Introduction

This book articulates and elaborates the arguments on the fashioning of the post-civil war policy of the 3Rs and the implementation of Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) took into cognisance the peculiar features of the Nigerian society and addresses the causes of the civil war. The book revisits the circumstances surrounding Nigeria's post-Civil War policy of rehabilitation, reconstruction and reconciliation, and examines the short and long-term consequences of the demobilisation and reintegration exercise for national politics. Initial approaches to the study of African civil wars mirrored the theoretical and ideological underpinnings of the study of international politics during the cold war period, namely idealism and realism. Several countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have in the last few years conducted large scale post-civil war demobilisation towards creating opportunities for sustainable peace and human development. An essential prerequisite for a meaningful and successful demobilisation is a detailed disarmament of the combatants that will be demobilised.