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i.
Prevention: 
Conflict prevention is usually grouped into structural-and direct preventive measures. 
Structural measure aim at specific groups or issues like economic development, political 
participation or cultural autonomy. Structural preventive measures are mostly applicable in a stable 

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peace environment. ' The prevention of conflict has been known to be more cost effective than 
later attempts to manage, resolve or transform situations that have been allowed to escalate. 
Conflict prevention works best when individuals and groups responsible for decision and 
necessary preventive measures or action are sufficiently proactive. This can be done in part by 
adherence and swift response to early warning 'signs of conflict (Best 2007:80). 
Conflict prevention has been a top agenda for the United – Nations (UN) and the defunct 
Organization of Africa Unity (OAU) since their creation. Article 1 (Para 1) of the UN charter-
stipulates that "The purpose of the UN are to maintain international peace "and security, and to 
that end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of the threats to 
peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggressions or other breach of peace, and to bring about 
peaceful means and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment 
or settlement of -international disputes or situations which might lead to breach of peace (UN 
Charter:/:
 
Chapters (vi) and (vii). Therefore conflict prevention 'undertaken with the - express 
intent to anticipate a conflict or fore tell the possibility of its escalation into generalized and 
uncontrolled violence whether between two 'groups or, at the level of society at large. To address 
the structural underlying factors "root causes" is to curb or halt its escalation into deadly violence 
of all; the conflict prevention emphasised by the constructive act of the African Union (AU) is 
early warning undoubtedly for conflict prevention. This includes the following: 
i.
Political Indicators; the, internal 'political dynamics, processes and issues relating to 
identity and relationship. 
ii.
Economic indicators. The cost of living, inflation rate, unemployment, scarcities. 
iii.
Personal Security: Law and order, civil military relations, the proliferation of small 
arms and light-weapons. 
iv.
Social Indicators: demographic makeup, population changes and movement and 
population density. 
v.
Environmental indicators Water security, natural catastrophes e.t.c 
Conflict Prevention works effectively in the case of early warning. Best S. G. (2012: 184 - 
200). Aristotle once put it thus: "To know the causes which destroy constitutions is and' to know 
the causes which ensure their preservation". In other words, analysis of what causes conflicts 
should be avoided by any policy maker and by all (Adekange 2007:170 - 173). The variance in the 
concept of prevention from more narrow- ones focusing 
on 
.limited ways of prevention such as 
preventive diplomacy of conflicts. Lund (1993:37) states; 
Actions taken in vulnerable places and 

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times to-avoid-the-threat or use of armed force or groups to settle the political disputes that 
economic, social political and international concern would help to prevent conflict and deter the 
reoccurrence of conflicts. 
On the other hand, Boutros B. Ghali conceptualized preventive 
diplomacy as the use of diplomatic techniques to prevent 'disputes arising, that will escalate into 
armed' conflict from spreading. (Boutros 1996: 18) But Carmen understands conflict prevention 
to mean a medium and long-term proactive operation or structural strategy undertaken by a variety 
of actors, to identify and create the enabling conditions for a stable and more predictable 
.international security environment (Carmen 2003.11). According to the organization for 
economic cooperation and development = (OECD) a culture of prevention could be achieve if the 
international community were able to analyze the causes 'and ' dynamics of conflict and peace in 
order to understand how their actions will affect the structural "stability" of a society or country. 
(OECD 2001:31).