Why a terrifying religious conflict is raging in nigeria. Other minor violent conflicts that intermittently flared up in different parts of northern nigeria were mostly driven by land disputes between groups. Department of sociology usmanu danfodiyo university, sokoto. Thus, concerns for the upcoming 2015 election are widespread. Thus, before the present democratic experiment in nigeria, there were ethnoreligious conflicts that claimed so many lives and property mohammed, 2005. The disturbing economic, political and social consequences of ethnoreligious crises and conflicts in nigeria are major concerns of all stakeholders in the nigerian development process. Ethnoreligious identity and conflict in northern nigeria.
Nigeria has been riddled with clashes between members of the two faiths since the 1980s. The 2011 presidential election split the country along ethnoreligiousregional lines. Federalism as we know involves the organization of the state in such a manner as to promote unity while at the same time preserving existing diversities within an over throbbing national entity. Religious crisis in nigeria causes and solutions religious crisis in nigeria is prevalent, owing to a number of reasons. 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. In nigeria, especially in northern part of the country, ethno religious conflict has. Media narrative construction of ethnoreligious con. The paper concludes by suggesting how to curb ethnoreligious problems in nigeria in order to promote good governance. The research examined the traditional strategies used by the zar people in zar land in.
In nigeria the christianmuslim thing is the tip of the iceberg, he says. Since the return to democratic rule in 1999 after almost three decades of military rule, ethnoreligious conflicts have been a recurring decimal in nigeria. Ethnoreligious conflict in jos, nigeria philip ostien abstract conflict between. This study examined the recurring indigenesettler and ethnoreligious conflicts in northern nigeria which have now characterized the hitherto peaceful coexistence among the various ethnoreligious and communal groups across nigeria, made average. D abstract colonialism ended in sudan and nigeria but the departing british left no nation in both cases on the ground. Such conflicts are often associated with ethnic or religious sentiments.
Ethnoreligious conflict in nigeria international center for ethno. 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. Ethnoreligious conflict in jos, nigeria, intensely dissected the ethnoreligious crisis in jos and proffered workable solutions. Because of the multiethnic structure and multi religious system in nigeria, there have been diverse interestson how. This paper attempts to draw explanations on why ethnoreligious conflicts have become a permanent feature of nigeria. The case of plateau state of nigeria abubakar sokoto mohammed 1. Ethnoreligious conflicts and the dilemma of democratic.
Ethno religious conflicts and national security in nigeria. Nigeria conflict, in which gruesome killings have intermittently. Ethnoreligious conflicts in nigeria are diagnosed in this paper following sandoles as cited in cheldelin et al. D department of political science ekiti state university, adoekiti, nigeria mike opeyemi omilusi ph. Beyond ethnoreligious reading of violent conflicts, by. This study therefore gave an overview of the general concept and causes of religious conflicts in. Nigeria, if boko haram can accelerate nigerias centrifugal forces ethnoreligious divides, power politics, and economic grievances sufficiently to cause the state to collapse from within.
The importance, how to, effect causes relationship, comparison, history, role. Democracy and ethnoreligious conflicts in jos, plateau state 20072012 ogbuleke loveday enyinnaya peace and conflict studies programme, institute of african studies, university of ibadan, ibadan, nigeria abstract this study examined democracy and ethnoreligious conflicts in jos. Implications on women article pdf available in mediterranean journal of social sciences 851. The spate of ethnoreligious conflict in nigeria has however, increased with the birth of fourth republic.
This is approved for students in accountancy business computer science economics engineering arts. The paper is guided by four specific anchor questions. While some of these conflicts were low intensity contestations and bitter war of words, others erupted into violent sectarian clashes. Ethnoreligious conflicts and democracy in nigeria dr. Strategies for rebuilding state capacity to manage. Ethnoreligious conflicts and national security in nigeria. Here we briefly examine the root causes of the religious crisis in nigeria. Religion and conflict in nigeria united states institute of peace. This was a major factor in the biafran secession and the resulting civil war. The maitatsine riots in kano, bulumkutu crisis in maiduguri, sokoto university campus riots over use of othman dan. The roots of nigerias religious and ethnic conflict the. Thus, the challenges of managing the political and ethnoreligious conflicts in nigeria with particular focus. Ethnoreligious conflicts and gender in nigerias middle belt.
Given these findings, we conclude that a new, more comprehensive approach by the nigerian governmentone that seeks to address political, economic, and. By this is meant the country is a melting pot of ethnic. This thesis explores and analyses the impact of ethnoreligious conflicts in the city of jos and other parts of the middle belt and nigeria on gender relations and the lives of women. Nigerias presidential election of 2011 split the country along both ethnoreligious and regional lines. The middle belt region, to which plateau state belongs, is one of. The jos crisis, book haram terrorist attacks are examples of the various religious crises that have plagued the country in recent times. Ethnic and religious issues form part of the most recurring phenomena in nigerias body politics.
The thesis addresses the question of the impact of conflict on women beyond loss of. Good governance, conflicts, ethnoreligious identities, clashes of civilization and. This paper aims to highlight some of the ethnoreligious. Issues and solutionsproject topics and materials in nigeria. Nigeria has been pushed hither and thither by recurrent crises of regional or. Sometimes religious difference compounds the problem. Religious conflict in nigeria goes as far back as 1953, and in the case of the town of tafawa balewa, to 1948. D department of political science ekiti state university, adoekiti, nigeria abstract. Religious and ethnic nationalism has led to conflicts about control of state power. Ethnoreligious conflicts thus, are those conflicts emanating from ethnic and. Get free research paper on religious conflicts in nigeria. Department of conflict resolution studies, nova southeastern university, fort. The issue has permeated the nations political land scape since the colonial period and up till the present time, there seems to be no solution in sight to the accompanying conflicts of ethnic rivalry and religious intolerance.
More than,500 people have been killed in communal violence since nigeria returned to civilian rule in 1999 hrw, 2010a. Pdf indigenesettler and ethnoreligious conflicts in. Bibliography of works related to nigeria s indigenesettler and other communal conflicts, with particular reference to plateau state 36 1. We observe that the democratisation efforts in nigeria appear to have failed woefully as a result of ethnoreligious crises. Pdf the objective of this paper is to uncover the underlying factors that engendered ethnoreligious conflicts in nigeria over the years. Thus, the usage of the concept denotes the fact that all crises that have religious and ethnic undertones are ethnoreligious conflicts yakubu, 2005. The frequent occurrence of ethnoreligious conflicts with the coming of democracy is due to. Christians and moslems in nigeria is a classic example of interfaith conflict. A comparative study of ethnoreligious factors in nigeria and sudan lambert uyi edigin ph. Introduction peoples and countries with similar cultures are coming together. Motivators of students persistence on distance learning. So, impact of ethnoreligious crises on socio economic activities in wukari local government area will be xrayed with a view to proffering some recommendations to forestall future occurrence. Democracy and ethnoreligious conflicts in jos, plateau. Nigeria, like many african countries, is a multiethnic country with over 250 ethnic groups, where islam and christianity are the two predominant religious beliefs.
Ethno religious conflict is a form of conflict supposedly generated on the basis of real or imagined difference rooted in ethnic and reli. Another ethnoreligious conflict that had far reaching impacts on the people of nigeria was the october 2000 lagoskano idiarabaokooba conflict which was caused by a misperception between the hausa inhabitants and the yoruba living in lagos over the use of a convenience by a man from hausa. Political, ethnoreligious or social conflicts often spring from the pursuance of divergent ideas, aspirations and interests expressed by a group of people or individuals under particular environmental conditions. Before 1999, most of the communal conflicts that erupted in nigeria were purely ethnic in nature as experienced in the key urban centers of nigeria.
The focus of the paper is on the interface between ethnoreligious leaders, communication and ethnoreligious conflicts. This dissertation explores the ethnic and religious dimensions of the northern. An ethnoreligious group or ethnoreligious group is an ethnic group whose members are also unified by a common religious background. The orgies in of violence precipitated by inter and intra religious, ethnoreligious or interethnic conflict ha ve become a recurrent phenomenon in africa. The implications of ethnoreligious conflicts on the sustenance of democracy in nigeria nigerias democracy is based on a federal arrangement. Pdf ethnoreligious conflicts have continued to besiege nigeria for decades. Rhethorics and realities of managing ethnoreligious. The amalgamation was an act of colonial convenience. Ethnoreligious conflicts and the travails of national integration in nigerias fourth republic. The impact of ethnoreligious conflict on nigerian federalism. Since independence, in 1960, nigeria has struggled to control ethnoreligious conflicts.
Religion and conflict in nigeria united states institute. Why a terrifying religious conflict is raging in nigeria in the countrys socalled middle belt, 785 people have died in the past two years, and the government is doing little to stop it. The study relied on both primary and secondary data in its resolve to explain the role of media in ethnoreligious conflicts in kaduna state. Whats underneath the water is a much more complex sociopolitical situation, which cannot be explained just in terms of the religious divide. Nigeria is by far the largest country in the worldwith a population of just over 180 millionevenly divided between muslims and christians. An evaluation of the role of media in ethnoreligious. An assessment of the february 21, 2000, kaduna metropolitan conflict, paper presented at the national conference on crisis and conflict management in nigeria since 1980, organized by the nigerian defence academy, kaduna, 1517 june. Ethnoreligious conflict and peace building in nigeria. This essay studies the indigenesettler tensions in jos, the capital of plateau state.
One, it offers the potential of presenting an indepth analysis of ethnoreligious conflicts in nigeria that had threatened peaceful coexistences. Kakabadse blames a lethal combination of outside oil interests, longstanding local conflicts and poverty for the sectarian strife. The igbo massacre of 1966 in the north that followed the countercoup of the same year had as a dual cause the igbo officers coup and preexisting sectarian tensions between the igbos and the local muslims. Religious conflicts in nigeria world socialist web site. Modern nigeria emerged through the merging of two british colonial territories in 1914. The findings revealed that the media contributes effectively in ethnoreligious conflicts and also confirmed a significant success of media in ethnoreligious conflicts. Department of political science and public administration. Nigeria lies in the fact that as a centripetal force, democracy is the only institutional arrangement that can guarantee the peaceful resolution or management of ethnic and religious conflicts olayode, 2007. In the course of these conflicts, christians have at certain times, taken up weapons to counter the attacks from the muslims, claiming to do so in selfdefence.
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