Non-Violent Resistance and Conflict Transformation in Yoruba Communities of Southwest Nigeria

This study develops an original theoretical and empirical contribution to understanding non-violent resistance as a conflict transformation mechanism in Yoruba communities of Southwest Nigeria, examining evidence from Oyo, Osun, and Ondo states in the South West geopolitical zone. While non-violent resistance theory has been extensively developed in global contexts, its specific expression, cultural grounding, and conflict transformation potential within Yoruba social and political philosophy has not been systematically theorised, representing a significant gap at the intersection of African political thought and conflict transformation theory. Employing a constructivist grounded theory methodology, data were generated through 70 in-depth interviews with civil society activists, community organisers, Egbe Omo Oduduwa cultural leaders, Obafemi Awolowo intellectual inheritors, and conflict transformation scholars, supplemented by historical analysis of non-violent resistance episodes in Southwest Nigeria from 1990 to 2024 and philosophical analysis of Yoruba ethical concepts relevant to non-violent action. The theoretical contribution is an original Yoruba Non-Violent Conflict Transformation Framework, which integrates the indigenous Yoruba concepts of omoluabi ethical conduct, ara concept of community self-governance, and gbogbo wa ti ode concept of collective voice with Gandhian and Sharpian non-violent action theories. Findings demonstrate that non-violent resistance campaigns grounded in Yoruba philosophical traditions achieve higher community participation and more durable conflict transformation outcomes than campaigns employing exclusively Western non-violent action models. Recommendations include integrating Yoruba-grounded non-violent transformation frameworks into Southwest conflict management training, supporting community-led non-violent resistance capacity development, and funding comparative African non-violent conflict transformation research. Keywords: non-violent resistance, conflict transformation, Yoruba, Southwest Nigeria, African philosophy.