ABSTRACT
This study examines the role of female traditional institutions in conflict management, in fostering peace and security over time, and in their contemporary manifestations among the Ekiti people in the Yoruba land of southwestern Nigeria. It analyses women's involvement in conflict management against a backdrop of the interfaces of traditional and current cultural values and ways of life. Even though a large body of literature exists on African women and their innumerable feats in making peace and security, there is a paucity of data on the role and efficacy of female traditional authorities in conflict, peace, and security processes. Thus, this qualitative research explores the past conflict management institutions and practices, continuity and change, and the hope for the future in that regard, using selected communities in Ekiti as a reference. The study discovers that female traditional peace mechanisms in Ekiti provide opportunities for addressing issues of social justice, cohesion, and equity in access to power and resources in Nigeria.
