There is a general perception that africa is trapped in a neverending cycle of ethnic conflict. Closely examining the relationship between religion, ethnicity and conflict in. The main focus is the decision to implement the sharia laws in northern nigeria, in particular, how it has led to bloody conflicts in the country. Nigeria suffers a variety of complex political problems including inequality, corruption, oil disputes, national disunity, and the boko haram insurgency this seven year conflict and humanitarian crisis in the north has killed 20,000 and displaced 2. Herderfarmer conflicts in nigeria have mainly involved disputes over land andor cattle between herders and farmers in the middle belt since the return of democracy in 1999. Aug 30, 2005 the national question in nigeria is probably one of the most complicated in the world with over 120 languages spoken, three main ethnic groups, none of which constitutes a majority of the population, and the religious divide between christians in the south and muslims in the north. Colonial masters play a vital role in the growth of ethno religious conflicts, these colonial masters brought the christianity with them and try to penetrate the western values in the system of nigeria.
Intra communal conflicts are those conflicts between the people of the same ethnic group. Communal conflicts in nigeria can be divided into two broad categories. Examples of such in nigeria are ifemodakeke in osun state, offaerinle in kwara state. Ethnic minority conflicts and governance in nigeria. This research shows that the destruction of property, mistrust, apathy, and killings that comes with ethnic polarity reduces the gdp of nations across the globe. It traces the evolution of ethnic conflict research in nigeria, explores the existing literature on ethnic conflicts and points to the neglect of intraethnic conflicts. Ethnic conflicts have become the serious challenge of our times, which perhaps explains why ethnicity is seen as the reigning concept in african studies at present. Conflict in nigeria 5 results by geopolitical zone north east nigeria conflict levels peaked in 2014 in north east nigeria, but remained relatively high through 2017 from 2010 to 2017, 49% of households in the north east experienced at least one event of conflict or violence against a household member. Ethnic conflict arises if ethnic groups compete for the same goalnotably power, access to resources, or territory. D department of political science ekiti state university, adoekiti, nigeria abstract. Over the past few years thousands of people have been killed in ethnic clashes. Tribalism is one of the causes of ethnic conflict in nigeria.
It is therefore patently clear that realistic measures to solve these problems are needed. Nigeria is said to be a british creation by uniting the various nationalities into a single country today known as the federal republic of nigeria. I political cycles and inter ethnic outcomes in nigeria s postindependence history. Conflict can be defined as a clash or disagreement often violent between opposing groups or individuals. British, as usual use their divide and rule policy to sow the seed of conflicts on the basis of religious conflicts among the people in nigeria. While the origin while the origin of the conflict may be polit ical, social, economic or religious. The end of the cold war thus sparked interest in two important questions about ethnic conflict. Ethnoreligious conflicts, attributed to actors primarily divided by cultural, ethnic, or religious communities and identities, such as instances of religious violence between christian and muslim communities. Ethnoreligious conflict in jos, nigeria, intensely dissected the ethnoreligious crisis in jos and proffered workable solutions. Unlike other forms of social conflicts, ethnoreligious conflict entails different ethnic groups that belong to different religions. A historical analysis of ethnic conflict in nigeria publish. Ethnic conflict is thus similar to other political interest conflicts. Just as we have many authors, so we have several definitions of the concept. However, what appears to be an ethnic conflict in nigeria is an actual fact of a struggle between the ruling class for the nations wealth.
Ethnic conflict and national stability in nigeria a case study of obasonjos regime with abstract, chapter 15, references and questionnaire. An ethnic conflict is a conflict between two or more contending ethnic groups. A historical analysis of ethnic conflict in nigeria. The impact of ethnic conflict on economic development. D department of political science ekiti state university, adoekiti, nigeria mike opeyemi omilusi ph. Conflict one of the earliest deftnitions of conflicts. The history of ethnicity and ethnic conflicts in nigeria is also traced back to the colonial transgressions that forced the ethnic groups of the. Nigerias underdevelopment, with special reference to her political. Aug 29, 2016 major causes of ethnoreligious conflicts in nigeria. Ethnic conflicts were the main forms of political instability in the multi ethnic societies during second half of twenty century and beginning of new century.
The key causes and solution to ethnic conflict in nigeria. An ethnic conflict is a conflict between two or more rival ethnic groups. To call it a diversified society would not be wrong, a society with different religions, cultures, and languages. Nigeria sectarian violence between rural farmer and herder communities is prevalent in more than a dozen states, primarily in the broadly defined middle belt region of the country. Many will attest to it that the jos crisis vividly exemplifies or by locus classicus describes a rancorous experience against religious intolerance. Until now, the analysis made in this paper has been guided by the medicodiagnostic method of inquiry, an analytical approach that seeks to avoid one of the commonly committed fallacies of the century jumping to a conclusion or making a hasty decision. It was found that a number of violent events that had occurred in nigeria was due to the manipulations of the constitutional law in a process of decision making by muslims and christian leaders and political elites that cannot fulfill the expectations of their respective ethnic groups.
Interethnic conflicts and their impact on national. This paper expounds such conceptual issues as ethnicity, cultural diversity, federalism and national integration and then presents the historical background to ethnic and cultural conflicts in nigeria. It is therefore not surprising to note that at least twice 196770 civil war and 1993 1999 friction ethnic rivalry has been the major cause of internal conflicts in nigeria. Conflict and violence in north east nigeria is primarily attributable to boko haram, the terrorist group responsible for human rights abuses across nigeria, chad, cameroon, and niger.
This study shows the impact of ethnic related conflicts to the economic growth. Ethnic and religious identityand consequently ethnic and religious conflict are often intertwined, especially when the majority of one ethnic. Conflicts and causes of conflicts in africa project. Causes of conflict in nigeria and ways of resolving them legit. Conflict one of the earliest deftnitions of conflicts was by karl max 1818 1883. Ethnoreligious conflicts and democracy in nigeria dr. A need for true federalism peaceful and prosperous in nigeria article pdf available november 20 with 9,748 reads how we measure reads. Theoretical perspective 79 languages, customs and traditions gives the country a rich cultural diversity. Ethnic groups and conflicts ethnic group means different things to different people. Trends and dimensions of ethnic conflict in nigeria ethnic conflicts could take different forms and its manifestation could arise from different dimensions in the nigeria society. In fact, no decade of postindependent nigeria has been conflict free. It is essential to advert that both religious and ethnic causal agents have always acted together in the majority of social conflicts in nigeria.
Ethnic conflicts are very common and they bring about damage to lives and properties. Christian ethnic groups in southern nigeria have been drawn into these religious conflicts, with their members in northern nigerian cities. The rwandan genocide, darfur, northern nigeria, cote divoire, and the violent aftermath of the controversial kenyan elections, among other cases, seemingly substantiate this perception. Sep 25, 2007 welch calls these communal pressures matters of ethnic selfdetermination, maintaining that economic and political change in a multiethnic milieu like nigeria invariably triggers ethnic conflict. This paper explored ethnic conflicts in nigeria and participatory democracy as a means of tackling ethnic conflicts. Short of portraying nigerias ethnic nationalities as fundamentally incompatible social groupings, he posits that nigeria as an entity. The current situation in nigeria united states institute. The causes of ethnic conflict in multiethnic societies. Pdf a historical survey of ethnic conflict in nigeria researchgate. The result is that the region has been enmeshed in inter ethnic conflicts over the past three decades marked by phenomenal increases in mayhem and the destruction of lives and property. A historical analysis of ethnic conflict in nigeria osadola oluwaseun samuel research paper. The roots of nigeria s religious and ethnic conflict.
Causes of conflict in nigeria and ways of resolving them. Furthermore, no religious conflict in the nation is purely religious without ethnicity playing its way in it. Nigeria is a country that is full of surprises and conflicts in different areas and regions. This paper is meant as a contribution towards the ongoing search for new means of managing ethnic conflicts in africa. Nigeria has not been without its fair share of conflict.
Overall, nigeria has made major strides in its democratic development, but still has significant work to do in improving national, state, and local governance. It could manifest in the area of religion, economy, education, military, politics, and among professionals. While the source of the conflict may be political, social, economic or religious, the individuals in conflict must expressly fight for their ethnic groups position within society. Misinterpreting ethnic conflicts in africa africa center.
In some colonial territories, for instance nigeria, the strategy of decolonization gave impetus to political ethnicity. This seven year conflict and humanitarian crisis in the north has killed 20,000 and displaced 2. The focus of this paper is on impact of ethnoreligious crises on socioeconomic activities in wukari local government area with a view to proffering useful recommendations as a way forward. In nigeria, the colonial masters provided urban setting, which constitutes the cradle of contemporary ethnicity. The roots of nigerias religious and ethnic conflict. Causal analysis and proposals for new management strategies. The case of plateau state of nigeria abubakar sokoto mohammed 1. Actually, much of the material on nigeria has been inspired by the paradigms of the study of ethnicity in the social sciences generally. Causes and solution nigerians are very sensitive when it comes to their ethnic groups. And british also used this to exploit the traditional culture of nigeria. A historical analysis of ethnic conflict in nigeria grin. In the spirit of indirect rule, the major administrative and political units of nigeria were made to coincide with the spatial locations of the three major ethnic groups.
Loyalty to ethnic groups impedes true nationalism and unity of the country. Religious conflicts in nigeria by barry mason and chris talbot 28 february 2000 violent religious clashes broke out in the city of kaduna in northern nigeria on february 21 and have continued. Apr 30, 2010 there is a general perception that africa is trapped in a neverending cycle of ethnic conflict. The interests of a societys elite class play an important role in mobilizing ethnic groups to engage in ethnic conflicts. Ethnic conflicts in nigeria and africa in general arise as result of scarcity of political resources, multiculturalism, religion, militarisation of ethnicity among others. Using nigeria and south africa as case studies, it compares the management of ethnic conflicts in both countries and shows the difficulties in managing deeprooted and complex conflicts. Briefly stated, these are the seven themes we intend to sketch in the following discussion of institutional design, ethnic conflict management, and democracy in nigeria. As far as nigeria is concerned, this is the country where this conflict is more powerful than any other concept. Causes of nigeria unrest and conflict situation proceedings of theires 3rd international conference, dubai, uae, 4th july 2015, isbn. The ongoing boko haram conflict in the northeast, cycles of communal violence between pastoralists and farmers, and separatist protests in the south defined nigerias human rights landscape in 2017. Nigeria s federal system gives governors great responsibilities in addressing the issues that are driving conflict and the boko haram insurgency. This paper is about the religious conflicts of the people in nigeria and its impact on their social lives.
In this paper, we shall hold nigeria s underdevelopment to mean qualitative and quantitative hindrance to political. The regional and ethnic divisions in nigeria, which were fomented under decades of british colonial rule and gave rise to the biafra war in 1966, were suppressed. The roots of nigerias religious and ethnic conflict public. Often misrepresented as ethnic andor religious conflicts, they are the result of economical, political and environmental tensions in the country. An average nigerian often sees his own tribe as being superior to others. There are different identities and segments in this society. Ethnic conflicts have caused a lot of destruction in many great nations.
A historical analysis of ethnic conflict in nigeria osadola oluwaseun samuel research paper postgraduate african studies culture and applied geography publish your bachelors or masters thesis, dissertation, term paper or essay. The goal of this study determinates social context of ethnic conflict in multi ethnic societies. Mar 10, 2014 the roots of nigeria s religious and ethnic conflict. With several coups, general strikes and a civil war, nigerians have had to experience some of the most sordid tragedies arising from difference of opinions and distrust. By this is meant the country is a melting pot of ethnic. This final criterion differentiates ethnic conflict from other forms of struggle. That ethnic conflict is now a pervasive and salient dimension of political and social conflict in several countries in the world seems obvious enough.
From the colonial times till date, leaders use ethnic biases to win election and divide the country. Pdf this article focused on the historical survey of ethnic conflict in the nigerian society and its scope is vast in a way that it stresses the. Nigeria, as a nation, is bound by various ethnicities or ethnic groups, thus higazi noted that, the dominant discourses in the conflict refer to political exclusion on the basis of ethnicity and religion 14. Organized as a loose federation of selfgoverning states, the independent nation faced the overwhelming task of unifying a country with 250 ethnic and linguistic groups.
Ethnic conflict and sustainable development in nigeria. A historical survey of ethnic conflict in nigeria citeseerx. The foregoing discussion of the travails and struggles of ethnic minority communities in rivers and kaduna states the former contending against economic expropriation and the latter against both cultural extinction and politicoeconomic marginalization may now be related to the wider dimensions and conditions of ethnic minority alienation and discontent in the nigerian federation. Furthermore, bouka argues that ethno communal conflict is either intra or inter ethno communal in nature. Nigeria is one of the major democracies in african continent. Ethnic rivalry is a major cause of africas backward states. It can also be said to be an incompatibility, as of two things that cannot be simultaneously fulfilled. Managing ethnic and cultural diversity for national. For example, gurr 1993 identifies about 80 raging ethnic conflicts, of which about 35 could be classified as or close to civil wars in different parts of the world. In nigeria mostly there are two types of religions, islam and christianity. Nigeria is a multi ethnic and culturally diverse society that has witnessed conflicts arising from this ethnic and cultural diversity. Religious conflicts in nigeria world socialist web site. Nigeria suffers a variety of complex political problems including inequality, corruption, oil disputes, national disunity, and the boko haram insurgency.
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