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Causes of the 2002-2011 Ivorian Political Armed Conflict and It’S Ramification on Education

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Causes of the 2002-2011 Ivorian Political Armed Conflict and It’S Ramification on Education UDS International Journal of Development [UDSIJD] ISSN: 2026-5336 Volume 6 No. 3, 2019 http://www.udsijd.org CAUSES OF THE 2002-2011 IVORIAN POLITICAL ARMED CONFLICT AND IT’S RAMIFICATION ON EDUCATION Yaro, D. S. Department of Development Education Studies, University for Development Studies, Tamale Email: [email protected]/ [email protected] Corresponding author’s Email: [email protected]/[email protected] Abstract This study explored the causes of the 2002-2011 Ivorian political armed conflict and its ramification on education in the country. A qualitative methodology was used for the study. A purposive sampling technique was used to sample a cross section of twenty-five (25) Ivorians. A semi-structured interviewing schedule was used to gather data. The data was analysed using content analysis techniques. The study revealed that the causes of the conflict were: competing for scarce resources, incessant political power struggles, land claims, problematic electoral processes, unemployment, discrimination among the ethnic groups, and succession problems with political transition. The ramifications of the conflict for education were: destruction of school infrastructure, the closure of schools in the North, decrease of the student population, and fleeing of teachers for fear of insecurity. Based on the findings, the following recommendations were proffered: the Government should assure teachers of peace and encourage them by increasing their salaries to enable them to return to the country. Traumatised educational worKers and students should be counselled and the calendar of the school should be Kept in order to assist the students catch up with their lost time as well as to promote pro-democratic practices and beliefs in schools. Keywords: ECOWAS, Ivory Coast, Ramification, Education, Armed conflict Introduction Ivory Coast is a member of the Economic 1960, Houphouet Boigny became the first president Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and and stayed for more than three decades. Houphouet- is situated on the western coast of Africa in the sub- Boigny’s policy of encouraging the immigration of Saharan area. It covers an area of 322,462 square workers helped Ivory Coast to become the leading kilometres. It is bordered in the North by Burkina producer of cocoa in not only West Africa, but in the Faso and Mali, in the West by Liberia and Guinea, in world at large, until his death in 1993 (Global IDP, the East by Ghana and in the South by the Gulf of 2005). Guinea. The political capital of the country is The Nationwide general democratic election was Yamoussoukro, located in the heart of the country, conducted in 2000, between General Guei in PDCI some 248 km from Abidjan (in the South), which is and the leader of the Ivorian Popular Front Party the economic capital. It is a country of immigrants, (FPI) Laurent Gbagbo. In January 2001, a coup d’etat on account of being at the crossroad of economic and took place after President Guei refused to hand over cultural exchange. It has witnessed steady urban to Gbagbo as the victor in the then concluded 2000 growth since independence. Prior to the conflict, the Presidential democratic election. As a result, fighting country had an educational policy (Education for all broke out among the various rebel leaders, citing the policy) which was one of the best in West Africa controversial elections, which denied Ouattara as a (Lanoue,2003). After independence from France in presidential candidate despite international and Yaro, 2019: UDSIJD Vol 6(3) 185 ECOWAS recognition that Ouattara was the winner Boigny, whose personal motto was: 'La paix n'est pas of the polls. President Gbagbo formed a de facto UN mot, c'est UN comportement', which means government of national unity that included the RDR “peace is not a word but an attitude”. Within this party which was short lived (Lanoue, 2003). personal concept, the former president made Ivory One of the major events which led to the 2002 Coast a prototype of peace in the entire continent of conflict was the Supreme Court’s disqualification of Africa during his reign. Unfortunately, his death threw the leaders of the major contesting parties, namely the country into a period of instability which Rally of Republicans (RDR) led by Alassane eventually culminated into armed conflict. The Ouattara and Democratic Party of Ivory Coast. As a conflict devastated the economy that was once result, voter turnout was extremely low which prosperous after the colonial state (Global Security, annoyed the international election monitors to 2004). withdraw before the end of the polling. The early polling results showed that Gbagbo was in the lead. Statement of Research Problem This event made Guei to withdraw from the election Most African leaders, in a bid to consolidate their process and consequently used his military positions, disenfranchise the members of opposition leadership position to disband the Ivorian Election political parties by eroding the basic democratic Commission and declared himself the Head of State principles enshrined in their countries’ constitutions. (Amnesty International, 2009). The consequences of their actions become Disgruntled Gbagbo supporters took to the streets of disastrous; very often leading to conflicts and Abidjan and other nearby cities. A bloody fight resulting in the destruction of the social and the ensued as the mob attacked the guards protecting the economic structures of the country. In most cases, it presidential palace and other state facilities. The is the civilians who bear the brunt of their actions. violence became so serious that General Guei was Ivory Coast, like other African countries such as forced to flee and in the process was ambushed and Somalia, Liberia and Sierra Leone, ultimately could killed. Many other people were killed as the violence not escape this catastrophe, despite a lengthy period escalated marking the beginning of the Ivorian of post-independence political and economic political conflict, which lasted for almost ten years. stability (Global Security, 2002). Formerly prosperous After a brief subsidence of the violence, Gbagbo and united, Ivory Coast is now a failed state (Robert, declared himself as the president (Amnesty 2010) which is ranked 11th in the world of the Failed International, 2009). In September 2002, a serious States Index (Failed States Index, 2012). During the confrontation degenerated into full scale war due to conflict, the infrastructure of the country was destroyed, the disqualification of the leader of RDR Alassane along with its trade relations and investors’ confidence. Ouattara as the winner of the election by the court The trade revenue, and debt payments, as well as the (Human Right Watch, 2002). devaluation of the national currency dropped (IRIN, The political instability in Ivory Coast commenced 2005). The 2002-2011 Ivorian political armed after the death of Felix Houphouet Boigny in 1993. conflict also divided the societies and destroyed The conflict was caused by power struggle among public institutions, including its educational system. the political leaders and discrimination among the While the education sector in Ivory Coast was clearly people, especially those from the Northern part of the a victim of the armed conflict, which raged until late country (Daniel, 2003 and Suaka, 2012). Ivory Coast 2004, it was also a catalyst for the 2002-2011 Ivorian attained independence from France in 1960 and political armed conflict (Sany, 2008). A better became an enclave of political and economic stability understanding of the causes and ramification of the in a region known for conflict. The country political armed conflict on the educational system endeavoured to avoid the myriads of pitfalls that will allow for a more accurate analysis of events and bedevilled other African countries in terms of poor provide a firmer foundation for recommendations management of their sovereignty (Global Security, and intervention. It is within this background that the 2004). It was under the leadership of Felix Houphouet central research question is situated. What are the Yaro, 2019: UDSIJD Vol 6(3) 186 causes and the ramifications of the Ivorian conflict According to Becker (1962), human capital theory for education? states that not only do people living in conflict zones suffer injuries, death and have their property Furthermore, the effects of the armed conflict plague destroyed, they are also displaced from their homes the country to this day and this study attempts to and lose their means of survival but education from examine the effects of the armed political conflict for the grassroots is destroyed and that leads to a education during the period from 2002-2011. The reduction in human capital investment. Children and researcher’s observation was that scholarly works on women were the most harshly affected by the the conflicts in Ivory Coast have focused on the destruction of physical capital and the deterioration ramifications of the conflicts on the educational life of economic conditions given the age-specific of the population in general. In order to study this aspects of many human capital investments in Ivory topic, the researcher undertook fieldwork in the Ivory Coast. There were problems such as widespread Coast in late 2014, and interviewed a cross section of malnutrition and outbreaks of infectious diseases and twenty-five Ivorians in Ivory Coast. trauma. The destruction of human capital during childhood is a well-documented mechanism leading to poverty traps, given the severe long-term effects it Purpose of the study can have on individual and household welfare via the The purpose of this study was to investigate the future labour market outcomes and economic causes of the 2002-2011 Ivorian political armed performance of affected children. conflict and its ramification on education. In order Kaldor (2004) states that Identity politics is a to understand the causes and the ramifications for movement that mobilizes around ethnic, racial or education during the armed conflict the researcher religious identity for the purpose of claiming state investigated the previous situation and generated a power.
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