Unending Wars And Disagreements: How They Are Affecting Our Future (Part I)

Unending Wars And Disagreements: How They Are Affecting Our Future (Part I)

By Ogbonna Nwuke

At the press of a small button these days, so much can happen on the battlefield, in smart offices and homes. Man is able for instance, to hit targets, distances away, and inflict the kind of pain and the kind of destruction that could have been thought impossible.

Those nations like the United States, China, Russia, Britain and France that own huge military arsenals – conventional and non conventional – that are able to paralyse radar systems, hit opponents with relative ease, are considered strong and powerful.

Those countries that are unable to shield themselves from all kinds of weapons of mass devastation; unable to save themselves from the commanding influence of other powers; are seen as feeble and weak.

In a sense, man’s superiority on the field of battle, in the area of industry, commerce, education, health and agriculture hasn’t  been achieved by sudden flight.

It has been achieved as a result of the utilisation of man’s innermost faculties, his creativity, prowess and constant interface over time, with those elements which shape the nature of his society.

It is perhaps, proof of the extent of man’s understanding of science, his eventual creation of technology and his mastery of an evolving environment that he seeks in so many ways to dominate.

Thus, technology  has become the game changer and a pathfinder, most scholars and bystanders who are impacted directly or indirectly by its use, agree.

For instance, the level of one’s technological knowhow determines if the nation in which he is born in an ever changing environment is developed or not.

Similarly, through limitless advantages created by technology and the huge military industrial complex that is associated with it, it has become possible to tell which nation has attained the status of a superpower and which has not.

It is not in fighting wars that technology has become man’s handiest tool. Technology impacts directly or indirectly on the quality of life that people live, the ease with which they engage in mass production and even the speed with which they are able to attain dizzying social, political and economic heights.

George Owen had written so much about “Uncle Sam” and his ability to “watch you”. That was long before man broke the sound barrier through the airplane and smashed the glass ceiling in spying through forms of intelligence gathering.

Now satellites hovering in orbits in outer space monitor all kinds of things – troop movements, climatic changes and weather conditions, and other phenomena of interest to scientists and other researchers that are concerned with their interplay with nature.

On the battlefield,  Drones are becoming a regular feature. These unmanned aerial vehicles developed by countries with the appropriate technology are striking at the heart of the enemy. They can equally be used for intelligence gathering.

Indeed, a new world dominated by artificial intelligence (AI) is here at our doorsteps. It is waiting to be part of our cognitive reality and the way we study, think and do things. But there are fears man may become too dependent on AI and the manipulation of the computer for his own good.

Man is controlled largely by habit.  A man who is a habitual latecomer and a non conformist, for an example, doesn’t turn a new leaf overnight simply because a new message on how to change attitudes struck him.

A man who is used to swearing falsely in God’s name or swearing in the name of their loved ones as is the practice in some parts of Africa and Asia, even when he knows he is lying, wouldn’t stop because a lie detector has been invented.

It is largely the same thing with man’s attitude towards war. Man’s natural instinct in his environment has been to fight – fight to remain a dominant force; fight to protect his permanent interests; and fight to have enormous control over new territories and resources that may abound.

Inspite of what is being said about social change and its real or imagined impact on society; about globalization and how it could change the dynamics of the sociopolitical and socioeconomic order in a new world; the huge benefits of a peaceful and more sustainable environment; man’s ego driven by a feeling of superiority has more or less encouraged him to stick to habits that are entrenched.

Like the ‘Isles of March’, which is here but not gone, those old habits, those instinctive attitudes that we refer to, are influencing man’s interaction with others and the way he relates with his society.

Because these habits that are not easy to shelve determine the level of his communication skills, how he relates to others, and influence his quest for dominion over others beyond his natural boundary, man’s tendency to instigate disagreements, crisis, conflicts and unrest is not too difficult to understand.

So man and his ideosyncracies remain a major determinant factor either in his resolve to give peace a chance or his will to embark on war monging.

This, in turn, reveals the nature of his association with others, the impact his level of socialisation has on communication, and those instinctive reactions that are in a way linked to his thought processes, his attitudes and behaviour.

Where man refuses to play ball perhaps as a result of entrenched interests, great battles are fought and morality thrown overboard. The contrary happens when man allows room for the intervention of others – arbitrators, mediators, negotiators as well others whose services prevent costly wars and lead to the resolution of  conflict.

Conflict resolution mechanisms, from the look of wars that are being waged at this time, appear to be taking a backstage. Among nations, nation states and even individuals at war, respect for negotiated settlement has waned.

So, our world despite the existence of the United Nations set up to ensure global peace and promote international understanding, cooperation and collaboration is faced with situations that are fueling indiscriminate confrontations at the global level.

For example, Israel has been at war with its Middle Eastern neighbours. Gaza has been turned into rubble while the demolition of Lebanon has begun.

Now, Israel is bombing the hell out of Syria, moving beyond the Golan Height on its way to Damascus. Recall that President Assad, an enemy of Western nations sustained by Russia, has just been toppled.

For months, Israel has plainly rejected a ceasefire in Gaza and a fragile ceasefire secured between it and Hezbollah in Lebanon hasn’t ended hostilities.

As a result of alleged acts of genocide, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister who is accused of corruption on the homefront by his fellow countrymen has been declared wanted by the International Criminal Court at the Hague.

Countries like Italy have agreed in response to the declaration issued by the ICC to arrest the Israeli leader should he for any reason venture into their terrain.

In Eastern Europe, Russia is lurked in battle with a Ukrainian side that is supposedly backed by the might of the United States. Increasingly, America’s allies in the North Atlantic Treay Organisation,  NATO, are being drawn into the conflict.

No one is actively talking about a ceasefire. Instead, long range missiles owned by the United States and Britain are hitting targets deep into Russian territory

The Russians who once led the Warsaw Pact that posed a direct threat to the West  have rewritten their nuclear protocol, suggesting they may rely on their awesome nuclear arsenal if utmost care is not taken to defend their permanent interests.

The fear that the Third World War may already be underway is beginning to grip the world as more nations like Israel, North Korea, Iran and Turkey become increasingly belligerent.

Disregarded, ignored and undermined by the dominant powers which exercise veto powers, the United Nations which replaced the league of nations after the Second World War, has simply become a mere talk shop.

It is as if the prediction of Nastrodàmus, the one who saw tomorrow, regarding a global conflict is about to come true. Will a Prince from the House of Mohammed finally get this war off the ground?

How are unending wars and disagreements affecting us in Nigeria where insurgents and seperatists are having a field day? What impact is the demarketing of the Niger Delta region for instance, having on the rest of us?

What consequence, if any, is the conflict in Rivers State having on the future? Has there been any gain from the hard line posture pursued by certain Rivers political actors?

We will look at these and other issues in part two of this article.

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