"(UN)CIVIL SOCIETY"?
STATE FAILURE AND THE CONTRADICTIONS
OF SELF-ORGANISATION IN NIGERIA

Conference at HBF Nigeria, Lagos, May 16-17, 2005

In the course of democratic transition processes in Africa since the 1990s, "civil society" has been a carrier of great hopes and expectations. This has been so despite the fact that the socio-economic foundations for a civil society in the European sense (from where the concept originally derived) are largely missing in most parts of Africa. Pressure groups, organisations defending rights, independent policy consultants etc. - these and other structures that have become known as "civil society organisations" exist in Africa largely due to the external funding provided, and even the media are weak in most African countries. An African civil society in this sense exists, but it remains weak and externally dependent, at least for now.

However, there are broader concepts of civil society - comprising a wider range of forms of social self-organisation that are neither part of the state nor part of the private sector. They form a "third sector", as analysts have come to call it. Nigerian society has produced a whole range of forms of self-organisation falling into this category. The spectrum extends from community-based forms of self-help to bodies of ethnic or religious representation, and even militias. Some of these forms of self-organisation have rather narrow, pragmatic aims. Others have an explicit socio-cultural or political agenda. Overall, associational life in Nigeria is highly developed and multifaceted, and reaches far beyond what is usually called "civil society organisations" (CSOs) or non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

The main line of argument of the conference/book project outlined here can be summarized in three core statements:

• Numerous forms of self-help and self-organisation have developed in Nigeria since the 1980s. To a good extent, they are resulting from the weakness of the Nigerian state's ability to deliver services and to provide functioning regulatory frameworks. Self-help and self-organisation, thus, reflect aspects of state failure in its various dimensions.

• Forms of self-help and self-organisation resulting from state failure have created what may be called a "broader" civil society in Nigeria. This civil society flourishes in many manifestations. It is dynamic, resourceful, and of fundamental importance for the very survival of numerous people in the country.

• However, self-help and self-organisation arising out of state failure are double-faced. They come at a cost. Among self-help actors, deficiencies of information as well as insufficient government regulation may lead to a lack of co-ordination and multiplication of efforts. Self-help actors may pursue activities that contradict or obstruct each other, leading to less-than-optimal results; in the end, efforts may wipe out each other. On the broader level of society, the cost of self-organisation may even be higher. Self-help and self-organisation under the condition of state failure lead to the emergence of groups that operate on the fringes, or outside, of the bounds of law. An underground emerges, linked to plainly criminal activities. Violence (or threats of it) may challenge the legitimacy or even the very existence of the weak state. Thus, self-organisations may become destructive - for the actors themselves as well as for the wider society. The term "uncivil society" has been tentatively employed in recent years for such manifestations of civil self-organisation in Nigeria, especially, but not limited to the Niger Delta conflict.

The conference/book project explores the linkages between state failure, self-help, and self organisation. It looks at the emergence of Nigerian civil society in the broader sense. It looks at its roots, outlines its dynamics and successes, but also points at its costs, ambivalences, and "dark sides".

The conference took place at HBF Office in Lagos on May 16-17, 2005. A list of the papers presented can be found below.

Currently, a review of the papers presented, leading towards a book publication, is under way.

"(UN)CIVIL SOCIETY"? STATE FAILURE AND THE CONTRADICTIONS OF SELF-ORGANISATION IN NIGERIA
Papers Presented at Conference, May 16-17, 2005

Session I:
Framework, Concepts, Questions

Axel Harneit-Sievers (Heinrich Böll Foundation, Lagos):
Introduction to the Conference: Concepts and Questions

A. Abimbola Agboluaje (University of Cambridge):
"Dedi Bodi Aksidents and Double Wahalas": A Social Capital Exploration of Multi-Level Governance Palavers

Session II:
Non-Governmental Organisations in Perspective

Darren Kew (University of Massachusetts, Boston):
Perspectives on Civil Society Development in Nigeria: The Multiple Roles of NGOs

Emma Ezeazu (Centre for the Development of Civil Society, Abuja):
Perspectives on Civil Society Development in Nigeria - an Insider's Perspective

Session III:
Service Breakdown: State Failure, Privatization, and Self-Help

Chukwuemeka Ngene (Centre for Democracy and Development, Abuja):
State Failure and Infrastructure

Anthony J. Akpan (Pan-African Vision for the Environment, Lagos)
Water Supply Provision in Nigeria: An Overview of the Ongoing Reform in the Water Sector in Lagos State

Session IV:
State Failure, Violence, Security

Ismail Olawale (University of Bradford, UK):
From "Area-Boyism" to "Junctions and Bases": Social Order and Violence in Lagos Island

Ayokunle Fagbemi (Centre for Peacebuilding and Socio-Economic Resources Development, Lagos)
Conflict Management, Mitigation and Peace-Building Capabilities in Nigeria: An Assessment of State Institutions and Non-State Practitioners

Session V:
State Failure, Women, and Self-Organisation

Mojubaolu Olufunke Okome (Brooklyn College, City University of New York):
Gendered States: Politics and Women's Power in 21st Century Nigeria

Fatai A. Olasupo (Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife)
Women's Associational Life in Traditional Governance at the Local Level in Nigeria: Origin, Growth, and Development

Session VI:
Interfaces Between State and Broader Civil Society

Dapo Asaju (Lagos State University):
The Failed Alternative: Church Response to Welfare Failure of the Nigerian State

Mike Adeyeye (Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife):
Local Government and Community Self-Help Organisation: The Crisis of Renewal

Olufemi A. Akinola (Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife):
Innovation without Transformation? Departmental Co-operative Societies in Southwestern Nigeria, c. 1985-2004

Ayo Olukotun (University of Lagos):
State Failure and the Contradictions of the Public Sphere,1995-2005

[Read the Call for Concept Papers ( November 2004)]
( also available for DOWNLOAD. [.pdf-format, 61 kB])

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