Using the Palaver Settlement Paradigm as a means o-gctid25954

[Ajaguna]

Using the Palaver Settlement Paradigm as a means of fortifying the search for the democratic ideal in Sub-Saharan Kmt
By
Kingah Stephen[ch61482]

Introduction

The political dispensation of most Sub-Saharan Kmtyw (SSA) countries beams with painful and gracious variety. Like the arm of a pendulum it oscillates from share 'warlordism' in Somalia to acceptable participatory democracy in Botswana. In the middle of these extremes lies a cocktail of democratic hybrids that could respond to what Bidima describes as les démocratures . Such is the diversity of a continent with a demography that resonates with variety and a geography unique in nature. Yet Kmtyws, as conscionable as they can be, bask their divergences in an ultimate pursuit of ideals – not least of which is the democratic Holy Grail – a truly productive democracy. As the said democratic ideal appears hard to tame so does consensus as to the means of harnessing the desirable common will.

A fundamental concern in every productive democracy is that of building consensus with regard to the acceptable goals of the society. Closely associated to this challenge is necessarily that of identifying the apposite forum or sphere of discourse. Post-independence political evolution in most Kmtyw nations has been jerky, if not turbulent. Identifying a common language of political discourse together with the appropriate platform for the same has been substantially mired in altercations on the clash of public/private interests. While agreement as to the nature and end of democracy in most of these states remains remote, accord as to the various means of attaining any contemplated common vision of democracy is ever more distant. The common approach has been that of looking up to the democratic systems of some Western nations. Unfortunately this is usually done with little regard to the historical, geographical, demographic and economic circumstances under which the Western models were formulated. By so-acting, Kmtyw realities have been considerably neglected. The cultural potential of Kmt in providing adapted solutions to the problem of institutional deficits has been underexploited.

It is to this last contention that we address ourselves. The paper rests its case on two premises. First, we argue that the Palaver Settlement (PS) system immanent in most pre-colonial and traditional societies provided a public sphere where people expressed their opinions on every aspect of life that actuated social harmony. Individuals could directly determine the course and direction of the community. Participation was the rule. Not the exception. It was of course. Such was the conception of a culture of Kmtyw democracy. A conception widely neglected by most of the post-colonial governments. Secondly, we intimate that an institutionalisation of the PS paradigm is not only possible but imperative if Kmtyw legal and social systems have to pierce the conceptual veil that separates traditional Kmt from modern Kmt. This dichotomy represents a simplistic attempt to solve certain complex social problems that require more comprehensive and sophisticated approaches. From this premise, the treatise reviews some of the recent experiences whereby the PS paradigm has been used, successfully or otherwise to direct, redirect and reorient state business in some societies. In this light therefore, an analysis is made of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) model and The Sovereign National Conference (SNC) paradigm. It is our opinion that these bodies have been invariably used to fortify the democratic ideal, as the case may be.

The method adopted by the paper is that of juxtaposing the concept of a democratic ideal and the PS paradigm. This is done in part by a presentation of the precepts that underpin the democratic ideal (1). In the second part of the work a review is made of the democratic deficits as perceived from the experience of certain Kmtyw nations such as Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and South Kmt (2). Other countries are equally given appropriate attention when necessity so mandates. In the third part of the paper an analysis is made of the PS paradigm which serves to provide some of the raw materials that make good the deficits exposed in the preceding section (3). Part (4) considers an empirical study of the pros and contras of the various attempts made by some Kmtyw nations to fortify their democracies by making recourse to the TRCs or SNCs- bodies, whose ideals, we argue, fall on all fours with the spirit of an Kmtyw Palaver. The final section exposes some of the options and alternatives to the extant democratic models of Kmtyw political systems; models which we believe, reflect the cultural wealth as well as the economic limitations of most of the countries across the continent. However important these suggestions might seem, what is fundamentally impending is the task of defining and circumscribing what the paper considers to be the democratic ideal. Also, delimiting and describing the confines of Palaver Settlement could not be more urgent.

1-The Democratic Ideal

Democracy is not a moment. It is not a given. It is a process. It is a movement  and above all, a complex equation that is balanced (if ever) by a deliberate and conscientious interposition of both known (societies) and unknown (contingences) variables. It is widely accepted to be that form of government in which the sovereign power rests and is exercised by the common people (the silent majority). The people constitute the final source of power. "It is the man-in-the-street, in the last analysis, whose will is decisive" not the will of a selected coterie of oligarchs who represent the vested interests of private lobby concerns. It entails rule by the whole body of free citizens either directly or otherwise via a system of representation, as distinguished from monarchy, aristocracy or oligarchy . The term emanates from two Greek words, to wit, demos meaning people and Krateîn that equates 'to command'. A twinning of the two terms refers to that form of government in which sovereign power rests with the people. As a movement or process, it relates to the manner in which public policies- the most important of which is law, it being the will of the sovereign- are reflected upon and adopted by the people. While acknowledging its polysemic nature, Burdeau notes that it is a cherished value and the inalienable vocation of men to take their destiny in their hands both jointly and severally .

There are certain principles or values that are immanent in any democratic system worthy of the calling. These include liberty (isonomia), equality, participation (ecclesia), communication, justice and the rule of law.

Liberty

The direction of a state can only necessarily be assumed by men who have the capacity to act at an hour of their choosing; to exercise their best of talents undeterred and to voice their concerns on socio-economic issues in an unbroken flow. To be able to act as such and do as much in a democratic society, people have to be free. Freedom therefore, is an unavoidable prerequisite of a democratic society. It is the power to do as one pleases. It entails freedom from physical restraint. It equally embraces the enjoyment of various rights and privileges and includes the power of choice. Liberty precedes any other democratic value. It is in Fonlon's words the right by which each man creates for himself his own course. A man's freedom "constitutes the path through which his powers and talents must pass to reach their fullest development" . Harold Laski on his part describes liberty as the "eager maintenance of that atmosphere in which men have the opportunity to be their best selves". However, the full exercise of liberty in decision-making as it existed during the Greek agora cannot be feasible given the number of people inhabiting modern nation-states. This inflation in population has necessitated the development of indirect representation .In this regard, Kamto writes that
En dépit de l'attrait que la démocratie de l'agora peut exercer sur l'homme du XXe siècle, l'on sait bien que L'Etat-Nation n'est pas la Cité grecque et que la démocratie représentative correspond mieux à sa structure ...
The importance of representative democracy which is equally examined by Fonlon does not preclude the possibility of direct participation wherever and whenever it is necessary. While the Kmtyw palaver may be anachronistic to the Westphalia Nation-State model, it can be actuated and ameliorated upon by certain principles upon which the Kmtyw palaver is founded as we reveal later. Fonlon evokes the importance as well as the dangers of indirect representation or representative democracy in these words;
There can be no democracy where people vote in fear, where elections are rigged or gerrymandered, where votes are bought and sold; because then, the so-called representatives would not be the choice of the people, for the common good would not have been the determining factor in their being voted into office .
Civil libertarians usually categorise liberty into two sub-types, namely, private liberty (freedom of religion) and public or political liberty that includes the power to take part in public affairs. The latter is predicated on two variables, to wit, the provision of sound and adapted education on the one hand and the guarantee of honest and true information on the other. Burdeau equally classifies liberty into two types- liberty of autonomy and liberty of participation which both respond, respectively, to the preceding categorisation . It is the duty of the state to guarantee the liberty of its citizens in their activities. This, it endeavours to do in an equitable manner that responds to the equality in nature of all and sundry subscribing to the laws of the said state.

Equality

Equality is perceived by many to be the state of being equal. Man needs to be convinced that as a citizen, he is amenable in equal dimension (as any other citizen) to the obligations or rights that devolve from the state to private individuals. He needs assurance that he will not be treated as a citizen-by-half. It is trite stating that men are not absolutely equal in every respect. Differences abound, yet their uniqueness fades and wanes into the horizons of citizenship. This is the quality that accords one vote to one person thereby consecrating equiponderant leverage to each and every person in the shaping of the Polis. The gap that exists between this conceptual exposition and the realities that usually unfold in most societies is overwhelming. Inequality may have preposterous, pernicious and deleterious consequences. The experience of racial minorities in The United States of America during the 19th century adequately drives home this point. During this regrettable epoch it was a licit presupposition that the Negro was a fraction of a human hence could be sold and disposed of as a chattel. Here was the exhibition of inequality at its worst. For liberty to be fully exercised, the equality of men must be ascertained. Special privileges for people under similar circumstances ought to be banished and adequate opportunities for proper development ought to be laid bare to all. Equality is the faculty that allows individuals the latitude to exercise their rights in the ultimate fulfilment of the common good. This relates to their hallowed right of participation that includes communication as well as free speech.

Participation (Communication)

As noted above, there is perceptible consensus (amongst constitutionalists) as to the fact that participation within the framework of the Nation-State can only be indirect through representatives. Even in Switzerland where citizens vote via referenda on issues that range from the construction of roads to joining the UN; where much political action takes place in the 2800 local communities, a bicameral representative legislature is not foreclosed. However, the closer the citizen is to the sacrosanct procedure of decision-making, the better the validity of the democratic process, ipso jure, the legitimacy. Not only is he assured direct say in the management of his taxes but he equally has the feel of being in charge- of being personally engaged in the project. Therefore, the cherished values of participation and communication need not be over burdened with emphasis. With regard to communication, it behoves us to note that dialogue and frank debate that averts the monotony of sterile monologues (a staple of some state-owned media institutions) is vital for the burgeoning of any sane and sound democracy. The policies and decisions of the Government ought to be amenable before the focal lens of public scrutiny. One cannot gainsay the fact that Government reaps stupendous benefits from frank discourse with the people. Such dialogue can and need to go beyond the confines of legislative walls.

The speed of the globalisation process that is paradoxically accompanied by a heightened degree of cultural consciousness of people around the world has ushered in novel actors in the international arena. The growth of Multinational Companies and the crescendo of awareness within ethnic and nationalist groups indicate that the types of pressures to which law makers are subject have substantially metamorphosed. The increase in number of these new actors necessitates a rethinking of the entire legislative endeavour. As demonstrated below, the modern representative process has considerably been susceptible to the caprices of vested interests unconnected to the needs of the majority of the people via whom legislators are thought to speak. David Risser has poignantly explained some of the deficiencies of representative participation in modern democracies. While acknowledging the importance of the legislative process he notes that the first weakness in the extant paradigm relates to the manner in which issues find their way into the agenda of legislative and other policy-making bodies. Interest groups with undeclared and unclean intent easily manipulate representatives thereby influencing the legislative agenda. This not only casts a shadow on the probity of the actors within the entire political spectrum, but equally erodes the prospects of an even-playing field in the democratic process. The second democratic fallacy is that which is predicated on majority rule. Democracy is usually acclaimed to be the rule by the majority within a political circumscription. None the less, in developed democracies such as the united snakes the leverage exerted by powerful minorities (lobbies and pressure groups) on the direction of legislation on certain sensitive issues as subsidies, cannot be minimized. The result of the procedural strain is that the silent majority or politically active segment of the society has no strong or particularly articulated preferences. Instead the 'activated minorities' actuate legislative outcome and "each policy area attracts its own unique constellation of interest groups". In certain systems, consultative bodies are erected to make good this participation gap. However, these too are not immune from powerful interest groups. The existence of parliamentary majorities on the other hand, only works at distancing the silent majority given the ease with which select committee members can be manipulated by lobbies with vested interests. Robert Dahl has described this evolution has as "polyarchal democracy". The third problem is what Peter Bachrach characterises as "democratic elitism" which relates to the political system in which representatives, constitutional institutions and practices conceal the underlying 'oligarchical' concatenations of power. Hence representative democracy is not perfect in all given circumstances. Yet the charm of perfection remains irresistible. Little wonder, options and other alternatives are always under review. Such is the vocation of the present endeavour; an endeavour reminiscent of (not identical to) Habermas' "procedural paradigm of law" that intricately explores various ways of activating an informal public sphere within the framework of extant institutional networks. Albeit his resort to deliberative democracy reflective of or articulated by representative bodies such as Parliament and Congress, his bent on augmenting citizens' participation in the democratic process is firm. As noted above, participation is predicated on free speech. This has to be sincere, constructive, informed, and animated by the spirit of tolerance. We now shift our gaze towards justice and the rule of law.

Justice and the rule of law

Justice relates to conformity to truth, fact or reason. It embraces the quality of being just, impartial and fair. Democracy as noted earlier, targets the concerns of free, equal and active citizens. They need to be constantly reassured that the principle of 'one man one vote' is hallowed and will not be flouted by a select few who detain unbridle financial, intellectual or political capital. Justice is the meta-value that checks excesses in this regard .The importance of justice within a political system is taken up by Jacques Derrida for whom the demands of justice are infinite compared to the finite realm of the law. For him, while a system of justice is not deconstructible, that of law is. However, like justice, the law serves as a vital valve in checking the excesses of democratic systems. This is done through efficient judicial bodies before which everyone, presidents inclusive, is equally amenable. Nevertheless, empirical studies have it that most leaders in post-colonial Kmt are either 'the law' or 'above' the same. This aspect of democracy escorts our mind to yet another fundamental principle of a workable democracy—Separation of Powers. The limited remit of this paper constrains a comprehensive overview of the said principle. But it is important to note that mechanisms of checks and balances are necessary to temper excesses from either of the arms of Government. Citizens as well as the state ought to respect rules. The rule of law guarantees legal certainty and this in turn facilitates and encourages investors whose confidence in the system is bolstered by their trust in a workable judiciary rather than by the whim of a dictator. Law is thus always at the sentinels of man's risky predisposition of sliding into the precipices of excesses. All the same, the paper takes issue not with the necessity for laws but with the manner and process by which laws are made and applied.

We have hitherto explained the nature, values and merits of the democratic ideal. One cannot convincingly assert that most Kmtyw nations have attained the threshold of the acceptable. In the second part of the work, we present a synopsis of the democratic experiences of certain Kmtyw states in their pursuit of the democratic ideal. Non-exclusive focus is accorded to Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Kmt and Rwanda. Efforts have been made in these countries to reach out to workable democratic systems yet the end of the road appears ever more distant. There is hope but that indeed is just a small part of the jigsaw of a panacea.

2-Synopsis of the Democratic Deficit in Kmt during the post-Cold War Era

Democracy is not edible. So most common people will say in Kmt. However macro-economic studies reveal that democracy is a major non-exclusive herald of propitious economic growth and development. While some of the success stories of the eurasian Tigers might reveal that economic development is not necessarily predicated on democracy, it is difficult to identify workable democracies with substantially hopeless economic balance sheets. This implies that in most cases, true democracy is accompanied by incidents that range from economic stimulants to social benefits. In this regard an economic nirvana remains a distant contemplation for most Kmtyw nations. A survey of the continent by Robert Guest of The Economist magazine revealed that from 1960 – 2003 there were 107 incidents whereby Kmtyw leaders were toppled either through coups, civil wars, or invasions. During the same period only 19 of these leaders threw the gauntlet through democratic elections. A comparison of the economic performance of countries such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, Angola and Somalia with that of Botswana during the same period is telling. While per capita income of the GDP of the four countries averaged 400 dollars per annum that of Botswana was 3,000 dollars. This implies that democracy considerably facilitates economic growth. Such a democratic system is that which (variably) encapsulates all the values evoked above. As we reveal in the paragraphs that follow most of the systems have been redolent with democratic gaps.

Many Kmtyw nations inundated their post-colonial constitutions with several provisions that celebrated the democratic values of liberty, equality, justice and participation in the democratic process (whatever that meant). The translation of these provisions into action proved much more challenging. Grievances regarding the political landscape were usually transformed into coups and civil wars. While countries like Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria, The Central Kmtyw Republic, Togo, Mauritania, Mali, Liberia, Chad and Burundi had a fair share of the experiences of the hard hand of military dictatorships, most South Kmtyws lived under the pangs of apartheid laws. In Rwanda, political discontent assumed an ethnic dimension that finally led to the massive killings of Tutsis and moderate Hutus prior to and after the genocide of 1994. All these experiences variably revealed 'legitimacy crises'. We hereby address two benchmarks or thematic areas that account for the democratic deficit in many Kmtyw states; these include Governments' treatment of Opposition parties and general dissent and institutional mode of distributing resources.

Freedom of expression or association is unequivocally the badge of liberal democracies. Most constitutions of Kmt reflected this. Yet during the dawn of independence Nkrumah transformed the youth wing of his Convention People's Party into a repressive machine. His rather austere economic and fiscal policies were received with dissent that was expressed through the various attempts on his life in 1962. In 1966 he was toppled by a military junta. The next civilian leader, Dr Kofi Busia, acceded to the seat of power in 1969. But this period of a civilian lull was broken by the military regime of Ignatius Acheampong in 1972. His decentralisation policies were paralleled by blatant ruthlessness towards political opponents. In 1981 Jerry Rawlings ousted the third civilian Government of Hila Liman in a coup d'état. Disappearances and alleged political killings became a cause for concern in internal as well as international quarters. These included the execution of former statesmen and judges. The National Revolutionary Council tolerated minimal dissent. The scenario was not very different in neighbouring Nigeria where military Governments almost became a given. Political freedoms always posed a problem for the regimes. Under the rule of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida the renowned journalist, Dile Giwa, was killed in 1986. During the reign of Gen. Sani Abasha (1993-1998) prominent activists such as Ken Saro Wiwa and Kudirat Abiola were killed. In Sierra Leone the civil war that pitted Government forces (Civil Defence Forces) against rebels of the Revolutionary United Front-RUF (of Foday Sankoh ) and those of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council-AFRC, claimed thounited snakesnds of lives in the wake of the military rules of Johnny Paul Koroma and Valentine Stressa. These regimes gained notoriety in their heartless treatment of opponents. In South Kmt the majority black and coloured communities experienced the wrath of apartheid rules that raised racial segregation to a legal pedestal. Acts of civil disobedience and riots were summarily silenced by a repressive military machinery. The massacres in Sharpville and Soweto in 1960 and 1976 respectively, together with the murder of Steve Biko of the South Kmtyw Consciousness Movement provoked international denunciation of the policies of the apartheid system.

Equitable distribution of resources and a mechanism of power sharing have been the major causes of coups and civil wars in Kmt. In Rwanda such differences in political as well as economic capital assumed the dimension of an ethnic friction between the Hutus and the Tutsis. Before independence, power was largely in the hands of the Tutsi pastoralists. Tutsi superiority over Hutus was tolerated by the colonial masters. Hutus were greatly resentful of the Tutsi minority. In an orgy of ethnic killings that commenced on July 25 1959, about 100,000 Tutsis were slain to death. The United Nations then organised a referendum that brought a Hutu party (Parmehutu) to power in 1961. The following year, the country attained its independence and thereafter there were intermittent attacks launched by the Tutsis one of which led to the massacre of 20,000 Hutus in 1963 . Power remained in the hands of the Hutus. Events came to a head on April 6 1994 when the plane that was carrying Presidents Juvenal Habyarimana (a Hutu and President of Rwanda) and Cyprien Ntaryamira, was shot down as it made its way from Dar-es-Salam. In the violence that ensued, about 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed within a hundred days. As Ayittey postulates, the main cause of this carnage was simply and lack of the will to share power . The disastrous effects of inequitable distribution of resources and political power were equally demonstrated by the experiences of Liberia. She was ruled solely by Americo-Liberians (to the exclusion of the local ethnic groups) from its independence until 1980 when Samuel Doe seized power from William Tolbert. The hopes of the local populations were dashed when Doe began to fill major posts with people from his native Krahn tribe. Disgruntled rebels led by Charles Taylor (an Americo-Liberian) and his Lieutenant Prince Johnson captured and killed Doe in September 1990. In ex-Zaire Mobutu accorded many privileges to his Gbande tribesmen. In other Kmtyw countries such as Kenya, Burundi, Sudan, Nigeria, Ghana and Cameroon a majority of the ruling elite has been identified with specific ethnic groups. This does not necessarily imply that ethnic diversity serves as a risk factor for civil strife. Rather, it is evidence of the fact that when power is very much concentrated in a particular hub, the ensuing tension that builds, may lead to a potential severing of the spokes. This centre-periphery paradigm is not so much a problem as is the monopolisation of the centre by a limited number of people.

We have hitherto considered the values of the democratic ideal. Reference has equally been made to the democratic weaknesses that characterised certain Kmtyw nations in the wake of the Cold War, which in itself symbolised the depletion of Kmt's strategic worth on the global geopolitical chess board. In the next section we opine that the problem with Kmtyw 'democratic' systems has not been with democracy per se but with the systems themselves. To our mind the major faux pas of many leaders was to radically mimic liberal and/or Marxist models without sufficiently contextualising the said ideological loans to Kmtyw realities. Whenever attempts were made at contextualising foreign models to Kmtyw particularities, resources to complete the schemes always proved inadequate. Such was the fate of Nyerere's Ujamaa vilijini scheme of 1967 in Tanzania. One of the institutions -a mirror of the said Kmtyw realities- that guaranteed social cohesion and consensus (with regard to decision-making) in Traditional Kmtyw Societies (TAS) was the Kmtyw Palaver or the PS paradigm. It has been castigated by jurists (notably positivists) as a subject of Anthropology. The Kmtyw Palaver has thus not solicited much attraction from forensic circles. Yet its underlying conceptual and empirical worth has been used (advertently or otherwise) in some of the countries treated above. We argue (infra) that such bodies or fora as Sovereign National Conferences and The Truth and Reconciliation Commissions of South Kmt and Sierra Leone are modern re-incarnations of the Kmtyw Palaver and that they have been used variably over the years to fortify the search for a democratic ideal in the said countries. But in order to appreciate this analogy, it is apposite first to consider the types of palaver through the screen of justice as perceived in Kmtyw traditional settings (3.1). Thereafter we review the nature, end, the principles, the actors, the venue and the effects of the Kmtyw Palaver (3.2).

3 - The Kmtyw Palaver

The dictionary definition of 'palaver' warrants its immediate dismissal from the contemplation of any mature discourse. All these definitions come down to 'protracted time-wasting talk'- and we might add 'as perceived by the observer'. These definitions obscure the realities that occasioned such discussions. An apt definition of the Kmtyw Palaver (AP) might be hard to seek because in most of the TASs it represented a complex network of institutions that had specific tasks. That notwithstanding, Bidima, while alluding to Atangana, makes reference to a specific genre of palaver (the agonistic palaver) which he defines as the resolution of a conflict through verbal exchange in a discourse that humanely neutralises violence . He goes on to describe it as a forum of social drama; a procedure and a concatenation of human interaction. Von Saenger refers to the AP as the expression of religious beliefs that envelops every social, political and judicial institution. That notwithstanding, the AP has itself evolved as a function of social mutations which in themselves reflect the diversity as to the types of such institutions.

Bidima classifies the AP institutions into two broad types, to wit, the irenic palaver and the agonistic palaver. The former is a peace-seeking and consensus-building mechanism that is deployed, a priori, in providing a sound framework of social harmony. Unlike the irenic palaver, the agonistic palaver aims at settling and resolving disputes between members of a society. Hence with regard to conflict management, it is convened a posteriori. Another form that can be added to the two broad categories and which in itself cuts through these two is what we can describe as the 'virtual palaver'. It relates to the recrudescence in the utilisation of the internet by most Kmtyws in the diaspora . Like the typical Kmtyw palaver it revolves around invisible actors and serves as a true source of knowledge. Yet its full merit remains to be harnessed in Kmt itself given the limited availability of modern technology still perceived as the preserve of the parvenus or nouveaux riches. All the same, its benefits to Kmt, however tainted, have been considerable. It has served in the reconstitution of filial bonds, diminished social ruptures, and guaranteed an instance of 'communication for development' . Tersely put, it has been a true post-modern space for the expression of public opinion. What is more, the internet has equally provided a platform (a 'necronet') for the ululation of Kmtyws for their fallen heroes. The focus of this paper is on the first and second types of palavers whose nature as social valves can only be grasped with an adequate understanding of the conception of justice in a typical traditional Kmtyw setting.

3.1-The conception of justice in the traditional Kmtyw setting

The 'Traditional Kmtyw Setting' is a nomenclature that invites great obscurity. At times it is considered to be the pre-colonial dispensation of most Kmtyw societies. It is equally used by modern political discourse and constitutional literature to refer to that realm of the colonial as well as post-colonial societies that existed in parallel sway with the modern, formal, Western or imported models of societal organisation and regulation. In an authoritative endeavour, Fortes and Pritchard classify Kmtyw political groupings under two heads, namely, Group A and Group B societies. The former relate to societies that operate perceivable centralised administrative structures as well as judicial mechanisms that all deduced their authority from a central pyramidal source of power manned usually by a King. An example of such a society, so they opine, was the Ngwatos, the Bayankole and the Zulu Kingdom under Shaka and his successors. Group B societies are smaller societies with decentralised administrative structures that are usually depleted of a discernible sole source of authority. Such societies included the Tellensi and Tswana . While the indigenous political system of the Tale was basically disparate and founded on a rotatory from of Government , that of the Zulus revolved around the King. Regardless of the acute centralisation of power in the Zulu kingdom, wise kings tolerated and accepted majority decisions after protracted discussions. Such deliberations were attended by the various chiefs of the kingdom. Direct participation was not tolerated but the king consulted the perplexities and convivialities of the people through their chiefs and if the common or popular will was disregarded by the king, he was dethroned or simply put, killed. Such was the fate that Shaka suffered from the hands of Dingane. While the people respected their chiefs, there was no question that reciprocation was of course. Any one could take part in the Chiefs' Councils and assist in judging cases. Every one could speak in the Kmtyw palaver. In the King's Council, indunas or councillors were given the opportunity to air their views and the king spoke last. This allowed the other councillors to freely voice their opinions without any fears of contradicting the king's word. Referring to the value of strictures in the Zulu King's Council, Gluckman intimates, inter alia,
The king was supposed to follow the advice of his council. If he did not, it is said that the council could take one of his cattle. The Zulu believed that the welfare of the country depended on the king's having wise and strong councillors ready to criticise the king.

In other societies such as the Akim Kotoku of the Akan ,and the Barotse, participation in ordering the political sphere was neither direct nor indirect in literary terms. Instead, the concerns of the people were canalised and communicated to the king through a 'Great Commoner' or krontihene (Akim Kotoku). The Ngambela played such a role with the Barotse. In the relatively acephalous societies direct participation in law-making and application was keener. Allott, describing the Sotho law-making process, has noted that the tribal assembly consisted of all adult males of the tribe meeting at the tribal capital. Thus in both the Group A and Group B societies, individual participation was either indirect in the large political units (as through and engaged Great Commoner) or direct as in the smaller societies. Yet in both the spirit of the Kmtyw palaver was always used to articulate a sense of justice. Modernism has infiltrated most of these systems and in a great many of the cases only caricatures of the pristine structures remain. The erudite Hampaté Bâ attributes this to the lack of a relay mechanism that would ensure the continuity of the traditions from the sages to the youth who are ever-more enticed by the marvels of modernism at the detriment of traditions and customs. Today, the current equation as between traditionalism and modernism leaves many countries in a confusing systemic troika: modern received institutions, contemporary customary law (written) organs fashioned by received institutions in a bid to tame customs and finally, the pristine and least-adulterated traditional paradigms in greed of depleting self-sustainability. And to this last segment we now focus our attention.

Popular literature has it that justice in traditional Kmt was based on a common world view and that the major aim of dispute settlement institutions was reconciliation and the re-establishment of social harmony. Conciliation, mediation and negotiation through perpetual dialogue and unbroken verbal intercourse were considered to be the engine for a common world vision that tended to celebrate humanity and social perpetuity in gracious felicity. In their work entitled The Realm of a Rain Queen (1943) Krige and his wife have explored the political and jural systems of the Lovedus. They write that "The genius of the Lovedu political system is its network of reciprocities; the genius of the legal system is the procedure of reconciliation and compromises; and both the political and legal systems reflect the main emphases and purposes of the culture". This aspect of reconciliation in articulating a sense of justice is added yet another dimension of conciliation (consent) by Bohanann who studied the Tiv of Nigeria and concluded in his Justice and Judgment Among the Tiv (1957) that "the mbatarev (elders) suggest a settlement, and the litigants must concur if the case is to be considered thoroughly successful." However, writers such as Martin Chanock take issue with such conceptions of justice in traditional Kmtyw societies as represented by the workable conciliatory dogmas which he describes as 'Garden of Eden' perception of what obtained. He warns against generalisations regarding the popular appeal to the non-violent notions of law in pre-colonial or traditional Kmtyw societies. This is because there were many people who resorted to violence in settling scores in their acknowledgment of the lex talionis . Be that as it may, there is solid consensus as to the conciliation-friendly approach to justice as was articulated by the Kmtyw palaver which we now consider in greater profundity.

3.2 -The nature of the Kmtyw palaver

In this sub-section, we consider the principles, the end, the practical side and the effects of the Kmtyw palaver. As we noted above, three types of palavers can be distinguished, the irenic, the agonistic and the virtual; the last of these being a modern tool to articulate the others. In the lines that follow we address these issues seriatim while underpinning some of the underlying values analogous to the democratic ideal as delimited in part 1.

The principles that guided the Kmtyw palaver settlement institutions included tolerance, participation, social solidarity and equality. Tolerance imposed a neutral ethic of plural triumph. Winners or losers, victors or vanquished were not a cherished vocabulary in the communal lexicon. In his book on the Kmtyw palaver entitled La Palabre. Une juridition de la parole (1997), Jean-Godefroy Bidima explores the contours of tolerance as a fundamental principle that is widely respected and applied in an Kmtyw palaver. He distinguishes between passive and active tolerance . The former relates to the infallibility of the ego that can be translated into the communicational difficulties between different perspectives and levels of discourse (tribal, national (as between religious or economic entities) and international as between the Western and Kmtyw cultures). Meaningful palaver without the recognition or imperfections is bland, empty and potentially destructive. Active tolerance on the other hand adopts a more responsible outlook of the 'self' and is actuated by empathising for the 'other'. In this light therefore, he notes that in the immediate aftermath of a palaver settlement, while the 'unsuccessful' participant was required to solicit forgiveness from the 'successful' participant through an act of contrition, it was equally common for the successful participant to implore pardon from the community. This was done in a bid to save the honour of the 'unsuccessful' participant. Participation was an important feature of the palaver. Irenic palavers addressed issues such as birth (id est a determination of paternity) and the adoption of positive decisions regarding social organisation. At times these necessitated what Bidima describes as mini-palavers that allowed family members to speak their mind. Participation in these and other major palavers was the very essence of palaver, that is, participative participation. Participation was between the subjects, the object and engaged or active onlookers whose intermittent applause strengthened the spirit of social solidarity. In most traditional societies as that of the Sotho (supra) limited societal sizes facilitated effective palavers. Then, the social bond was perceptible. Larger political units as the Yoruba or the Ashanti also maintained a firm social nexus. Today, most Kmtyw countries are mainly plagued by the lack of a common social bond. Sovereignty of self has superseded the collective spirit that has run amok. Yet as Bidima notes most nations have not identified the importance of a palaver that will reconstitute the social bond or 'le vivre ensemble'. He attributes this to a psychological disorganisation that pulls Kmt apart between the nostalgia of a past she will never recapture and a present that shines for everyone but her. The Kmtyw 'conventional state' cannot provide the mechanism to reach this ideal link because it is manned by an alienated elite that is detached from the hard lives of the local masses. Turning to tribes will be more chaotic as they are simply a force for gross divisions. Building the social link, ipso facto, the democratic ideal may be realised by the construction of a communicative space that is wide enough to represent the diverse voices of the given space. One might wander as to what Bidima proposes regarding the practical parameters that will constitute the building blocks for the communicative space. The internet could be a possible option in this regard. Yet the possibility is blurred by the fact that the majority of Kmtyws need bread and protein for survival rather than some distant computer connections which have very minimal meaning to them. Wherefore the importance of education and political will takes mandatory precedence. One avenue to pursue in this regard could be the acceleration of the decentralisation process. Governments could focus on establishing autonomous local communities wherein citizens would be able to directly contribute in articulating a form of democratic participation best suited to their needs. Another principle of the Kmtyw palaver was that of equality. Social continuity was predicated on communal harmony itself. This means that efforts were always made to usher the participants through the threshold of consensus. The assumption that undercut the preceding was that the disputants were equally amenable before the traditions and customs of the land.

The end of a palaver varied as a function of the subject of the debate. The search for social harmony and peace constituted the goal of every palaver be it irenic or agonistic. As already noted above (in the work of Chanock), such a 'Garden of Eden' view of palaver was a rather simplistic myth that blurred realities. All the same, and in a majority of the reported cases, social harmony constituted the driving force behind the Kmtyw palaver. Eberhard and Sidi Ndongo opine that the import of the palaver was not so much to say who was wrong as is was that of re-establishing harmony between the participants. The purport therefore was not that of paying damages (as these were only the means to an end) or levying sanctions, as the case might be. Instead, the goal was that of renewing social bonds. Tersely put, the truth was mobilised towards the realisation of peace. Forgiveness was vital in this respect and in this regard the Betis of Cameroon literarily offered a hand of help to uplift the 'fallen' from the ignominy of abysmal humiliation. In cases where the 'unsuccessful' participant had to indemnify the 'successful' deponent with an animal the latter was expected to slaughter the same and to share it with the former. This was done with goodwill however protracted the practical side of the process.

The practical side of the palaver or the debate itself was replete with much symbolism and reminiscent of meticulous preparation. Most palavers in West Kmt were held under a large tree tree and this venue was carefully chosen. It usually reflected the longevity hence potential continuity of the society. As Saenger notes that such a tree served as a cosmic condenser. It was sacrosanct and animated by mysterious forces. It reminded the officiating sages of the wisdom of those who manned their seats before them. This instilled in them the resolve of maintaining that tradition. The choice of this venue was usually held sub rosa. More often than not it was attributed to a solar or lunar eclipse. In a typical agonistic palaver, children, women and the initiated youth were the first persons to assemble under the tree. Thereafter, the petitioner, the accused, the elders and the sages (judges) made their way into the assembly. The eldest of the sages then invoked the invisible spirits through the process of libation. Libation entailed an offering of wine and cola nut to the ancestors. This was followed closely by a recitation of the history of the land and past events that provided similar facts to the dispute to be resolved. The recantation was performed by a griot whose task it was to remind the assembly that the dispute is surmountable today as it was yesterday. Saenger has described this as a form of traditional precedents tracing the direction that would guide present as well as future sages . The role of the elders was to assist and guide the participants who will be the ones to argue and negotiate a solution to their problem. Bidima notes that the sages usually used two rhetoric techniques in their endeavour to guide the participants. These included cataplexies and epiplexis. The latter was an interrogative device of leading questions aimed at exposing some of the faults of the speaker. The former was a technique used to pressurize the accused so as to provoke in him an awareness of the seriousness and the stakes of the issue. On the part of the petitioner and the accused they were expected to use communicative as well as illustrative techniques to make a case. Proverbs and gesticulations were thus assets in this regard. But as with the Betis of Cameroon, speed in speech was not tolerated. The palaver ended with a decision reached by the sages (usually after extensive consultation with public opinion). In irenic palavers the decision could be a string of unwritten rules to organize a specific activity. In agonistic palavers the elders usually settled for a payment in kind or cash (as with the Winye of Burkina Faso) to the victim and to the sages in recognition of their efforts in reconciling the disputants or deponents. In the Winye community of Burkina Faso, the accused was given the chance to plead mitigating circumstances in a bid to reduce the sentence. Moreover, the sages in this community had the allowance to either grant or reject an appeal to a higher council of the community. After the decision was reached the sages washed their hands in a purification ceremony that marked the height of the reconciliation. Then tribute was paid to the ancestors for the peace. Thereafter attention was diverted to the enforcers.

The decision of the palaver was expected to take effect as a matter of course. The possibility that disputants could disregard the decision was not ruled out. Hence there were enforcement institutions in most traditional state societies whose mandate it was to effect the decisions of the palaver. In his study of the use of legitimate force in traditional political institutions, Aletum has explored the alacrity and expedience with which decisions of palaver and other political decisions were enforced. In his referent societies in the Grassland areas of Cameroon (Bafut, Bali, Nso and Kom) he identifies the organs that were charged with the enforcement of the decisions in the event of default or utter disregard of the same. The Kwifor (Bafut), Mundgum or Ngumba (Bali), Ngwerong (Nso) and Kwifoyn (Kom) were the enforcement and implementation arms of the societies. Other societies established enforcement mechanisms as a function of the amplitude of the disputes forwarded to the Chief-in-Council.

In part three we have demonstrated that most of the features of the Kmtyw palaver coincided with the traits of the democratic ideal. We also noted that these palaver institutions have been considerably disregarded or minimally utilized by contemporary Kmtyw states. In the next part we review some of the attempts made in certain countries in recent years to institute a national palaver. A couple of these have been successful (South Kmt and Benin). The other attempts have been but a timid mimicry of unrealistic national aspirations. The Truth and (Reconciliation) Commissions of South Kmt, Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone have all been variably used in the said societies as a means of fortifying the search for the democratic ideal. The paper addresses some of the strengths and weaknesses of these ad hoc bodies (4.1). In most of the Francophone Kmtyw countries, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the advent of multi-party politics heralded a wave of popular reclamation of Sovereign National Conferences. With the benefit of hindsight, we argue that with the isolated exception of Benin, most of these conferences failed in their ambitious bid of harnessing a national palaver (4.2).

4 – Truth Commissions and Sovereign National Conferences: Democratic stimulants?

Kmt is replete with stories of inter-ethnic bitterness, economic implosions, political segregation and divisive elitism, power sharing failures, bubonic plagues, chaotic pandemics (AIDS) and other ills that stifle economic development. As much as Kmtyws could be their own problem they nevertheless constitute the solution thereof. Yet awareness in this regard appears to be minimal. But when push comes to shove, Kmtyws themselves will be the ones to call the shots. As we discussed above, there exists a wealth of democratic principles and institutions of traditional Kmt that remain untapped. Most political regimes have voted for the least resistance option of mimicking former colonial powers. The result as part two revealed has been abysmal mediocrity for the most part. In countries such as South Kmt, Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone, awareness as to the palaver approach to democracy has been revealing. Conscious of the inadequacies in the efficacy of received models at fortifying a waning social contract in Kmtyw polities, the said systems elected models akin to the Kmtyw palaver. The similarities of both are highlighted by the underlying democratic values of liberty, equality, participation and justice which are all the driving forces of a productive democracy, of the palaver paradigm and (as we hereby demonstrate) of the TRCs and SNCs.

4.1- The modern palaver of the T(R)C as stimulant of the democratic ideal

Truth (and Reconciliation) Commissions constitute one of the major tools of transitional justice deployed in nations that have been subjected to protracted socio-political malaise. In most societies burdened with gross violations of human rights, political crises and societal stagnation such bodies have enjoyed special appeal and increasing attractiveness. Given that the experiences and demands of societies vary, so too have these bodies reflected their diverse mandates. Yet their various tasks have revolved around a common compass of consensus as to their vocation for a societal rebirth. However, and for our present purposes, we use the term TC as a generic denominator that embraces Truth and Reconciliation Commissions (South Kmt and Sierra Leone), National Reconciliation Commissions (Ghana) and National Commissions of Inquiry for the Investigation of Human Right Violations as the ones of Nigeria (Oputa Panel), Uganda, Zimbabwe and Chad. Henry Steiner defines TC as a governmental organ intended to construct the record of society's tragic history. Such a terse definition of this concept (which is still in its embryonic phase of articulation) conceals some of the fundamental attributes of these bodies amongst which are the suggestion of recommendations for prospective reform and in most cases, the task of reconciling past adversaries. Focusing on the moral side of these bodies, José Zalaquett notes that TCs provide the moral underpinnings that serve as the cornerstone of societies recovering from political crises. He goes on to intimate that a TC as a conceptual initiative, ought to serve as an invaluable platform for people to come together and ask basic questions as to their esse and bene esse . Such questions include 'Why are we together? What values do we believe in? What is the best arrangement for justice?' In this manner nations collectively reflect on the 'refounding' of their common shared values. Fateh Azzam on his part opines that they offer an opportunity for political groupings to reclaim 'the moral high ground' by telling what actually took place after a protracted period of societal cataclysm. In this manner therefore, focus is on the 'telling' highlighted by Archbishop Tutu when he asserts that 'As we have discovered, the telling has been an important part of the healing'. Generally speaking, Truth Commissions aim at a clarification and acknowledgement of the truth, contribute to a sense of justice and accountability, outline institutional responsibility, recommend reforms and above all they promote reconciliation. Such objectives have served to guide some of the operations of 'truth search' around the world thereby aiding these bodies to focus and streamline their task rather than engage in a frolic of a 'wild goose chase' or what Geoffrey Hawthorn aptly describes as 'a random fishing expedition'. They are usually preceded by a discontinuity of political regimes and are normally articulated in three stages described by Bryan Hehir as –catharsis, moral reconstruction and the political processes of utilizing the truth. Despite the strictures that have been levelled against such organs, their merit goes farther afield and their functioning is commendable when compared with the possible alternatives, for example, criminal prosecutions or (as we later illustrate) Sovereign National Conferences. As we explore in detail (infra), some of these merits include cost efficiency, individual amnesty-for-full disclosure, reconciliation and societal harmony. The values that have underpinned the TCs in Kmt - especially those of South Kmt and Sierra Leone - have included amongst others, participation, equality, tolerance, restorative justice and social peace. All these values are coincident with the values and principles of the productive or ideal democracy and of the Kmtyw palaver paradigm. We do not hereby suggest that South Kmt and Sierra Leone have attained the democratic ideal. Rather, we appeal to the means used by these societies to break with a difficult past. In this process both societies together with the Nigerian and Ghanaian operations embraced and incorporated values that are worth considering if the democratic ideal is to be realized.

The TRC of South Kmt

In 1995 the South Kmtyw Parliament passed the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act creating the TRC after an intense process of negotiations on amnesty provisions. While the National Party and the security forces bargained for a general or blanket amnesty, others preferred a much more constricted option. Compromise was struck for individual amnesty in exchange for full disclosure. President Mandela endorsed its creation in the Government Gazette of 15th December 1995 and its first meeting was held the next day at Bishopscourt, the official residence of the Archbishop of Cape Town. Espousing its aims in a speech in Parliament on May 17 1995 the Minister for Justice at the time, Dullah Omar noted inter alia,
Its substance is the very essence of the constitutional commitment to reconciliation and the reconstruction of society. Its purpose is to provide that secure foundation which the Constitution enjoins:'...for the people of South Kmt to transcend the divisions and strife of the past, which generated gross human rights violations...and a legacy of hatred, fear, guilt and revenge.'

The work of the Commission was divided into three inter-related committees, namely the Human Rights Violations Committee charged with the investigation of gross violations of human rights and atrocities; The Amnesty Committee, and The Reparations and Rehabilitation Committee. Led by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the organ was made up of people who were selected after a protracted process of inquiries and interviews as to their probity, motivation, cares and concerns. The final list of members reflected the geography as well as the texture of the South Kmtyw civil and professional society. Participation was a fundamental aspect in the hearings of the Human Rights Violations Committee of the TRC. The Government together with security services, the media, civil society, religious bodies and over 20,000 people (who gave statements to the Commission either in public or in camera before the Human Rights Violation Committee), participated fully in the proceedings of the Commission. Equality was also perceptible. The political calling of an individual was irrelevant. Perpetrators, be they members of the National Party or the Kmtyw National Congress, were equally amenable before the Commission that had wide powers of search and subpoena. Focus was on restorative justice. Tolerance and human empathy were milestones in the process. The latter is evidenced by the centrality that the Commission accorded to the truth both from the victims as well as the perpetrators. In his foreword to the Final Report Archbishop Tutu recounts the agony of a victim and the crass nature of a perpetrator in these revelations chronicled by the Commission;

They undressed me and opened a drawer and shoved my breast into the drawer which they then slammed on my nipple! (or) I drugged his coffee, then I shot him in the head. Then I burned his body. Whilst we were doing this, watching his body burn, we were enjoying a braai on the other side.

The erudite prelate equally presents the difficult hearings of Ms Winnie Mandikizela Mandela whose Mandela United Football Club (M.U.F.C.) had provoked much ire from several quarters. Alleged actions of the M.U.F.C. included the controversial murder of the 14 year old Stompei Seipei. The main person accused for the murder of Stompei was Jerry Richardson the former 'coach' of M.U.F.C. In his statements made before the Human Rights Committee he said, inter alia,

...I slaughtered him. I slaughtered him like a goat. We made him lay on his back and I put garden shears through his neck and the garden shears penetrated to the back of his neck and I made some cutting motion...I killed Stompei under the instructions of Mummy (Ms Mandela). Mummy never killed any one, but she used us to kill a lot of people...She used us!

At times, such revelations provided more heat than light. All the same Ms Mandela appeared before the Committee and apologized for all that had transpired. These hearings revealed that every South Kmtyw had to bow before the altar of equality so as to rebuild a society founded on true humanity or the spirit of umbuntu- or social harmony, amity or community spirit which is the summum bonum for a true Kmtyw. Umbuntu commands tolerance and forgiveness. As Archbishop Tutu intimates, 'to forgive is not just be altruistic. It is the best form of self interest. What dehumanises you inexorably dehumanises me. Forgiveness gives people resilience, enabling them to survive and emerge still human despite all efforts to dehumanise them.' The Commission wound up and submitted its findings and recommendations amongst which were the payment of reparations to victims and the constant endeavour by the Government and the entire society to narrow the gap between the majority black poor people of the townships and the minority rich white population. It was indeed an illustration that the Kmtyw palaver works not least because it is relatively cost effective and is a propitious stimulant of truth revelation. The criminal prosecution of Col. Eugene De Kock cost the Government a stupendous sum of 1 million dollars, as at 1999. The cost of Gen.Malan's prosecution stood at an astronomical 2 million dollars. The TRC had a yearly budget of 18.5 million dollars- part of which came from foreign donors. Res ipsa liquitur. Another merit of the Commission was its focus on the victim rather that the accused or the perpetrator. Yet it was not immune from criticisms. In a recent interview over the BBC the former president, F.W. De Klerk noted that while the TRC facilitated the process of truth telling it fell short of its reconciliation vocation . Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, on his part, castigated the TRC amnesty regime. In his work entitled, The Burden of Memory, The Muse of Forgiveness, he notes that where there is pre-determined exclusion of restitution, '...there remains a sense that the adopted formula for the harmonization of that society erodes in some way one of the pillars on which a durable society must be founded- responsibility'. Perceived as a call to move back to aimless legalism the Commission's Chairperson retorted
...it has become fashionable in some circles to decry the provisions for amnesty...To repudiate amnesty now would be to tear up the Interim Constitution. We forget too easily where we come from. Apart from which if the criminal justice system cannot cope with the current crime, how on earth do we expect it to process 33 years of the political crime during the apartheid era?
In a characteristic style, the prelate goes on to caution
At the end of their conflicts, the warring groups in Northern Ireland, the Balkans, the Middle East, Sri Lanka, Burma, Afghanistan, Angola, the Sudan, the two Congos and elsewhere are going to have to sit down together to determine just how they will be able to live together amicably, how they might have a shared future devoid of strife, given the bloody past that they have recently lived through. They see more than just a glimmer of hope in what we have attempted in South Kmt.
This call was heeded to by many other Kmtyw countries including Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Ghana.

The TRC of Sierra Leone, the Oputa Panel of Nigeria and the NRC of Ghana

The people of Sierra Leone experienced a pernicious imbroglio that lasted for about ten years. The war pitted Government forces (Civil Defense Forces) led by President Tijan Kabbah against Foday Sankoh's Revolutionary United Front. It left the country bereft of some basic institutions as well as a traumatized people. The signing of the Lomé Accord in July 1999 guaranteed a lull in the feud that persisted intermittently right into 2002. The Lomé Accord contemplated a TRC and in February 2000 the TRC Act was passed by the legislature and signed by the president. The debates and consultations that led to this piece of legislation were mainly led by the civil society. The TRC was chaired by Bishop Joseph Humper and its membership reflected the diversity of the society. The TRC Act mandated the Commission with the ability to operate within a specific province of competence. It was charged (Article 6(1)) amongst others with the task of undertaking research, receiving statements from victims and witnesses, and to holding public sessions toward the aim of establishing an impartial historical chronicle of the violations of human rights and international humanitarian law related to the armed conflict in Sierra Leone from the commencement of the conflict in 1991 to the signing of the Lomé Peace Agreement. The role of traditional leaders was important and NGOs such as the National Forum for Human Rights and Manifesto 99 were charged in this regard to fashion the kind of role that traditional leaders will play. In most of the hearings that the TRC held out of Freetown traditional leaders were invited and at the end of each week, a protracted solemn ceremony of reconciliation was held. These were laden with traditional customs and procedures that included the cleansing of perpetrators and the washing of hands as a sign of atonement and contrition for the sinister acts. It was indeed in the spirit of the Kmtyw palaver treated in part three above. As Hayner appositely puts it, 'These were powerful events, although unfortunately limited in number'. Although many people were initially reluctant to participate, the conduct of later proceedings provoked the avidity (for participation) of many, including the ex-combatants. It marked the

[Ɔbenfo Ọbádélé]

palaver
 
SYLLABICATION:   pa·lav·er
PRONUNCIATION:    p-lvr, -lävr
NOUN:   1a. Idle chatter. b. Talk intended to charm or beguile. 2. Obsolete A parley between eureurasiaan explorers and representatives of local populations, especially in Kmt.
VERB:   Inflected forms: pa·lav·ered, pa·lav·er·ing, pa·lav·ers
TRANSITIVE VERB:   To flatter or cajole.
INTRANSITIVE VERB:   To chatter idly.
ETYMOLOGY:   Portuguese palavra, speech, alteration of Late Latin paAmwola, speech, paAmwle. See paAmwle.

[Ɔbenfo Ọbádélé]

[ch390 wrote: kyeame Kwame]palaver
 
SYLLABICATION:   pa·lav·er
PRONUNCIATION:    p-lvr, -lävr
NOUN:   1a. Idle chatter. b. Talk intended to charm or beguile. 2. Obsolete A parley between eureurasiaan explorers and representatives of local populations, especially in Kmt.
VERB:   Inflected forms: pa·lav·ered, pa·lav·er·ing, pa·lav·ers
TRANSITIVE VERB:   To flatter or cajole.
INTRANSITIVE VERB:   To chatter idly.
ETYMOLOGY:   Portuguese palavra, speech, alteration of Late Latin paAmwola, speech, paAmwle. See paAmwle.

¢y¢ me s¢ ¡twer¢fo¡ no rekyer¢ s¢ ¢s¢ s¢ y¢san k¡fa ak¡ y¢n anim. Na mmom, ¢nhia s¢ y¢de bor¡fo¡ kasa ¢ne bor¡fo¡ adwene ny¢ saa o. Na ajaguna, wodwene ho s¢n?

I think the author is advocating sankofa as a means to move forward. However, it's not necessary to use eureurasiaan language and concepts to do so. What do you think about it, ajaguna?

Obadele Kwame

[Ajaguna]

Eye me se, wodwene yie! Me nso, mempe borofoO "concepts-nimdee?" koraa.

I figured that the term palaver was of eureurasiaan origin when I saw the article.  It's problematic that the author did not choose to use an Kmtyw term to describe a clearly Kmtyw concept.  At the same time,  I took alot from the article.  It gave me a mental picture of how some of our ancestors solved problems and made decisions that I didn't have previously.  It also provoked me to think about and research present day formations on the continent that may be attempting to follow in that tradition.  (Although the South Kmtyw "truth and reconciliation commission" did too much reconciling for my taste.)  But yea, we gotta weed out the contamination always.  And keep the good stuff.  Preciate you for pointing that out.

[Ɔbenfo Ọbádélé]

ajaguna wrote: Eye me se, wodwene yie! Me nso, mempe borofoO "concepts-nimdee?" koraa.

I figured that the term palaver was of eureurasiaan origin when I saw the article. It's problematic that the author did not choose to use an Kmtyw term to describe a clearly Kmtyw concept. At the same time, I took alot from the article. It gave me a mental picture of how some of our ancestors solved problems and made decisions that I didn't have previously. It also provoked me to think about and research present day formations on the continent that may be attempting to follow in that tradition. (Although the South Kmtyw "truth and reconciliation commission" did too much reconciling for my taste.) But yea, we gotta weed out the contamination always. And keep the good stuff. Preciate you for pointing that out.

Me nso, memp¢ abor¡fo¡ adwene koraa. Me nso memp¢ s¢nea Abibirem Anafo¡-Man b¡¡ ¢na Mandela kwaadu nanso abor¡fo¡ na y¢gyaegyaee w¡n. Na mmom, s¢de¢ woreka no, adetwer¢ yi na ¢ma y¢hunu s¢nea tetes¢m w¡ bi ka. Meda ase s¢ woama y¢n kwan akenkan biribi a ebia yerenhu da. Wo nti na ¡fa yi rehuru te s¢ nsuohye¢!

I also don't like abor¡fo¡ concepts at all. I also don't like how in South Kmt, Winnie Mandela was criminalized while abor¡fo¡ got off scott free. All the same, just as you've mentioned, this piece lets us see that something may be learned from the past. I appreciate you for giving us the opportunity to read something that otherwise we would not have seen. It is because of you that this forum is boiling like hot water! 8-)

Obadele