Abstract
<p>Conflict is a fact of life. The tongue-and-mouth dialectical discourse in Yoruba proverb typifies the inevitability of dissonance and dissension in a complex social system. Socialization, therefore, whether primary, anticipatory, professional or re-socialization, is fraught with conflicts. Ideological contestation over socioeconomic policies forms the basis of conflicts in the university in Nigeria. Conflicts in Nigeria has its antecedents in the colonial era (Bakare, K.A., 2021). A scenario of contest is ever constant, when the leadership is perceived as a comprador capitalist by the followership. At the basis of every trade union in Nigeria is the determination to rebuff exploitative capitalism. The university with its demographics, proxemics and vast municipal requirements is prone to conflict in an expansive proportion. Having noted that conflict is a constant variable, it is important to zero down on its management, its mismanagement and its resolution, situating it within a concrete context. In our attempt to show the nuances of conflict in the university estate, we have opted to study realistic episodes of conflicts as captured by a former Chief Medical Director cum Vice-Chancellor of a foremost university in Nigeria. <br />The book, ‘Water must flow uphill’ is an experiential rendition of the abecedarian precepts of leadership and management in two complex organizations. It is a fluid and transparent expose on ‘how to’ and ‘how not to’ manage conflicts in large organizations. Its turbulence, wisdom, severity and chicaneries exemplify the coarse nature of leadership in Nigerian universities and allied estates, as experienced by a viciously honest personality. Militancy, mismanagement, honesty of purpose, leadership botherations; all form the themes of a book which stands out in its attempt to capture unbiased facts. It is a definitive statement on the need for moral and ethical re-alignment in the Nigerian workspace, and the larger society.</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0774/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>
Highlights
Karl Marx purported that conflict is an inevitable part of life because of a ‘never-ending competition for finite resources.’In essence, conflict and conflict management is a continuum in human experience that leaves the human society constantly in a state of funk as a result of the never-ending struggle for acquisition of wealth between the rich and the poor
Historical materialism maintained that religion, morality, social structures and other forms of knowledge are rooted in economics and that the proletariat needed to be stirred to action against ‘...the lords of the sword, of the soil, and of capital.’ (Karl Marx, p.37)
It is obvious in these conflicts that the contests are often interpreted in the light of ‘the will to prevail’ rather than in the genuine spirit of concord, amity and amelioration
Summary
Karl Marx purported that conflict is an inevitable part of life because of a ‘never-ending competition for finite resources.’In essence, conflict and conflict management is a continuum in human experience that leaves the human society constantly in a state of funk as a result of the never-ending struggle for acquisition of wealth between the rich and the poor. A culture of distrust between government and the workforce has gradually been nurtured as a result of broken promises and non-committal policies. Another strand fast gaining notoriety is the conflict between the university communities and the host communities, as a result of quest for land mass, interpersonal misunderstanding or other forms of aggrandizement. Structural defects, cohabiting with the systemic devaluation in the larger society have almost brought the education sector to its knees, fomenting wealth-gap induced and other forms of conflict in our universities
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