r o f , M.S.O. Olisa Head o f Department

P o l i t i c a l S c i e n c e U.N.N.

Date:

CERTIFICATION

Nzekwu Emy, F., a p o s t g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t i n t h e depar t -

ment of P o l i t i c a l S c i e n c e has s a t i s f a c t o r i l y completed

t h e requirement f o r the h i g h e r degree of Master of 8

Science i n I n t e r n a t i o n a l Rela t ions .

T h i s work embodied i n h e r t h q s i s i s o r i g i n a l and

rlo L b u m w b m i t t t d in part or full for any obhftr

diploma o r degree of t h i s o r any o t h e r U n i v e r s i t y .

i '

- lqq/ 1 ( [b '-- Head o f Department

(ii)

APY ROVAL PAGE

'rhi s P r o j e c t Report has been approved on beha l f o f ,

t h e Department of P o l i t i c a l S c i e n c e

BY

CL.+ < bill I / 1 IF fiq]l//b - -

~ u p b r v i s o r L $Head o f Department

earlo of Facu l t y 7- E x t e r n a l Examiner

( i i i )

DEDI CAT1 ON -

To my d a r l i n g Amaka

f o r t h o o a c r i f i c e and i n s p i r a t i o n

an d

Norbe r t Nwajiaku

f o r t h e m o t i v a t i o n and suppor t .

I am most t h a n k f u l and g r a t e f u l t o my heavenly

f a t h e r who guarded arid guided me throughout t h e p e r i o d

o f t h i s programme. ;L

To my f a t h e r (Mr. P.) and my mother Mr. and M I D

E.N.I. Nzekwu, I owe my g r a t i t u d e . Without t h e i r

erno t i o n a l suppor t and encouragement t h i s work would

have been a f a i l u r e .

I w i l l remain e v e r i n d e b t e d t o my b r o t h e r s and

~ i s t e r u o p e c i a l l y U b a f o r t h e i r i n e s t i m a b l e a s s i s t a n c e .

I w i l l remain e v e r g r a t e f u l t o D r . Val. Ekechukwu

of' lvlechanical Eng inee r ing who made a v a i l a b l e t h e o v e r

two and h a l f y e a r s c o l l e c t i o n o f Newswatch magazines

wi th which t h e s tudy was c a r r i e d ou t . Your k i n d n e s s

i s beyond words. Thanks a l o t .

kmaka Nzekwe, Grace Ntia, Tony Egbunlne and most

e s p e c i a l l y B e a t r i c e Oganah, my s t a y i n and e v e n t u a l

. complet ion o f t h i s programme would n o t have been worth i t s whi le wi thou t your so-cherished a company.

Osita Agbu, to you my profound grati tudg f o r proof-

r e a d i n g t h i s work. To D r . H. !A. Asobie, a l o t o f thanks

f o r your a d v i c e and c o n t r i b u t i o n s .

To D r . Okey Ibeanu, Dr. Chuks Umezurike and 6Rlex

Nzei , my t h a n k s f o r all t h e encouragement,

My deep a p p r e c i a t i o n g o e s t o my a d v i s e r , Prof .

Pi.S.0. Olisa, t h e Head o f Department o f Political

S c i e n c e , f o r h i s guidance and commitment. Your assis-

t a n c e made t h i s seemingly d i f f i c u l t work e a s y t~

accomplish. I s a l u t e you. +

Norber t Nwajiaku, wi thou t you t h i s whole programme

would have been a 'miss ion i m p o s s i b l e r . I w i l l remain

indeb ted .

Amaka Ugwunne, of c o u r s e t h i s i s f o r you,

TABLE OF CONTENTS

T i t l e .

C e r i t i f c a t i o n . . . . .. , ~ p p r o v a l Page .- . . . Dedicat ion. . . . . . . Acknowledgement . . . . Table o f Contents . . . . . L i s t o f k b b r e v i a t i o n s . .. . . Abst rac t . . . . . . CHAPTER ONE:

1.1 I n t r o d u c t i o n . . . . . 1.2 Sta tement of Problem. . . . . 1.3 O b j e c t i v e of Study. . . . 1 .4 Scope of Coverage. . . . 1.5 Bas ic Concepts D e f i n i t i o n . . . 1.6 L i t e r a t u r e Heview. . .. . I. 6. I Peace-keeping L i t e r a t u r e s , . . I. 6.2 ECOMOG as a Sub-regional Peace-keeping

Force. . . . . . . . b

1.7 T h e o r e t i c a l Framework. . . . .

ii

iii

4v

v i

i x

x i

P a p ,

Hypothesis . . . . . . . 58 Methodology. . . . . . . . 58 REFERENCES. 60

CHAPTER TWO:

H i s t o r i c a l Background to t h e L ibe r i an C r i g i a 63

L i b e r i a Before W i l l i a m Tubman - I817 - 1943. 65 William Tubman Era - I944 - 1971. ,73 W i l l i a m Tolber t Era - I971 - 1980. 77 Samuel Doe Era - I980 - 1990. . . 81 L i b e r i a , United S t a t e s S a t e l l i t e . 98

L i b e r i a , Land of Contradic t ions . 106

References. . . .. . . . I08 CHAPTER THREE:

Br ief His to ry of Nigeria. . . I09 His tory and Economic S t r u c t u r e of Nigeria. I12

N i g e r i a ' s Foreign Policy. . . I T 8 Niger ia i n L i b e r i a and L ibe r i an Confl ic t . I 2 8

References. . . . . . . . 1 39

( v i i i )

Page.

CHAPTER FOU R:

4. I ECOWAS, I n t e g r a t i o n and t h e Sub-region. I 4 1

4 . 3 French A c t i v i t i e s and Irdiegration of t h e West a f r i c a n Sub-region. . . . . I 4 8

4.3 ECOMOC and I n t e g r a t i o n o f t h e sub-region. 1 5 2

References. . . . . . . . . I 6 7 +

CHAPTER FI VE:

5.1 C o n c l u ~ i o n . . . . . . . . . I 6 8 5.7 , ~ l t e r r i a t i v e Path-way. . . . . I 7 3

References. . . . . . . . . I80

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS '

AFL - , ~ r m e d F o r c e s o f L i b e r i a . ECOWOG - ECOWAS Moni tor ing Group ( ~ i b e r i a ) . ECOWAS - Economic Community o f West A f r i c a n S t a t e s . INPFL - Independent N a t i o n a l P a t r i o t i c F r o n t o f L i b e r i a . LAP - L i b e r i a Act ion Par ty . LUY - L i b e r i a U n i f i c a t i o n Par ty . b M O J A - Movement f o r J u s t i c e i n A f r i c a . NAPS - Nat iona l ;Associat ion of P o l i t i c a l Science . NATO - North A t l a n t i c Trea ty Organ i sa t ion . NDPL - Nat iona l Democratic P a r t y o f L i b e r i a . N I I A - N i g e r i a I n s t i Lute o f I n t e r n a t i o n a l A f f a i r s .

. NIPSS - Nat iona l I n s t i t u t e f o r P o l i c y and S t r a t e g i c S t u d i e s . NPFL - Nat iona l P a t r i o t i c Front o f L i b e r i a . 0 AU - Organi s a t i o n of A f r i c a n Unity. O N U C - United Na t ions T r a n s n a t i o n a l A s s i s t a n c e group

i n N a m i b i a (1962 - 1964) PiiC - P e o p l e s Redemption Council . - SECOM - Spec i ELI. E l e c t i o n Commission ( ~ i b e r i a ) . TWP - True Whig P a r t y ( ~ i b e r i a ) . ULIMO - Uni ted L i b e r a t i o n Movement.

UNIFIL - United Nations Inter im Force i n Lebanon (I978 - 1988).

UP - United Party (L ibe r i a ) . UPP - Uni ted Peoples Par ty (Liber ia) . U . S . A . - United S ta tes of America.

C o n f l i c t i s a c l a s h between oppos ing f o r c e s i n a

s o c i e t y . . I t i s almost normal and i n e v i t a b l e a t a l l

l e v e l 6 of human i n t e r a c t i o n s i n c e human b e i n g s a r e

bound t o have arid p o s s e s s d i v e r g e n t and most of t h e

t ime c o n t r a d i c t o r y i n t e r e s t s . b

And t o avoid a s t a t e of' anarchy, pence h a s t o be made

among i n d i v i d u a l s , g roups and o r c o u n t r i e s through one

way o r tho o t h o r . Whatevor t h e rnoanc o f n l u k i r q < peace

if;, t h e measure h a s to be under taken wi thou t p r e j u d i c e

t o r i g h t s , c l a i m s and p o s i t i o n s . It i s on ly i n a

p e a c e f u l and s t a b l e environment t h a t i n t e g r a t i o n o f t h e

v a r i o u s u n i t s t h a t make up a whole can be f o s t e r e d .

The c o n f l i c t i n L i b e r i a i s one t h a t developed o v e r a

h i r; t o r i c a l t ime pe r iod . And t y p i c a l o f t ime-dimensional

con l ' l i c t a , t h e e x p l o s i o n s a r e normal ly d i s a s t r o u s .

To save unwanton k i l l i n g and make f o r peace and s t a b i l i -

t y i n t h e West Af r i can sub-region, a peace move h a s t o

be made.

Nigeria p o s s e s s i n g a l l the r e s o u r c e s t h a t make f o r a

powerful coun t ry w i t h i n t h e sub-region took i t upon

h e r s e l f to make f o r peace i n L i b e r i a 6nd a l s o i n t h e

sub-region. Through h e r f o r e i g n p o l i c i e s , N i g e r i a h a s

sought t o demonst ra te t h a t power she p o s s e s s e s , f o r

e i t h e r m a i n t a i n i n g o r i n c r e a s i n g h e r power. I n c a r r y i n g

o u t such a f o r e i g n p o l i c y o f p r e s t i g e , t h e domest ic

environment should be brought t o bear. Because, domes-

t i c p o l i c y i s p r i o r and s u p e r i o r t o f o r e i g n p o l i c y ,in

m y given s i t u a t i o n .

N i g e r i a through ECOWAS formed a m o n i t o r i n g group - ECOMOG - t o i n t e r v e n e i n t h e c o n f l i c t i n L i b e r i a . Regional o r g a n i s a t i o n s have s p e c i a l . c a p a c i t y f o r c r e a t i n g

peace w i t h i n t h e r e g i o n be ing g e o g r a p h i c a l l y contiguous.

.But a l s o , ne ighbours a r e f a r away from i m p a r t i a l i t y .

T h i s makes r e g i o n a l o r g a n i s a t i o n s r a r e l y i d e a l a r b i tars

i n c o n f l i c t s among member s t a t e s w i t h i n t h e region.

The d i f f e r e n c e i n poweq r e s o u r c e s a v a i l a b i l i t y , t h e

d i v e r g e n t i n t e r e s t s , and t h e r i v a l r i e s t h a t e x i s t among

. member s t a t e s o f ECOWiAS d i d n o t make t h e t a s k o f peace- k e e p i n g format ion and o p e r a t i o n w i t h i n t h e sub-region

. . an easy one. For peace t o r e i g n i n L i b e r i a , ,

a1 t e r n a t i v e s t r a t e g i e s f o r t h e s u b r e g i o n a l peace-

keep ing o r g a n i s a t i o n , format ion , deployment and

( x i i i )

con t inu ing ex i s t ence ha s t o be sought.

These s t r a t e g i e s could be i n t h e form of

*coerc ive Warfarem - t h a t means a f r o n t a l a t t a c k and wiping o u t of Char les Taylor and h i s NPFL

group.

Replacement of ECOMOG with an i n t e r n a t i o n a l

o r g a n i s a t i o n t h a t can st i l l ho ld i t s c o n f i d ~ n c e

as an i m p a r t i a l a r b i t a r .

Acceptance of t h e c r i s i s i n L i b e r i a as a coup d t e t a t

p l anned wzd auccese fu l l y executed by Charlea Taylor

t h e r e b y , making him e l i g i b l e t o take charge of

admini s t r a t i o n of t h e country.

CHAPTER ONE

I .I INTRODUCTION

The L ibe r i an c r i s i s i s a t ragedy, a t ragedy f o r t he

L i b e r i a n s , a t ragedy f o r t h e West Af r i cane - ECOWM and a t ragedy f o r t h e whole o f Af r i can s t a t e s . I t i s a

t ragedy t h a t came at a t ime f o r the people so h e l p l e s s ,

I t i s a wrong and c r i t i c a l tium when a l l a v a i l a b l e

reoources a r e needed f o r economic development i n s t e a d of

being used olid squandered through unneceearary d e s t r u c t i o n

of l i f e and proper ty .

D r . Harry Momba, former v ice -pres iden t t o l a t e

Samuel Doe, goes t o r ea f f i rm t h i s i n an i n t e r v i e w wi th

West illf rica Magazine, t h a t t h e crisis i n L i b e r i a i s ma

very t r a g i c t h i n g f o r usom (James Butly 1992: 316).

To t h e sub-region, i t is a t ragedy f o r , i t poaes a

s e r i o u s t h r e a t t o the peace and s e c u r i t y o f Vest Af r i can

sub-region. P r e s i d e n t Babangida of N i g e r i a r e t o r t e d t h i s - f a c t when he s a i d , m i n ~ t a b i l k t y i n any of t h e c o u n t r i e s

of West A f r i c a a f f e c t s t h e s t a b i l i t y of West A f r i c a as

wel l as a f f e c t s t h e l i v e s o f thousands o f ourb people.*

(Ibrahim Babangida 1991: 10). I t i s untimely f o r

2.

'.

r evo lu t i on and c i v i l wars i n t h i s e r a when conso l i da t i on ,

co-operat ion and i n t e g r a t i o n should be o u r watch-word f o r .I

development . To t h e con t inen t , i t i s a t ragedy, f o r the warr ing

f a c t i o n s simply d e p i c t t h e worst o f human i n s t i n c t and

defy a l l r u l e s i n t h e code o f c i v i l i z e d behaviour.

Peace l a o b l i g a t o r y f o r peace-loving na t ibns .

What the, problem i s i n a t t a i n i n g and l i v i n g up t o t h i s

o b l i g a t i o n , i s t h e manner through which t h i s o b l i g a t i o n

t o ach iev ing peace i s pursued. And i t should be noted

t h a t a brcsach od peace i n modern times i s an o f f i c i a l

a c t and taken on ly on i n i t i a t i v e o f the government

es tab l i shment - t h e state. Whatever manner through which t h e s t a t e e s t a b l i s h -

ments want t o achieve o r puraue i t s o b l i g a t i o n of making

peace, t h e domestic i n t e r e s t and s t r u c t u r e o f t h a t peace-

l o v i n g n a t i o n should be taken i n t o cons idera t ion . For,

t h e fact a t i l l remains t h a t t o a l a r g e r e x t e n t , domestic

P o l i c y of a country i s made t o bear on t h e c o u n t r y ' s

f o r e i g n policy..

'a

1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

L i b e r i a n c i v i l c o n f l i c t developed o v e r h i s t o r y and - time. ' I t s t a r t e d a8 a c o n f l i c t between two black po l i -

t i c a l g roups - Americo-Liberians v e r s u s Indigenous L iber ians . The Americo-Liberians r u l e d t h e indegenea

a u t h o r c r a t i c a l l y , supp re s s ing a l l forms o f o rgan i eed I

demands and r u t h l e s s l y r e p r e s s i n g p ro t e s t s . Over time,

Doe came up i n t h e b id t o p r o t e c t and save t h e i nd igenes

from t h a t oppresa ion and m b j u g a t i o n by the settler^.

But t h a t tu rned eour t o t h e p o i n t t h a t t h e ind igenous

e t h n i c groups a r e even mutual ly d i s t r u s t f u l o f one ano the r

t o t h e p o i n t of f i g h t i n g . There i s now t h i s complete

l a c k o f conf idence and f e a r by t h e g e n e r a l i t y of t h e

people t h a t they w i l l n o t be s ecu re under e k t h e r t h e

r u l e r e h i p of h e r i co-Liberians o r of t h e ind igenous group.

I t i s i n t h i s e i t u a t i o n of t o t a l l a c k o f conf idence o f one

a g a i n s t ano the r and a g a i n s t h imsel f t h a t Cha r l e s Taylor

s t r u c k i n December, 1989,

For a country wi th a h i s t o r y bedev i l l ed wi th c r i s e s

exploding at some p o i n t s be fo r e t h i s v i r t u a l l y uncontro-

l l a b l e one , how can peace be made t o r e i g n i n such a

4.

!. country once more. The problems t h e s tudy now s e t s o u t

t o seek s o l u t i o n t o border an - I, What i s t h e r a t i o n a l e behind N i g e r i a ' s dec i s i on

t o i n t e r v e n e i n the L ibe r i an c r i s i s .under

ECOPTOG?

2. What i m p l i c a t i o n s does t h e use of f o r c e in b

80 t t l i n g i n t r a 4 f r i c a n d i s p u t e s ha-e f o r sub-

r e g i o n a l i n t e g r a t i o n ?

1 - 3 OBJECTIVE OF STUDY

The main o b j e c t i v e of t h i s s tudy is t o f i n d ou t t h e

d i f f i c u l t y i n b r ing ing about t h e assumed peace s e t o a t

f o r i n L i b e r i a by Nigeria v i a ECOMOG even a f t e r t h e death

of Samuel Doe, t h e bone o f content ion. Going by Char les

Taylor1 s pronouncement, b e f o r e peace could r e i g n i n

L i b e r i a , Doe must leave t h e country. F i n a l l y , Samuel

Doe d i d n o t only l e a v e t h e country , but , d id l e a v e t h e

world completely and s t i l l no peace t r a c e s i s i n view

i n Liberia,

The s tudy w i l l seek t h e r a t i o n a l i t y , if any, f a r a

subreg iona l o r g a n i s a t i o n t o i n t e r v e n e i n t he c o n f l i c t

wi th in a n o t h e r s sovere ign na t i on , I t w i l l a l s o f i n d o u t

t h e impact such an i n t e r v e n t i o n w i l l have i n t h e i n t e g r a -

t i o n p r o c e a s w i t h i n t h e subregion c o n s i d e r i n g t h e n a t u r e

o f t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between t h e Anglophones on t h e one

hand and t h e Francophones on t h e ot,her,

Moreover, i t i s i n t e n d e d t h a t t h e s t u d y w i l l e x p l o r e ,

a n a l y s e , j u s t i f y and examine t h e a b i l i t y o f t h e r e g i o n a l #

peace-keeping f o r c e i n b r i n g i n g about peace i n L i b e r i a . '

And a l s o m e t h e i m p l i c a t i o n s o f ECOMOG's i n t e r v e n t i o n

f o r i n t e g r a t i o n , maintenance o f peace and s e c u r i t y wi th in

t h e subregion, The s tudy w i l l a s s e s s t h e i r o n y i n t h e

prophecied u n i t y e e t o u t t o ach ieve by t h e peace-keeping

f o r c e and t h e d i s u n i t y i t ended up wi th i n t h e West

A f r i o a n subregion.

1.4 SCOPE OF COVEMGE

The s t u d y w i l l cover t h e L i b e r i a n c r i s i s h i s t o r i c a l l y ,

what l e d t o i t and t h e p a r t i e e t o i t . I t w l l look a t why

N i g e r i a and indeed ECOWhS g o t invo lved , t h e fo rmat ion ,

s t r u c t u r e , composi t ion and o b j e c t i v e s o f ECOMOG - t h e m o n i t o r i n g group s e t up by ECOWAS. Within t h e p m v i s i o n s

i n t h e c h a r t e r of some u n i v e r s a l and o r quas i -un ive r sa l

o r g a n i s a t i o n s , t h e r o l e o f t h e m o n i t o r i n g group w i l l be

examined,

Suggest ians f o r an a l t e r n a t i v e t o the kind of peace-

keeping as c a r r i e d ou t by ECOMOC w i l l be made through the

study. The imp l i ca t ions m i l i t a r i l y and p o l i t i c a l l y of th6

i n t e r v e n t i o n cons ider ing t h e unwelcome at t i tude t h a t

g ree t ed the fo rce on formation and deployment w i l l be

looked a t .

4180 the r o l e o f Niger ia as the b ra in behihd t h e i n i -

t i a t i o n of peace-keeping f o r c e w i l l be looked a t , assess-

i n g the imp l i ca t ions of t h a t venture t o Niger ia as a

country, ' t o t he subregion i n i t s move towards i n t e g r a t i o n

and t o t he cont inen t as a whole.

1.5 30#E BASIC CONCEPTS I N THE STUDY

CONPLI CT:

Rela t ionship p a t t e r n s i n the i n t e r n a t i o n a l system

revolves around t h r e e ' C s l and t h a t s t ands f o r - 'Co-operation', 'Competitiont and l C o n f l i c t t . But of

t h e t h ree , ' C ~ n f l i c t . ~ r e l a t i o n s h i p rece ive more a t t e n t i o n ,

comment and a n a l y s i s i n t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l system. Ray

Ofoegbu, I980 def ined c o n f l i c t as, mwhen t h e r e i s s e r i o u s

disagreement, u se of v io lence o r t h r e a t s of the use of

violencem(Ray Ofoegbu 1980: 45) .

C o n f l i c t i s cons ide red a lmost normal and i n e v i t a b l e

phenomena a t a l l l e v e l s o f human s o c i e t y because i s s u e s

and s i t u a t i o n s o f c o n f l i c t do always e x i s t and could be

s t i r r e d up i n t he p r o c e s s o f va lue d i s t r i b u t i o n wi th in

t h e s o c i e t y ds could be seen i n t he c a s e of L ibe r i a .

C o n f l i c t s i t u a t i o n s and o r r e l a t i o n s h i p s i n i n t e r n a t i o -

n a l systems have very many sou rce s which i n c l u p e p o l i t i -

cal, economical, c u l t u r a l , e t h n i c , r e l i g i o u s e t c . I t

can a l s o , on development, be managed under f o u r broad

waY8: ~ i ~ l o m a t i c means, Propaganda, non-mil i ta ry u s e of

f o r c e , and m i l i t a r y uee o f f o r c e under which we can

c a t e g o r i s e t h e management of t h e c o n f l i c t i n L i b e r i a by

ECOMOG. ,

C o l l i n 1 s Engl ish Dic t ionary a l s o de f ined c o n f l i c t

as, -a s t r u g g l e o r c l a s h between opposing f o r c e s , b a t t l e s ;

a state o f oppos i t i on between i d e a s , i n t e r e s t s e t c ;

d i ssgreement o r controversy .

PEaCE-KEEPING:

A s a p p l i e d t o t h e United Nat ions , Peace-keeping

o p e r a t i o n s have been g iven a v a r i e t y o f meanings ranging

from

- a miss ion which h a s been under taken by i n t e r n a t i o n a l a rmies o r a c t i v i t i e s of an i n d i v i d u a l who h a s been s e n t

8.

',

t o t h e f i e l d on some p o l i t i c a l t a ~ k o r duty. I t does

n o t always s t a n d f o r t h r e a t o r u s e o f f o r c e t o d e t e r o r

r e p e l a g g r e s s i o n d e s p i t e t h e f a c t t h a t a c t i o n of t h a t

k i n d could be Been and assumed i m p o r t a n t l y as a means of ,

peace-keepin@.

The o r i g i n a l r o l e of peace-keeping f o r c e was t o

a tand between h o s t i l e groups , b r i n g about c e a s e - f i r e and

c r e a t e an atmosphere f o r p e a c e f u l s e t t l e m e n t o f t h e .

c o n f l i c t . That h a s changed and expanded t o inc lude :

maintenance o f s e c u r i t y and s t a b i l i t y w i t h i n a

g iven area;

s e t t i n g up o f an i n t e r i m government;

m o n i t o r i n g of e l e c t i o n f o r a democra t ic regime;

p r o v i e i o n o f humani ta r i an a s s i s t a n c e and d i sarma-

ment of i n s u r g e n t s .

t h e s e have added v a l u e t o t h e o p e r a t i o n of peace-

keeping, as w e l l as made i t more f l e x i b l e .

Peace-keeping non-the-less must be a c c o r d i n g t o U N

S e c r e t a r y General ,- Dag Hammarsk j o l d , (a) measure under taken wi thou t p r e j u d i c e t o t h e r i g h t s ,

claims o r p o s i t i o n s o f t h e p a r t i e s concerned,

I '7

(b) miaeion under taken o n l y wi th t h e conscent of a l l

t h e p a r t i e s concerned,

( c ) a miss ion i n which arms a r e used o n l y i n s e l f -

defence.

With r e g a r d s t o domest ic c o n f l i c t , Bruce R u s s e t t

and James S u t t e r l i n opined t h a t peace-keeping i s a

miss ion i n which t h e consent of A l l becomes compel l ing #

f o r peace. Without t h e consent o f a l l t h e p a r t i e s t o

t h e c o n f l i c t , g r e a t r i s k s a r e invo lved and t h e r e s u l t s

cou ld be d i s a s t r o u s as we can s e e from what i s happening

i n L i b e r i a today.

Contrary t o peace-keeping,to some e x t e n t , means

maintenance of and r e s t o r a t i o n o f peace and s e c u r i t y

u s i n g m i l i t a r y f o r c e and e n f o r c i n g o f t h e w i l l of t h e

c o u n c i l o n t h e group t h a t h a s broken t h e peace.

Peace-enforcement i s used t o make f o r d i s t i n c t i o n between

peace-keeping when i t h a s gone beyond ' t h e normal- l i m i t

o f a non- f igh t ing f o r c e wi th non-violent o p e r a t i o n s .

Peace-enforcement can be used b u t i n t h e emphasis o f t h e

p r i n c i p l e o f c o l l e c t i v e s e c u r i t y , t h e b a s i s upon which

t h e o b j e c t s and a c t i v i t i e s of t h e UN was s e t up p r i n c i p a l l y . .

INTEGRhTION :

I n t e g r a t i o n o r d i n a r i l y could be taken t o mean t h e ,

'act o f combining o r adding p a r t s t o make a u n i f i e d whole.

Karl Deutsch i n Peace i n P a r t s , (1971) saw i t as, * the

a t t a i n m e n t o f i n s t i t u t i o n s and p r a c t i c e s t r o n g enough

and wide spread enough t o a s s u r e f o r a l o n g t ime, depen-

d a b l e e x p e c t a t i o n s o f p e a c e f u l change among i t s popula-

t i o n (J .S . Nye, 1975: 25).

T h i s concept o f i n t e g r a t i o n can be broken i n t o s e v e r a l

forms - ( a ) Economic i n t e g r a t i o n , ( b ) S o c i a l i n t e g r a t i o n and

( a ) P o l i t i c a l i n t e g r a t i o n .

REGIONAL ORG&NISMTION : - *Having i n t e r n a t i o n a l r e g i o n a l o r g a n i s a t i o n s c r e a t e d

I s l a n d a of Peace i n world p o l i t i c s * (J.S. Nye, 1971: 3).

C h a r l e s de Gau l l e i n J.S. Nye's Peace i n P a r t s saw t h e

e x i s t e n c e of r e g i o n a l o r g a n i s a t i o n s as b e i n g i n keeping

wi th t h e c o n d i t i o n o f o u r t ime t o c r e a t e e n t i t i e s more

v a s t than each o f t h e European s t a t e s .

I t , i s of lrnportance t o

w a t e r t i g h t compartments and

t imes p l a y a prominent r o l e

f n v n 4 t 4 o n 9 nnnanoi t - r t-

n o t e t h a t r e g i o n s a r e n o t

non-contiguous s t a t e s some-

i n r e g i o n a l p o l i t i c s . There-

c e r t a i n o r g a n i s a t i o n s t h a t r e s t r i c t rnembershlp i n p r i n -

c i p l e and i n p r a c t i c e on t h e b a s i s o f g e o g r a p h i c a l

c r i t e r i a .

Accord in8 t o J.S. Nye, (1971) f o r peace d o c t r i n e s , we

cnn have r e g i o n a l o r g a n i s a t i o n s d i v i d e d o r c a t e g o r i z e d

i n l x two g r o u p s - ( 3 ) Micro - reg iona l economic o r g a n i n a t i o n and'

( b ) macro - reg iona l p o l i t i c a l o r g a n i s a t i o n .

M i c ro - ro&iona l economic o r g a n i sat i o n ensureF3 i n Leq-nt,ion

t h a t a1 ters n a t u r e o f r e l a t i o n s between s t a t e c ,and c r eaLc

room f o r peace. On t;ho o t h e r hand , mac ro - r cc iona l p o l l -

t i c a l o r ,%minat ion can come t o g e t h e r and c o n t r o l c o n f 1 i c L F ~

among t h e i r members as can be s e e n from ECOMOG, born o u t

of ECOWIAS, a m i c r o - r e ~ i o n n l economic o r g a n i s n t i on.

1.6 REVT EW OF ----- LI TFFiATURE

The re a r e v a r y i n g v i ews as t o t h e c r i s i r . i n L j bcna,

t h e f o r m a t i o n and deployment of a peace-keepirzb; f n r c c

:md i nvo1vt:mmt of F:j.t:cria i n t h e conf ' l i c t i n L i b e r ~ a ,

R S t h e r e a r e i n t e l l e c t u a l s . Howevor, o n l y a I ' c w workr:

have been done n E s t a n d a r d t e x t s i n r e l a t i o n t o t,he

~ E I B U ~ ? u n d e r s t u d y . Mont o f t h o works e x i n t i n t h e form

o f a r t i c l e s and commentar ies i n academic j o u r n a l s , maga-

z i n e s and o t h e r p e r i o d i c a l s . The o b v i o u s l i m i t a t i o n , . : o f

- such works a r e t a k e n i n t o c o n s i d e r a t i o n . Ye t , nome arc

s t i l l s u f f i c i e n t l y f a c t u a l and a n a l y t i c a l i n c o n t e n t t o

p r o v i d e t h e b a s i s upon which we cm work. iAccordlngl;y,

few, r e l e v a n t and p e r t i n e n t o n e s a r e s e l e c t e d f o r review

w i t h r e g a r d s t o t h i s s t u d y c o n s i d e r i n g t h e f a & t t h a t

i n f o r m a t i o n from bo th t h e p r i m a r y a n d ~ e c o n d a r y c o u r c e c

a r e o f u tmos t impor tance .

P r imary Eources i s e x a m p l i f i e d by t h e main a c t o r s i n t h e

c o n f l i c t m d i t a r e s o l u t i o n , t h a t i ~ , i n f o r m a t i o n s from

a c t o r s l i k e l a t e Samuel Doe, C h a r l e s T a y l o r NPFL l e a d e r ,

P r e s i d e n t Babangidn o f Nigeria, H a j o r Gene ra l ( R t d ) I k e

Nwachukwu, N i g e r i a e x t e r n a l a f f a i r s m i n i s t e r , Amos

Sawyer , t h e i n t e r i m head o f s ta te of L i b e r i a a n d o t h e r s .

And seconda ry s o u r c e s i s e x a m p l i f i e d from t h e works o f

v a r i o u s academics and w r i t e r s on t h e L i b e r i a n c o n f l i c t .

1.6.1 Li t e r a t u r e s Qn P e a c e s n e - - - &Ian Jnmes (1971) i n h i s book, The P o l i t i c s o f -- -. -

Peace-keeping, c o n c e n t r a t e d on peace-keeping as a p p l i e d

by t h e UN. He n o t e d t h a t i n moot caner;, t h e term docs

n o t s t a n d f o r t h r e a t o r u s e o f f o r c e t o d e t e r o r repel

a g g r e s s i o n , d e s p i t e t h e f a c t t h a t any a c t i o n o f t h a t

k i n d i s seen as an impor tan t t r a d i t i o n a l way o f keeping

pence. He t r i e d t o show t h e d i f f e r e n c e i n meaning and

usage between MPea.ce-keepingm m c o l l e c t i v e s e c u r i tyn

p o i n t i n g o u t t h a t t h e confus ion i n a p p l i c a t i o n of t,he

two terms i s due b a s i c a l l y t o t h e c i rcumstances i n which + pence-keeping c,me i n t o e x i s t e n c e i n in ternnt ior ia .1

r e l a t i o n s . The d i s t i n c t i o n between t h e two l i e i n t h e i r

a t t i t u d e towards t h e p a r t i c u l a r i s s u e of force and consent .

Whllr? coll .sct, ivn necur i t y r e l y ul t i rnrt tcl y o n t , h ~ m:~ntla-

Lory u8e o f f o r c e , peace-keeping a v o i d s o r shuns f o r c c

excep t i n se l f -de fence b u t most i m p o r t a n t l y , , w i l l r e c e i v e

t h e consent o f t h e h o s t state.

a l t h o u g h U a n d i d n o t go beyond peace-keeping a6

c a r r i e d o u t by U N , he exam'ined t h r e e p e r s p e c t i v e s under

which peace-keeping o p e r a t i o n can be looked at 'and

c a r r i e d o u t by u n i v e r s a l o r quas i -un ive r sa l o r g a n i s a t i o n s .

There a r e - ( I ) 'Patching-&: under t h i s p e r s p e c t i v e , i t i s i n t e n -

ded t h a t d i s p u t a n t s come to a t a b l e o f agreement ;md

(2~ i - * i :k i t , e s e t t l e m e n t . He gave an example o f U N t s a t t e m p t

i 11 2"4"/ tic:, I348 t o e n s u r e t h a t B r i t a i n ' R d e p a r t u r e from

Ynl ot7L i n e wa6 fo l lowed by o r d e r l y transfer o f power.

r'ewc.e.-keeping sf t h i s n a t u r e , he n o t e d , i s o f t e n i n t h e

n a t u r e o f m r g e r y , t h e l o n g term eucce.ss o f which i s i n

J ? o u ~ ) ~ .

The uecond p e r s p e c t i v e i s termed E r o p h y l a c t i c . b

Hero a c t i v i t i e s are d e s i g n e d t o p r e v e n t t h e s i t u a t i o n

from petting a n y worse. The approach e x p e c t s t h a t sub-

m q u e n t improvement i n t h e r e l a t i o n s between t h e p a r t i e 6

wi 11 o c c u r but., t h o major and irnmedi.nte a i m i n m e r e l y t o

m a i n t a i r ~ calm arid p r e v e n t v i o l e n c e . T h i s approach i~

a p p r o p r i a t e a t t h e e a r l y stage o f t h e c r i s i s when pro-

blems are n.o more t h a n l a t e n t . F o r i n s t a n c e , i t was

,rf't,~;r t h e f i g h t i n g i n Kashmir t h a t t h e U N was c a l l e d

i n t n t h e scene t o assist i n p r e v e n t i n g a r eoccu rence by

watching o v e r t h o cease-fire.

'Tho t h i r d p e r s p e c t i v e i s t h e Pro~?e ly t i r ;m. - U n d e r tlli s, a c t i v i t i e s are n e i t h e r c o n c i l i a t o r y n o r

p r e v e n t i v e . I t i s a c t i o n s aimed a t u p s e t t i n g F;ome aF;pect,i?

of nn e s t a b l i s h e d o r d e r o f t h i n g s . The o r g a n i s a t i o n h e r e

nctls a6 a means of change w i t h t h e i n t e n t i o n o f c l ean ine ;

t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l s o c i e t y o f ' b e t t e r than s i n f u l 1

s i t u a t i o n s . find by so doing , a r e assumed as go ing abou t

i t s l e g i t i m a t e b u s i n e s s o f s e t t i n g and e n f o r c i n g stan-

dards g e n e r a l l y accep tab le .

A 1 1 peace-keeping o p e r a t i o n s do n o t , i n most c a s e s and a lways , f i t , consp icuous ly i n t o t h e s e t h r e e ( 3 )

frameworks. O r g a n i a a t i o n s , somet ime~j c o u l d engage i n b

b o t h o r all o f t h e frameworks a t t h e same t ime and i n

r e l a t i o n t o t h e same s i t u a t i o n .

H e d i d n o t a l s o f a i l t o p o i n t o u t t h a t i n c a r r y i n g

o u t peace-keeping o p e r a t i o n s , t h a t come problems a r e

encoun te red though i t ' s i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e UN. The f a c t *

i s t h a t , d i f f e r e n t o r g a n i s a t i o n s , depending on t h e n a t u r e

of t he c o n f l i c t , f a c e d i f f e r e n t k i n d s o f problems. The

problems he n o t e d ranges from f i n a n c e t o a u t h o r i z a t i o n

i s s u e . But most ~ e r i o u s o f t h e problems i s g e t t i n g t h e

consen t o f a l l p a r t i e s t o t h e c o n f l i c t . U n i t y of power,

A l a n n o t e d , i s t h e most p romis ing f o r peace-keeping

o p e r a t i o n s .

Alan James uaed t h e term, peace -keeping n o t mere ly

as a d e s c r i p t i v e term, b u t alfio as a way o f making a ,

c l e a r d i s t i n c t i o n between 'what is ' and some o f t h e

16.

d i s c r e d i t e d ' u s e d - t o s t i n t h e form o f c o l l e c t i v e s e c u r i t y d 9

The work d i d n o t say o r e x p l a i n t h e why o f t h e change i n

t h e mode of o p e r a t i o n o f peace-keeping f o r c e as a l i g h t -

armed f o r c e t o a f o r c e h e a v i l y armed i n t h e p r o c e s s o f

c o n f l i c t r e s o l u t i o n .

To h lan James a l s o , * u n i v e r s a l o r q u a s i - u n i v e r s a l

o r g a n i s a t i o n s are o f t e n t a k e n t o b e m e c h a n i q s f o r more

e l e v a t e d conduct of i n t e r n a t i o n a l r e l a t i o n s ( ~ l m J N ~ ~ s

I971 : 435).

He n o t e d t h a t a c t i o n s i n t h e name o f o r g n n i s a t i o n f i gain

cons ide rab l - e l e g i t imacy and p r i o r i t y o v e r some a c t i o n s

by one o r more o f t h e i n t e r e s t e d s t a t e s . The q u e s t i o n

t h a t c o u l d come from t h a t is , how many member s ta tes of

an o r g a n i s a t i o n , w i t h what s t a t u s , w i l l a g r e e t o and

c o n s t i t u t e a peace-keeping o p e r a t i o n f o r t h a t t o be

p r o p e r l y and l e g i t i m a t e l y c o n s t i t u t e d a n d t ~ e r e f o r e , I a c c e p t e d on an a c t i o n by t h e o r g a n i s a t i o n ?

J.S. Nye i n Peace i n P a r t s , I971 t a l k e d abou t w h a t

he c a l l e d ' R e g i o n a l i s t Peace D o c t r i n e s ' which deve loped

a f t e r World War XI. He caw p e a c e w i t h i n t h e r e g i o n as

em,mating from two fo rms o f o r g a n i s a t i o n s and t h e s e

o r g a n i s a t i o n s a r e

( I ) micro-regional economic o r g a n i s a t i o n and

(11) macro-regional p o l i t i c a l o r g a n i s a t i o n .

Micro-regional economic o r g a n i s a t ion f o s t e r s i n t e g r a t i o n

t h a t cou ld change the n a t u r e of r e l a t i o n s between s t a t e s

and make f o r peace i n i n t e r n a t i o n a l systems. Macro-

r e g i o n a l p o l i t i c a l o r g a n i s a t i o n on it^ own has t h e capa-

c i t y t o c o n t r o l c o n f l i c t s among t h e i r members.

He made t h e p o i n t t h a t r e g i o n a l o r g a n i s a t i o n s have

s p e c i a l c a p a c i t y f o r e r e a t i n g peace s i n c e be ing geogra-

p h i c a l l y contiguous p a r t a t h e o r g a n i n a t i o n i n i n a

b e t t e r p o s i t i o n t o unders tand t h e r e a l h i s t o r i c a l back-

ground t o t h e c o n f l i c t a n d t h e r e f o r e a b l e t o g i v e a solu-

t i o n t o i t , He a t t h e same time noted t h a t s k e p t i c s a r e

o f t h e op in ion t h a t ne ighbours a r e f a r away from impar-

t i a l i t y which makes r e g i o n a l o r g a n i s a t i o n r a r e l y i d e a l

arbitar o r media tor i n c o n f l i c t s among member s t a t e s .

Also , they opined t h a t adherence by s t a t e s to t h e pr in-

c i p l e o f s o v e r e i g n t y i n t h e c a s e o f /Africa as enshr ined

i n OW c h a r t e r , t h e r e g i o n a l o r g a n i s a t i o n s do n o t have

c a p a c i t y powerful enough t o d e a l wi th c o n f l i c t s which

a r e assumed i n t e r n a l to count r i es . More s t i l l , organi-

s a t i o n s , e s p e c i a l l y i n developing c o u n t r i e s , a r e more

l i k e l y t o l a ck adequate m a t e r i a l and personnel r e sou rce s

t o d e a l wi th c o n f l i c t s i t u a t i o n s .

Nye r a i s e d f i v e hypotheses i n favour o f reg iona l

peace doc t r ine . To t e s t t he hypo t h e s e s on macro-regional

p o l i t i c a l o rgan i sa t i on , he l i s t e d v a r i o u s r eg iona l orga- $

nisat ions , e x i s t i n g l i s t of c o n f l i c t s between t h e pe r iod

I946 t o I967 and c a l c u l a t e d t he number of c a s e s i n which

macro-regional p o l i t i c a l o r g a n i s a t i o n played a r o l e , i t s

Ruccesses and o t h e r w i ~ e .

And from the l i s t which inc luded OAS, OAU and t he Arab

l eague , r eg iona l o rgan i s a t i o n played v i r t u a l l y no r o l e

i n t h e outcome o f t he i n t e r n a l c o n f l i c t s wi th the

excep t ion of United S t a t e s - OAS i n t e r v e n t i o n i n Dominican Republic i n 1965. Also, OMU p rov i s ion of

t r o o p s a f t e r t he East &f r i c a n m u t i n i e s had a l ready been

pu t o f f by B r i t i s h i n 9964 is ano ther exception. For

i n s t a n c e , he noted t h a t of a l l t he f i v e ca se s , t h a t OAU

as a r e g i o n a l , o r g a n i s a t i o n g o t i n t o between I963 to 1970,

its primary r o l e was t h a t of forum r a t h e r than an admini-

s t r a t o r o f opera t ions . The o r g a n i s a t i o n played no s ign i -

f i c a n t r o l e i n r e s o l u t i o n o f t h e c o n f l i c t and two ( 2 )

of t he se f i v e c a s e s were complete f a i l u r e and i n t e r e s -

t i n g l y , they were c a s e s i nvo lv ing i n t e r n a l c o n f l i c t s .

With regards to i n t e r n a l c o n f l i c t s , t h e claim t h a t

r eg iona l o rgan i s a t i o n s have s u p e r i o r knowledge of t h e

s i t u a t i o n and g r e a t e r agreement on norms and t h e r e f o r e

i n t he c o n f l i c t r e s o l u t i o n seems u n j u s t i f i e d . ' I n t h e end, Nye d id n o t sugges t how r eg iona l c o n f l i c t

w i l l be b e t t e r d e a l t w i t h w i th in t he reg ion d ivorce of

t h e involvement of r eg iona l o rgan i sa t i ons . He a l s o

f a i l e d t o say what used t o be t h e means through which

c o n f l i c t s were reso lved wi th in t h e region before t h i s

r e g i o n a l i s t peace d o c t r i n e s , a f t e r t he 2nd World War.

I. 6.2 ECOMOG as a Subregional Peace-keeping Force

Based on t h e reviewed l i t e r a t u r e s on peace-keeping,

e s p e c i a l l y with r ega rds to t he UN's d e f i n i t i o n of what

peace-keeping e n t a i l s i n Avt. 2 ( 7 ) and &st. 53 of t h e

c h a r t e r , the s tudy noted these. Awt. 2 ( 7 ) s t i p u l a t e s

t h a t no country should i n t e r f e r e i n t h e i n t e r n a l a f f a i r s

of another. Whenever done, A q t . 52 s t i p u l a t e s t h a t t h e

i n t e r v e n t i o n must be, with t h e consent o f the h o s t

government and p a r t i e s t o t h e c o n f l i c t . But t h a t w a s

' n o t t h e case w i t h ECOMOG f o r m a t i o n and deployment.

When t h e a t t a c k on Doe became t o o much f o r him t o

c o n t a i n , he r a n t o h i s p e r s o n a l f r i e n d and p r e s i d e n t o f

N i g e r i a , General Ib rah im Babangida f o r a s s i s t a n c e and as

t h e p r e s s d i d p u t , 'Doe went shopp ing f o r arms i n .

N i g e r i a . Doe n e v e r r an t o p r e s i d e n t Dawuda Jawara of #

Gambia, t h e t h e n chairman o f ECOWAS t o seek f o r assis-

t a n c e , who w i l l t h e n have sough t f o r h e l p th rough ECOWAS

by c a l l i n g a m e e t i n g o f h e a d s o f s t a t e s and government.

Then and o n l y t h e n would t h e involvement o f ECOWAS and

f o r m a t i o n o f ECOMOG been more f o r m a l l y c o n s t i t u t e d .

I t i s a l s o a f a c t t h a t f o r t h e f o r m a t i o n o f a

p r o p e r and w e l l c o n s t i t u t e d r e g i o n a l peace-keeping

f o r c e , t h e r e must be c o n s e n s u s among membership o f t h e

r e g i o n a l o r g a n i s a t i o n f o r mandate and o p e r a t i o n and

c o n t i n u i n g f u n c t i o n i n g o f t h e f o r c e so formed and

dep loyed by t h e member s t a t e s . To s e t up a commit tee*

u s u a l l y o f uneven number, t o d r a f t t h e t e r m s f o r

s e t t l e m e n t of, c o n f l i c t , t h e commit tee shou ld b e made up

o f s u p p o r t e r s o f b o t h s i d e s as w e l l as t h o s e who a r e

n e u t r a l B o l a j i Akinyemi n o t e d i n h i s p a p e r (tContemporary

C o n s t r a i n t s dm Peace R o l e s i n t h e T h i r d W o r l d t , 1 9 7 6 ) .

The f a c t s t i l l s t a n d s too t h a t t h e r e e x i s t e d a d i s -

agreement between t h e ECOWAS membership on t h e f o r m a t i o n 4

and deployment o f a s u b r e g i o n a l peace-keeping t r o o p t o

L i b e r i a , a d i sag reemen t more pronounced between t h e

Francophones and t h e Anglophones. While some @ saw t h e

c o n f l i c t as an i n t e r n a l c r i s i s which needed no e x t e r n a l

i n t e r v e n t i o n , o t h e r s saw i t as a t h r e a t t o p e a c e and

s t a b i l i t y w i t h i n t h e sub- reg ion and s o ~ h o u l d be checked

S t i l l i n r e l a t i o n t o consenGus among membership o f t h e

o r g a n i s a t i o n , c o g n i s a n c e shou ld be made o f t h e number o f

c o u n t r i e s i n a t t e n d a n c e i n t h e p e a c e p l a n commit tee t h a t

saw t o t h e f o r m a t i o n o f ECOMOG. Out o f f i ix teen ( 1 6 )

membership o f ECOWAS, c o n s i s t i n g o f ( 1 0 ) t e n Francophone

states and s i x ( 6 ) knglophone s t a t e s , o n l y f i v e ( 5 )

member s t a t e s a t t e n d e d . And o u t o f t h e f i v e , o n l y one

Francophone c o u n t r y w a s t h e r e . F o r such a lop - s ided

commit tee , what w i l l come o u t o f i t w i l l d e f i n i t e l y be

a lop - s ided a r rangement . Up t i l l t h e 0 5 t h o f September ,

1992 , a f t e r o v e r two ( 2 ) y e a r s o f f i g h t i n g i n L i b e r i a ,

U I J M O f o r c e s a r e s t i l l c a l l i n g on I v o r y Coas t t o j o i n

i n t h e f i g h t a g a i n s t C h a r l e s T a y l o r and h i s NPFL f o r c e s

whom most p e o p l e s e e as b e i n g s u p p o r t e d by most o f t h e

~ r a n c o p h o n e s ( ~ o i c e o f N i g e r i a b r o a d c a s t 05/09/92) .

The p r i n c i p l e s of t h e m a j o r r e g i o n a l o r g a n i s a t i o n s

even t h a t , t h a t formed ECOMOG w a s v i o l a t e d i n t h e p r o c e s s

o f t h e p e a c e p l an . The OUU p r i n c i p l e on ' non - in t e r f e -

r e n c e ' w a s v i o l a t e d . The ECOWAS p r o t o c o l s on 'non-

a g g r e s s i o n t and t h a t r e l a t i n g t o 'mu tua l a s s i s t a n c e o n

Defence' were e q u a l l y v i o l a t e d . A s Yorom, (1991) n o t e d ,

' t h e e s s e n c e o f t h e p r o t o c o l s i s to p r o v i d e f o r r e e i o n a l

s e c u r i t y and n o t t o t h r e a t e n t h e s e c u r i t y o f t h e r e g i o n '

t h rough a i d i n g s e g r e g a t i o n o f t h e d i f f e r e n t g r o u p s

w i t h i n t h e r eg ion .

I n t h e end, one can n o t e t h a t t h e r e was no j u s t i f i -

c a t i o n l e g a l l y , p o l i t i c a l l y and o t h e r w i s e f o r ECOMOG

f o r m a t i o n and deployment i n t o t h e L i b e r i a n c r i s i s .

ECOMOG g o t i n v o l v e d i n t h e L i b e r i a n c r i s i s s imply o n

h u m a n i t a r i a n g rounds which was n u t a good enough r eason

f o r states t o s t a k e t h e l i v e s o f t h e i r s o l d i e r s . The

f a c t s t i l l remains that b e f o r e a peace-keeping f o r c e i s

deployed t o a c o n f l i c t a r e a , a c e a s e f i r e must have been

achieved . But t h a t was n o t t h e c a s e w i t h ECOMOG t roops .

And t h a t i n e s s e n c e was tantamount t o expos ing o f s o l d i e r %

t o a l o t o f harm and adanger d e s p i t e t h e f a c t t h a t , t h a t

was t h e i r ( s o l d i e r ' s ) name p e r s o n i f i e d .

M.S.O. Olisa, (1991) t r i e d t o j u s t i f y t h e argument

a g a i n s t t h e f o r m a t i o n and deployment of ECOMOG by g i v i n g #

i n s t a n c e s i n r e c e n t A f r i c a n h i s t o r y where e x t e r n a l

A f r i c a n m i l i t a r y f o r c e s had been used t o end i n t e r n a l

p o l i t i c a l crisis i n s o v e r e i g n s t a t e s . He gave examples

o f t h e U N i n t e r v e n t i o n i n Congo (1960 - 1961) and Tanzanian f o r c e s i n t e r v e n t i o n i n Uganda (1979) . He n o t e d

t h a t Uganda and L i b e r i a n c a s e s have i n t e r e s t i n g simila-

r i t i e s . Both c a s e s , t h e s t u d y h e r e n o t e d a r e q u i t e

d i f f e r e n t . Tanzan ia had t o i n t e r v e n e i n Uganda because

t h e l a t t e r annexed l a r g e p a r t o f t h e t e r r i t o r y o f t h e

fo rmer which p u t s t h e fo rmer i n a l e g a l p o s i t i o n t o

f i g h t f o r what r i g h t f u l l y b e l o n g s t o i t .

The Ugandan-Tanzanian c a s e shou ld be b e t t e r equa ted wi th

t h e Iraq-Kuwai t c r i s i s and U . S . -All ied f o r c e s i n t e r v e n -

t i o n and n o t wi th t h e L i b e r i a n case .

1.6.3 Marga re t A. Vogt i n h e r a r t i c l e * N i g e r i a ' s

P a r t i c i p a t i o n i n t h e ECOWAS M o n i t o r i n g Group - ECOMOGm, i n N i g e r i a n J o u r n a l o f I n t e r n a t i o n a l A f f a i r s , Vol. 17 ,

No. I , 1991, saw t h e c a u s e s o f L i b e r i a n c r i s i s as d e e p l y

r o o t e d i n d i s t r i b u t i o n s c r e a t e d by t h e p a t t e r n o f s t a t e

fo rma t ion . She s a i d t h e war i s a r e s u l t o f r i v a l r y and

h o s t i l i t y among t h e v a r i o u s e t h n i c g r o u p s i n $he coun t ry .

T h e r e f o r e , d e s c r i b i n g t h e war as -a s t r u g g l e f o r a s s e r -

t i o n o f t h e e r s t h w h i l e s u p p r e s s e d s u b - n a t i o n a l a s p i r a t i o n ,

a p r o c e s s o f d e c o l o n i z a t i o n and n a t i o n a l i n t e g r a t i o n - - - , -*1 ( ~ o g t M. 1991: 101) . A d e s c r i p t i o n of t h i s k ind t h e s t u d y n o t e d , l e a v e s t h e i m p r e s s i o n and emphas is t h a t

t h e war g o i n g o n i n L i b e r i a i s more of domes t i c i s s u e .

Which t h e r e f o r e meant t h a t i t needed no i n t e r f e r e n c e

from e x t e r n a l environment .

On t h e f o r m a t i o n o f ECOMOG, s h e s a i d i t was nece-

ssi t a t e d by t h e v i o l a t i o n o f t h e OAU ' n o n - i n t e r f e r e n c e '

p r i n c i p l e by Cote d l I v o i r e and Burk ina Faso though t h e i r

a s s i s t a n c e t o t h e N a t i o n a l P a t r i o t i c F r o n t o f L i b e r i a

o f C h a r l e s T a y l o r which saw N i g e r i a coming i n th rough

ECOMOG t o coun te r . She a l s o n o t e d t h a t i n i t i a l l y , ECOMOG

was n o t conceived of as an i n t e r v e n t i o n f o r c e . And

j u s t i f y i n g t h i s p o i n t , she went on t o say t h a t if i t

were from t h e on s e t an i n t e r v e n t i o n f o r c e , t h e number,

composi t ion and t h e s t r a t e g y adopted by t h e f o r c e on

deployment would have been d i f f e r e n t .

But i n p r i n c i p l e , v i o l a t i o n o f an i n t e r n a t i o n a l l a w

p r i n c i p l e , o r a p r i n c i p l e o f an o r g a n i s a t i o n g e n e r a l l y

accep ted by member s t a t e s as binding; i s n o t j u s t i f i e d

by v i o l a t i o n of a n o t h e r p r i n c i p l e of t h e same organisa-

t i o n . And t h a t i s t o say t h a t Burkina Faso and Cote

D ' I v o i r e would have been c a l l e d t o t h e t a b l e , i n s t e a d of

a l s o i n t e r f e r i n g i n t h e i n t e r n a l a f f a i r of a n o t h e r

coun t ry as a way of c a l l i n g them t o o rde r .

Margaret Vogt deemed i t ext remely dangerous t o r e p l a c e

one a u t o c r a t i c government wi th another . But, t h a t was

what t y p i f i e d Doe's e r a when h e rep laced t h e a u t o c r a t i c

government o f W i l l i a m T o l b e r t i n 1980.

The s tudy goes on t o f i n d o u t , i f a l l t h e s e assumed

f a c t u a l s i t u a t i o n s a r e on ly emphasised when t h e r e i s

extreme c o n f l i c t si tua t ion?

was n o t conceived o f as an i n t e r v e n t i o n f o r c e . And

j u s t i f y i n g t h i s p o i n t , she went on t o say t h a t i f i t

were from t h e on s e t an i n t e r v e n t i o n f o r c e , t h e number,

composi t ion and t h e s t r a t e g y adopted by t h e f o r c e on

deployment would have been d i f f e r e n t .

But i n p r i n c i p l e , v i o l a t i o n o f an i n t e r n a t i o n a l l a w

p r i n c i p l e , o r a p r i n c i p l e o f an o r g a n i s a t i o n g e n e r a l l y

accep ted by member s t a t e s as binding; i s n o t j u s t i f i e d

by v i o l a t i o n of a n o t h e r p r i n c i p l e of t h e same organisa-

t i o n . And t h a t i s t o say t h a t Burkina Faso and Cote

D t I v o i r e would have been c a l l e d t o t h e t a b l e , i n s t e a d of

a l s o i n t e r f e r i n g i n t h e i n t e r n a l a f f a i r of a n o t h e r

coun t ry as a way of c a l l i n g them t o o rde r .

Margaret Vogt deemed i t ext remely dangerous t o r e p l a c e

one a u t o c r a t i c government wi th another . But, t h a t w a s

what t y p i f i e d Doe t s e r a when he rep laced t h e a u t o c r a t i c

government o f William T o l b e r t i n 1980.

The s t u d y goes on t o f i n d o u t , i f a l l t h e s e assumed

f a c t u a l s i t u a t i o n s a r e o n l y emphasised when t h e r e i s

extreme c o n f l i c t s i t u a t i o n ?

On N i g e r i a ' s involvement she s a i d , N i g e r i a g o t

invo lved b a s i c a l l y because o f t h e f a c t t h a t , Y n s t a b i l i t y

i n any o f t h e s t a t e s i n t h e West A f r i c a subregion would

e v e n t u a l l y d e s t r o y t h e ba lance of s t a b i l i t y i n t h e e n t i r e

r eg ionm ( ~ o g t M. 1991: 112). And t h a t i s t o say t h a t

d e s p i t e t h e f a c t t h a t L i b e r i a i s n o t con t iguous t o

N i g e r i a , economic and p o l i t i c a l i n t e r e s t s have made @

L i b e r i a more con t iguous be ing a source of r e g i o n a l

i n s t a b i l i t y .

She was t r y i n g t o f i n d o u t what N i g e r i a ' s n a t i o n a l

i n t e r e s t was i n t h e b i d t o answer t o t h e whole l o t o f

c r i t i c i s m s l e v i e d a g a i n s t N i g e r i a i n h e r involvement i n

L i b e r i a n c r i s i s . The e x p l a n a t i o n she s a w i n N i g e r i a ' s

n a t i o n a l i n t e r e s t which she de f ined as being p r e d i c a t e d

on a s t a b l e and o r d e r l y p o l i t i c a l environment , t h a t can b r i n g about e f f e c t i v e implementat ion of economic i n t e -

g r a t i o n , i s t h a t , i n t e r v e n t i o n by N i g e r i a and by impl i -

c a t i o n ECOMOG i n L i b e r i a i s a form o f humani tar ian

a c t i o n designed t o r e s t o r e normalcy t o L i b e r i a . But i n

i n t e r n a t i o n a l l a w , t h e r e i s no room o r o p t i o n f o r

e t h i c a l o r moral a c t i o n s and o r c o n s i d e r a t i o n s t o break

t h e r u l e ,

I n t h e complex i ty o f t h e s i t u a t i o n s h e enumerated

t h r e e s t r a t e g i c o p t i o n s open t o Nigeria and ECOMOC i n

s i t u a t i o n of t i m e l e s s e x p e d i t i o n .

Op t ion I

T h i s i s p r e d i c a t e d on t h e argument t h a t N i g e r i a

had no n a t i o n a l i n t e r e s t t o p r o t e c t L i b e r i a t h a t w i l l

# w a r r a n t h e r expending t h e s c a r c e human r e s o u r c e s i n

L i b e r i a . I t h o l d s t h a t N i g e r i a i s i n v o l v e d a l r e a d y i n

L i b e r i a and i s b e i n g watched by o t h e r c o u n t r i e s w i t h i n

and o u t s i d e t h e sub reg ion . Worst s t i l l , ECOHOG i s seen

as N i g e r i a ' s f o r c e t h e r e f o r e , e v e r y t h i n e had t o be done

by N i g e r i a and ECOMOC t o l e t p e a c e r e i g n i n L i b e r i a .

She h o l d s t h a t , d e s p i t e a l l odds , man u n t i d y wi thdrawal

would r e t u r n t h e c o u n t r y t o a s i t u a t i o n which w i l l be

worse t han i f ECOMOC had n e v e r been deployedm ( ~ o g t M .

1991: 116).

Opt ion I1

T h i s had t o do w i t h e s t a b l i s h i n g a f a c t t h a t s i n c e

T a y l o r had d e c l a r e d war o n ECOMOC, h e m u ~ t be r o u t e d and

f o r c e f u l l y t o o . and an i n t e r i m government set up. L i . b e r i a

armed f o r c e s shou ld a l s o be r e c o n s t i t u t e d and t r a i n e d

and s t a b l e p o l i t i c a l o r d e r e s t a b l i s h e d , T h i s op t i on

w i l l ensure t h a t r e b e l l i o n a g a i n s t c o n s t i t u t e d a u t h o r i t y

and promotion of s t a t e of anarchy i n any country wi th in

t h e sub- region i s completely d i scouraged. According t o

h e r , t h i s op t i on t h e o r e t i c a l l y w i l l d i scourage f o r c e f u l

i n t e r v e n t i o n i n t h e i n t e r n a l a f f a i r of sub-regional

s t a t e s by l e a d e r s who want t o promote t h e i r pkrsona l

ambi t ions and p r o j e c t t h e i r a s p i r a t i o n f o r t h e l eader -

s h i p of t h e sub-region.

Option 111

This @ v e s diplomacy as f i n a l meanfi of c o n f l i c t i n

t h e c o u n t r i e s w i th in t he sub-region. Diplomacy she s a i d

w i l l h e l p b u i l d conf idence i n people with r ega rd s t o t h e

r o l e of ECOMOG i n L iber ia . While t h e r e w a s need f o r

l i m i t e d a p p l i c a t i o n of f o r c e to b r i n g t h e warr ing fac-

t i o n s t o s e t t l emen t t a b l e , an agg re s s ive f o r e i g n and

d ip loma t i c p o l i c y network w i l l go a l o n g way i n achie-

v i n g peace,

The problem with t h i s work i s t h a t a f t e r enumerat ing

and j u s t i f y i n g t h e why of ECOMOG format ion and t he why

of N i g e r i a ' s involvement i n L i b e r i a , i t h a s f a i l e d t o

29

g i v e u s t h e i m p l i c a t i o n s o f t h e c r e a t i o n of such a

f o r c e t o N i g e r i a , t o ECOWAS and t o t h e subregion as a

whole.

M.S.O. Olisa i n h i s s tudy conducted f o r t h e Afr i -

can Academy of S c i e n c e s , Nai robi t i t l e d " I n t e r n a l

C o n f l i c t s , Peace and Development i n A f r i c a : ECOMOC and 8

t h e L i b e r i a n Crisis, 1991" c l a s s i f i e d c o n f l i c t s i n

A f r i c a based on t h e i r development . h i s t o r i c a l l y i n t o

f o u r ( 4 ) s t a g e s - ( I ) L a t e n t o r Mani fes t ,

(IT) P o t e n t i n l o r a c t u a l ,

(111) Unarmed o r armed,

f I V ) Non-violent o r v i o l e n t .

I n e f f e c t , h e f i x e s t ime d imensional a t t r i b u t e s t o

c o n f l i c t s i n i t s s t a g e s o f development t o exp los ion

s t age .

He s t r e s s e s t h e V o l c a n o theory* which h o l d s t h a t

c o n f l i c t s j u s t do n o t o c c u r b u t develop and have h i s t o r y .

He, t h e r e f o r e , l o c a t e d t h e L i b e r i a n c r i s i s i n the

h i s t o r y o f t h e coun t ry and s t r u c t u r e of t h e p o l i t i c a l

community. The L i b e r i a n h i s t o r y he s a i d was marked by

two ( 2 ) major e r a s - P r e - s e t t l e r s era and

He argued t h a t a l l t h e f o u r s t a g e s above i n one way o r

ano the r must have mani fes ted i t s e l f i n t h e L i b e r i a n

c r i s i s b e f o r e t h e exp los ion i n I980 o f t he c o n f l i c t

when i t moved i n t o a mu l t i - e t hn i c dimensional c o n f l i c t .

I n essence t h e r e f o r e , t h e r e must be two ( 2 ) p e r i o d s t o

a c o n f l i c t - ' g e s t a t i o n p e r i o d t and ' i n cuba t i on pe r iod ' . The g e s t a t i o n pe r iod , accord ing to Dr. Olisa bas the

p e r i o d between (1847 - 1980). And t h a t was the pe r iod between t h e a r r i v a l of t he Americo-Liberian, t h e i r

dominance of r u l e r s h i p up t i l l t h e time t h a t Master

Sergen t Doe a t ruck i n 1980. Th i s pe r iod , Olisa a l s o

s a i d , was marked by o r desc r ibed as a per iod when t he

c o n f l i c t was, m l a t e n t , p o t e n t i a l , non-violent , unarmed,

unorganised, with l i t t l e o r no demands a r t i c u l a t i o n

- - _ _ t h e r e was l i t t l e o r no a c t i v e i n t e r e s t and involvement of e x t e r n a l p o l i t i c a l a c to r sm . 12

This assumption by t h e paper and t h e r e f o r e o f t h e volcano

theory of t he s i t u a t i o n of t h i n g s i n L i b e r i a between

t h a t p e r i o d seems i n c o r r e c t . Becnuee t he monopoly of

t h e p o l i t i c a l r i g h t s by the s e t t l e r s on a r r i v a l i n I821

t r i g g e r e d o f f a l o t o f d iscontentment and wars between

t h e i n d i g e n e s and t h e s e t t l e r s . For i n s t a n c e , t h e r e was

t h e I 8 7 5 - 76' c o n f l i c t which l e d t o American government I3 a s s i s t i n g t h e s e t t l e r s t o s u p p r e s s t h e Crebo t r i b e .

Also , between I 9 6 1 - 3 , t h e U n i t e d States Agency f o r I n t e r n a t i o n a l Development and t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l Labour

O r g a i s a t i o n waded i n f o s t o p t h e abuse of t h e r i g h t s

of t h e i n d i g e n e s which cou ld a l s o be Eeen as involvement

o f e x t e r n a l p o l i t i c a l a c t o r s i n t h e a f f a i r s i n t e r n a l t o

a count ry . I n I979 A p r i l , t h e r e was t h e r ice r i o t i n

L i b e r i a by t h e marke t women, s t u d e n t s , P r o g r e s s i v e

A l l i a n c e of L i b e r i a (PAL) , a L i b e r i a n o r g a n i s a t i o n i n

U.S. end t h e unemployed youths . T h i s made t h e p o l i c e

t o come i n and a b o u t . 500 p r o t e s t e r s were k i l l e d though

o f f i c i a l f i g u r e s k e p t t h e number a t twenty-nine ( 2 9 ) .

A l l t h e s e crises canno t be s a i d t o be n o n - v i o l e n t ,

unarmed, unorgan i sed and so on and t h e r e f o r e , a g e s t a -

t i o n p e r i o d as d e s c r i b e d by t h e p a p e r as t y p i f i e d by t h e

p e r i o d between (1847 - 1980) . Also , h a v i n g i d e n t i f i e d t h e g e s t a t i o n p e r i o d , t h e p a p e r

h a s f a i l e d t o i d e n t i f y t h e e x p l o s i o n p e r i o d and l o c a t e

i t w i t h i n a p a r t i c u l a r p e r i o d i n t h e h i s t o r y o f L i b e r i a n

crises. Could i t t h e n be t a k e n t o b e from I980 t i l l

d a t e o r from I989 when C h a r l e s T a y l o r s t r u c k a g a i n s t

Samuel Doe and h i s government, t i l l da te?

D r . Olisa a l s o noted c o n f l i c t management as involv- "

i n g measeures aimed a t p r even t ing c o n f l i c t from explo-

d i n g i n t o v i o l e n t ones. The competence o r o therwise of

a s t a t e t o manage i t s i n t e r n a l c o n f l i c t s depends on what

he desc r ibed as, &ef f i cacioue a p p l i c a t i o n of d e t e r r e n t #

coerc ion and ame l io r a t i ve measures.m14 And i n L ibe r i an

ca se , t h e r e h a s been two ( 2 ) f a i l u r e s i n t he management

o f t he c r i s e s i n t he country - ( I ) dur ing t he r u l e of h e r i c o - L i b e r i a n s and

(XI) under t he m i l i t a r y r u l e of Samuel Doe.

And t h i s c r e a t e d a vacuum which Char les Taylor emerged

t o f i l l . The paper ho ld s t h a t t he f a i l u r e of t he country

t o manage i t s c o n f l i c t w i l l b r i n g t he i s s u e of c o n f l i c t

r e s o l u t i o n t h e f a i l u r e of which w i l l now c a l l f o r

e x t e r n a l i n t e rven t ion .

There seem to be a problem with t h i s exp lana t ion of

c o n f l i c t management, c o n f l i c t r e s o l u t i o n and e x t e r n a l

i n t e rven t ion . Th is probably i s due t o l a c k of proper

d e f i n i t i o n and f i x a t i o n of t he terms. What does the

management and t he r e s o l u t i o n o f t he c o n f l i c t mean, and

' \

at what p a r t i c u l a r p o i n t i n t ime o f t h e c o n f l i c t a r e

they u t i l i z e d ? I f t h e management of t h e c o n f l i c t l i e s IL

with t h e government o f t h e day, who does t h e r e s o l u t i o n

o f t h e c o n f l i c t l i e wi th , t h e government o f t h e day o r

t h e p a r t i e s t o t h e c o n f l i c t ? The main p o i n t i s t h a t ,

when a government i s i n c a p a b l e of managing h e r c o n f l i c t ,

t h e p o s s i b i l i t y of t h e same government o r even t h e , o t h e r I I

p a r t i e a t o i t r e s o l v i n g t h e same c o n f l i c t seem bleak

wi thout a t h r i d p a r t y , thereby b r i n g i n g i n t h e i s s u e of

e x t e r n a l i n t e r v e n t i o n .

Once a coun t ry cannot manage a c r i s i s , t h e r e s o l u t i o n

and cessation of such c o n f l i c t i n one way o r t h e o t h e r

w i l l i n v o l v e a t h i r d p a r t y p l a y i n g a r o l e s i g n i f i c a n t

o r o t h e r w i s e , which can n o t be d i f f e r e n t from what can

be seen as e x t e r n a l i n t e r v e n t i o n as was t h e c a s e wi th

B i a f r a and N i g e r i a i n 1966 - 1970. And t h i s i d e a of c o n f l i c t management, c o n f l i c t resolu-

t i o n and e x t e r n a l i n t e r v e n t i o n he argued, a p p l i e d t o

t h e L i b e r i a n c a s e and e x p l a i n s t h e i n t e r v e n t i o n and

p resence of ECOMOG i n L i b e r i a thua.

On t h e r e s o l u t i o n of t h e c o n f l i c t i n L i b e r i a and

t h e r o l e of ECOMOG, t h e paper n o t e w o r t h i l y argued t h a t ,

d aJ 0

2 -E 0 a 8 k 0

C 0 4 G d 0 d d a 0 P)

5 d l-l

Q, 0

!i G OD d a k a, PI

h

W w

II (IV) I n s u f f i c i e n t e x t e r n a l i n t e r v e n t i o n .

(V) Rbsence o f conf idence -bu i ld ing machinery amongst

t h e w a r r i n g groups ,

He f i n a l l y made s u g g e s t i o n s t o t h e s o l u t i o n of t h e

L i b e r i a n c r i s i s based on two ( 2 ) most e v i d e n t t h e o r i e s

o u t o f a l l t h e t h e o r i e s h e g a v e o r u s e d i n e x p l a i n i n g

t h e L i b e r i a n crisis. These are t h e S t a t e the,ory and

t h e Socio-Psychologi cal theory.

8nd f o r a l a s t i n g p e a c e f u l s e t t l e m e n t , h e recommended - ( I ) a r e f o r m u l a t i o n o f t h e s t r u c t u r e and c o n t e n t o f

t h e L i b e r i a n a t a t e as a p l u r a l i u t s o c i e t y ,

(11 ) a d o p t i o n of a f e d e r a l system o f government

p r e f e r a b l y t h e S w i s s model f o r L i b e r i a w i t h

c o u n c i l members drawn from d e s i g n a t e d zones and

t h e c h a i manship, r o t a t i o n a l ,

The problem wi th t h i s p a p e r i s t h a t i t developed

so many c o n c e p t s and t h e o r i e s i n t r y i n g t o e x p l a i n a

p a r t i c u l a r i s s u e and i n the p r o c e s s , i n s t e a d o f making

e x p l i c i t t h e i s s u e u n d e r d i s c u s s i o n which must have

been t h e aim of t h e development o f so many c o n c e p t s and d;J ,̂th W A %

t h e o r i e s a t t h e f i r s t i n s t a n c e , ,.!l?he p a p e r d i d n o t s e e

'> N i g e r i a ' s involvement and t h e fo rmat ion o f ECOMOG a8

having made any c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e war i n L i b e r i a .

Most i m p o r t a n t l y , t h e i m p l i c a t i o n o f t h e fo rmat ion of "

such a peace-keeping f o r c e and such an i n t e r v e n t i o n a c t

w i t h i n t h e subregion was n o t d iscussed.

V i c t o r a. Udetula , i n h i s paper -ECOWAS and t h e L i b e r i a n c r i s i s - An approach i n c o n f l i c t management,= p r e s e n t e d a t t h e confe rence of t h e Niger ian S o c i e t y of

I n t e r n a t i o n a l Mffair, 1991, went beyond t h e subreg ion

t o e x p l a i n t h e p e r v a s i v e n e s s o f d i s o r d e r and i n s t a b i l i t y

i n t h e c o n t i n e n t f o r t h e p a s t t h r e e ( 7 ) decadea.

Using t h e p o l i t i c a l economy approach t o i s s u e s , he

s e e s t h e c r i s e s i n t h e c o n t i n e n t , t h e West A f r i c a sub-

r eg ion and t h e r e f o r e L i b e r i a i n p a r t i c u l a r as r e v o l v i n g

around two ( 2 ) major i s s u e s - ( I ) The i s s u e o f i m p e r a t i v e O f accumulat ion and

(11) t h e i s s u e of t h e p rob lemat ic o f l e g i t i m a t i o n ,

i n t e r a c t i n g b n t h e base o f s u p e r s t r u c t u r a l r e l a t i o n s h i p ,

He s a i d t h a t t h e pos t -co lon ia l s t a t e s i n k f r i c a l a c k

t h e c o n d i t i o n of a p o l i t i c a l o r d e r f o r r e s o l v i n g t h e

p r o b l e m a t i c o f accumulation. According t o A r i s t i d e

Zolberg i n A d e t u l a ( I 9 9 1 ) , t h e most s a l i e n t c h a r a c t e r i s t i c

of p o l i t i c a l l i f e i n k f r i c a i s t h a t i t c o n s t i t u t e s an

almost i n s t i t u t i o n l e s s a r ena with c o n f l i c t and d i s o r d e r

as i t s most prominent f e a t u r e s * (Adetula , (1991): 2) .

V i r t u a l l y a l l t h e subregions i n t h e con t inen t have gone

through one c o n f l i c t o r ano ther s t a r t i n g w i t h the Congo

c o n f l i c t and Nigerian c o n f l i c t of t h e e a r l y s i x t i e s t o

t h a t between k l g e r i a and Morrocco over t he Western +

Sahara i n t h e mid-seventies. He noted t h a t h i s t o r i c a l l y ,

t h e L ibe r i an economy h a s e x i s t e d as an appendage of the

U.S. economy.

H e a l s o noted some c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s t h a t are common with

k f r i c a n t s p o l i t i c a l type of c o n f l i c t s , These i n c l u d e - ( I ) be ing i n t r a c t a b l e - l a s t i n g f o r decades,

(11) having a domino e f f e c t - s t a r t i n g i n one s p e c i f i c a r e a and engu l f ing t he e n t i r e reg ion ,

(111) pos se s s ing a sp i l l - ove r e f f e c t - one c o n f l i c t l e a d i n g t o ano ther d i f f e r e n t c o n f l i c t .

And p o l i t i c a l c o n f l i c t s , he argued, comes from two ( 2 )

l e v e l s - i n t e r n a l and e x t e r n a l l e v e l s with vary ing n a t u r e over years. H e a l s o gave examples of both.

Having incu r r ed t h e d i s p l e a s u r e o f United S t a t e s ,

d i s p l e a s u r e based on Doe's i n a b i l i t y t o manage t h e

c o n f l i c t s a r i s i n g from t h e problem of c a p i t a l accumula-

t i o n i n L i b e r i a and n e i t h e r be ing i n t h e good books of

t h e E a s t e r n c o u n t r i e s , ECOWUS, so r e a d i l y provided a

forum f o r easy manipu la t ion and o v e r s e a s p o l i t i c a l

a d v e n t u r i . 9 f o r L i b e r i a . He a l s o no ted t h a t t h e politics:

i s s u e s invo lved i n t h e p a t t e r n and n a t u r e of t h e armed #

i n t e r v e n t i o n i n L i b e r i a by ECOWAS, g i v e s a r e f l e c t i o n o f

a g r a d u a l s p r e a d i n g and power of t h e dominant ideo logy

i n t h e West Af r i can subregion which i s c a p i t a l i s m ,

The r o o t of t h e c r i s i s i n L i b e r i a he t h e r e f o r e

d e s c r i b e d as deep s y s t e m a t i c c r i s i s roo ted i n 'Impera-

t i v e o f accumulat ion ' and 'P rob lemat ic of l e g i t i m a t i o n 1 .

So t h a t even when t h e s e c o n f l i c t s assumes &hnic o r

r e l i g i o u s tone , *they a r e o f t e n at t h e l e v e l of produc-

t i o n and p roduc t ion r e l a t i o n s - -- outwards symbols f o r t h e m o b i l i s a t i o n and o r g a n i s a t i o n o f p o l i t i c a l l i f e . '*-

He a l s o emphasised t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between L i b e r i a and

United S t a t e s which he b e l i e v e s h a s economic and p o l i t i -

c a l i m p l i c a t i o n s . L i b e r i a n ' s economy he s a w as an

appendage o f t h e U,S, economy seen from t h e a s s i s t a n c e

and a i d t h a t t h e U.S. e x t e n d s t o L i b e r i a ,

H e saw ECOWAS i n t e r v e n t i o n and by imp l i ca t i on

ECOMOG format ion con t r a ry t o the assumption of t he

f u h c t i o n a l i e t and neo- func t iona l ia t t h e o r i e s of a

'working peace systemt bu t as a p o l i c y response t o

c e r t a i n endemic problems t o t he growth of c ap i t a l i sm .

The omiss ion i n t h e ECOWAS t r e a t y preamble of defence

i m p l i c a t i o n s a c r o s s terri t o r i a l bo rde r s made ECOWAS 1

n o t t o be i n t he p o s i t i o n o f a r eg iona l o r g a n i s a t i o n

t h a t can guaran tee s e c u r i t y even with the non-aggression

p r o t o c o l on I978 and t he defence pac t . Predominant

i n t e n t i o n of t he founding f a t h e r s of ECOWAS wafi t o

mpromote co-operat ion and development i n all f i e l d s of

economic a c t i v i t y . . . . .* ( k d e t u l a , (1991) : 5). He t h u s saw t h e l e g a l i t y of ECOWWS i n t e r v e n t i o n by

extension,",the l e g a l i t y o f t h e United Nat ions i n i n t e r -

ven t i on a c t s according to t he Nigerian government.

On Nigeria's involvement, t h e paper pointed o u t

t h a t t h e persona l r e l a t i o n s h i p between N i g e r i a ' s P r e s iden t

Babangida and L i b e r i a ' s La t e Samuel Doe makes obse rve r s

wonder about the n e u t r a l i t y i n N i g e r i a ' s p o s i t i o n as a

mediator.

40.

He a l s o n o t e d what a d e s i r a b l e adven tu re N i g e r i a ' s a i d ,

f i n a n c i a l a s s i s t a n c e and h a s t i l y involvement i n ECOMOG

f o r m a t i o n is , c o n s i d e r i n g h e r b a t t e r e d economy marked

by ' increased e x t e r n a l d e b t o f about W34 b i l l i o n ,

growing i n t e r n a l d e f i c i t s , s p i r a l l i n g i n f l a t i o n ,

unemployment and d e c l i n e i n t h e s t a n d a r d of l i v i n g of

most Niger ians . b

N i g e r i a ' s involvement i n L i b e r i a n c r i s i s i n t h e manner

i t d i d j u s t i f i e s h e r a s p i r a t i o n f o r r e g i o n a l power.

And t h e ba lance of power i n West A f r i c a i s a l r e a d y

t i l t e d t o t h e s i d e o f N i g e r i a hav ing been acclaimed

m i l i t a r i l y s u p e r i o r w i t h i n t h e subregion. Also , changes

i n h e r de fence d o c t r i n e goes t o b u t t r e s s f u r t h e r ,

h e r a s p i r a t i o n f o r power i n t h e subregion.

&nd on s u c c e s s and f a i l u r e of ECOWAS i n L i b e r i a ,

he a t t r i b u t e d t o t h e a b i l i t y of ECOWWS t o hand le and

s t o p armed a g g r e s s i o n aimed a t t o p p l i n g a l e g i t i m a t e

government. The q u e s t i o n now is , where and how does

t h e paper want u s to s i t u a t e t h e f a c t t h a t t h e l e g i t i -

mate government and p r e s i d e n t was taken hos tage and

e v e n t u a l l y k i l l e d by one of t h e r e b e l l e a d e r s , P r i n c e

Y. Johnson whi le i n ECOMOG camp?

The i n a b i l i t y of ECOWAS t o coopt member s t a t e s t o

suppor t t h e experiment on ECOMOG format ion , he a l s o s a w

as weakness and f a i l u r e on t h e p a r t o f ECOWAS.

H e s a i d t h a t peace-keeping i s as much a p o l i t i c a l

as i t i s a m i l i t a r y e f f o r t though ECOMOC had decided t o

d e a l wi th o n l y t h e m i l i t a r y a s p e c t o f t h e c r i s i s r a t h e r

than t he p o l i t i c a l a spec t . T h i s he a t t r i b u t e d t o t h e

l a c k of p o l i t i c a l c o n t r o l and d i r e c t i o n t h a t would have

complemented t h e m i l i t a r y opera t ion .

Joseph S. Yoromf s paper , *Regional S e c u r i t y , Collec-

t i v e Defence and t h e Problem of Peace I n j , t i a t i v e s i n

Weat Af r i c a ; The c a s e of ECOMOGw (1991) s t a r t e d l i k e

Ade tu la t s beyond t h e West Af r i c an region i n t o A f r i c a i n

l ook ing at t h e pe rva s ivenes s o f c o n f l i c t i n t h e c o n t i n e n t

subregions.

He noted t h a t Africans f o r a longt ime neg l ec t ed I

t h e p r i n c i p l e of * c o l l e c t i v e s e c u r i t y w and an "African '

high commandm for some r ea sons which i nc lude - - The adherence t o OIAU* s p r i n c i p l e of %on- in ter f e renceQ which Yorom saw as mechanical and which h a s n o t succee-

ded i n p u t t i n g a s t o p t o any c o n f l i c t w i th in t he subregic

42.

- The r o l e o f c o l o n i a l powers who obscured t h e minds o f A f r i c a n s from keep ing and m a i n t a i n i n g a

Defence P a c t among themselves.

- The f a c t t h a t at independence, Af r i can c o u n t r i e s d i d n o t t a k e cognisance o f t h e A r t i c l e 52 o f t h e U N c h a r t e r

which encouraged r e g i o n a l s e c u r i t y even a g a i n s t i n t e r n a l

t h r e a t w i t h i n t h e region. #

C o l l e c t i v e s e c u r i t y he saw as a *peace i n s u r a n c e scheme

as i t s fundamental p r i n c i p l e i s t h a t a t t a c k on any s t a t e

i s an a t t a c k on a l l community of nationsm(Yorom, (1991) :

3) He l i s t e d , based on t h e afore-mentioned p o i n t s ,

c o n d i t i o n s under which i n t e r f e r e n c e can be made even i n

t h e i n t e r n a l a f fa i rs o f a na t ion . These i n c l u d e ( I )

F a i l u r e of a sovere ign s t a t e Oo d e s i s t from t h e u s e o f

f o r c e i n i t s i n t e r n a t i o n a l r e l a t i o n s .

(11) C o l l e c t i v e defence a g a i n s t t h r e a t t o peace o r a c t

of aggress ion by s t a t e s i n t h e i r economic, p o l i t i c a l and

s o c i a l co-operat ions.

(111) On i n v i t a t i o n by a n a t i o n f o r m i l i t a r y a s s i s t a n c e .

(IV) The power which a n a t i o n h a s s i n c e t h e i s s u e of

' e x i s t e n c e * i s a r e l a t i v e term j u s t l i k e 'peace and

s e c u r i t y 8 .

He saw peace as r e l a t i v e term and t h e approach to

s e e k i n g and m a i n t a i n i n g i t an o b l i g a t o r y i s s u e t o peace

hgv ing n a t i o n s , b u t t h e manner i n which t h e o b l i g a t i o n

i s c a r r i e d o u t i s what m a t t e r s .

Us ing Groom, he l i s t e d t h r e e approaches t o hand l ing of

c o n f l i c t s .

( I ) The legal-moral o r normat ive approach. , (11) Coercive n e g o t i a t i o n and b a r g a i n i n g approach.

(111) The problem-solving o r c o n f l i c t - r e s o l u t i o n

approach.

These v a r i o u s approaches, he s a i d h a s been a p p l i e d t o

t h e L i b e r i a n c a s e a t one p o i n t o r a n o t h e r , h u r r i e d l y , d

o n l y t o be abandaned by t h e media t ion committee, be ing

impa t i en t .

H e f a i l e d though t o say at what s t a g e s i n the

L i b e r i a n c o n f l i c t t h e s e approaches were app l i ed . )And

a l s o , t h e sequence t h e approaches followed.

He made c e r t a i n accepted p a t t e r n 8 and c o n d i t i o n s

f o r peace i n t e r v e n t i o n i s t fo rce . There i s j u s t i f i c a -

t i o n f o r i n t e r f e r e n c e i n t h e c o n f l i c t o f a n o t h e r s t a t e

s i n c e , what happens i n one coun t ry h a s p o l i t i c a l ,

s o c i a l , economic and m i l i t a r y b e a r i n g on o t h e r c o u n t r i e s .

Based on t h i s , t h e r o l e o f subreg iona l Defence Pac t and

i n t e r v e n t i o n through c o l l e c t i v e means can be unders tood,

though, a g a i n s t t e r r i t o r i a l ambi t ious des ign of a s i n g l e

country.

Yorom saw ECOMOG as a c t i n g under t h e p r o t o c o l

R e l a t i n g t o Mutual A s s i s t a n c e on Defence o f 1981, s igned

by most c o u n t r i e s w i t h i n t h e subregion. T h i s P ro toco l

made aggress ion a g a i n s t a member s t a t e , aggress ion

a g a i n s t t h e whole community i n l~It 2. iAst 3 a l s o went

t o emphasise t h a t member state^ ~ h o u l d g i v e mutual a i d /

a s s i s t a n c e a g a i n s t any armed t h r e a t o r aggress ion .

Desp i t e a l l t h e s e , A r t . 18 ( 2 ) o f t h e P r o t o c o l made i t

ve ry c l e a r t h a t states should n o t i n t e r v e n e i f t h e con-

f l i c t remains p u r e l y i n t e r n a l , wi th no b e a r i n g d i r e c t l y

t o e x t e r n a l in f luence . 1,

The ambiguity i s i n what a 'Pure ly i n t e r n a l c o n f l i c t '

i s and what ' d i r e c t e x t e r n a l i n f l u e n c e ' i s accord in