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. Ethnoreligious conflicts and a nation in crisis punch. This paper examines the persistent waves of ethnoreligious and political conflicts and the threat they pose to the nascent democracy in nigeria. Nigeria, like many african countries, is a multiethnic country with over 250 ethnic groups, where islam and christianity are the two predominant religious beliefs. By this is meant the country is a melting pot of ethnic. Thus, the recurring political and ethnoreligious conflicts in nigeria have become matter of great concern to the international community. Ethnoreligious conflicts and democracy in nigeria dr. Also, the impact of the conflict and why attempts to resolve the conflict have been were ineffective. More than,500 people have been killed in communal violence since nigeria returned to civilian rule in 1999 hrw, 2010a.
Another ethnoreligious conflict that left a remarkable mark in nigeria was the kadunaenugu riots. Thus, the aim of this paper is to bring to fore front the plight of nigerian women. Furthermore, no religious conflict in the nation is purely religious without ethnicity playing its way in it. This was a major factor in the biafran secession and. Christian indigenes need only point to the discrimination. Communal conflicts in nigeria can be divided into two broad categories. Nigeria has recorded bitter experiences of violent conflicts in various forms and ethnoreligious conflicts in particular.
These differences lead to people causes of ethnoreligious conflicts in nigeria africaotr. The gruesome clashes among some of nigeria s disparate ethnoreligious groups have become a nightmare that haunts the country and constitute a threat to peaceful coexistence among nigerians. Religious crisis in nigeria causes and solutions religious crisis in nigeria is prevalent, owing to a number of reasons. Pdf ethnoreligious conflicts have continued to besiege nigeria for decades. Religious identity and conflict 3 countdown to the 2015 elections 9 conclusions 14 john paden religion and conflict in nigeria countdown to the 2015 elections special reportunited states institute of summary nigeria is by far the largest country in the worldwith a population of just over 180 mil. This is approved for students in accountancy business computer science economics engineering arts.
Africa is facing conflicts every day, most of which arise from ethnic and religious differences. The thesis addresses the question of the impact of conflict on women beyond loss of life and property as seen in other literature. Nigerias pernicious drivers of ethnoreligious conflict. Closely examining the relationship between religion, ethnicity and conflict in. The jos crisis, book haram terrorist attacks are examples of the various religious crises that have plagued the country in recent times. Ethnoreligious conflict and peace building in nigeria. The paper concludes by suggesting how to curb ethnoreligious problems in nigeria in order to promote good governance. Religion and conflict in nigeria united states institute of peace. Good governance, conflicts, ethnoreligious identities, clashes of civilization and. Constitutional challenge to indigenesettler divide heard march 14, 2011, institute for human rights and development in africa, march 14, 2011. Are there genocidal inclinations to the ethnoreligious conflict in northern nigeria. This article examines the explosion of violent ethnoreligious and communal conflicts in nigeria, contrary to the widespread expectation that the inauguration of the civilian administration would usher in democratic stability. To what extent does the interplay between ethnicity and religion help to foment and escalate the conflict in northern nigeria.
The phenomenon of communal conflict has assumed the posture of. 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. Get free research paper on religious conflicts in nigeria. Institute for peace and conflict resolution, march 2003, 160. Bibliography of works related to nigeria s indigenesettler and other communal conflicts, with particular reference to plateau state 36 1. A ibrahim suleiman abstractreligious conflict in the tafawa balewa local government area of bauchi state nigeria, from 1991 to 2011. Since the return to democratic rule in 1999 after almost three decades of military rule, ethnoreligious conflicts have been a recurring decimal in nigeria. Ibadan a thesis in peace and conflict studies submitted to the institute for peace and strategic studies, in partial fulfilment for the degree of. If the federal government try to freeze this conflict again instead of resolving it, then the next generations will bump into the same problem. The root cause of this set of riot was the introduction. Ethnoreligious conflict in jos, nigeria, intensely dissected the ethnoreligious crisis in jos and proffered workable solutions. Here we briefly examine the root causes of the religious crisis in nigeria. Ethnoreligious conflict in jos, plateau state, nigeria.
The conflict in jos, which has become interactable, is generally. Inadequacy in nigeria as one of the causes of conflict in nigeria. Nigeria has played host to different types of conflict, especially since the beginning of the fourth republic. This report raises a number of questions about the relationship of religious identity and internal conflict and the consequences of a polarized election. The study employs a mixed content analysis and grounded theory methodology. Ethnoreligious conflicts and national security in nigeria. 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. Critical amongst these, is ethnoreligious conflict, whose centrifugal tendencies potent dangerous vortex for the corporate existence of the country.
Ethnoreligious conflicts and gender in nigerias middle belt. This is the book for those who are seeking an understanding of the roots of the religious and political conflict in northern nigeria. 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. This paper aims to highlight some of the ethnoreligious. The paper concludes that good governance, accountability, poverty and unemployment. The roots of nigeria s religious and ethnic conflict.
Nigeria its vast population evenly split between muslim and christianis counting down to another presidential election, scheduled for february 2015. Issues and solutionsproject topics and materials in nigeria. In this article, we take a look at some of the major ethnic and religious ethnoreligious conflicts in nigeria, with particular emphasis on the ethnoreligious conflicts that occurred after return to civil rule in 1999. Plateau state of nigeria has been in the news since the first major ethnoreligious conflict of 7th september, 2001 in which over 2000 lives. Causes of conflict in nigeria and ways of resolving them. Ethnoreligious identity and conflict in northern nigeria. Ethnoreligious crises are part of issues that are of grave concern in nigeria. This study examined the menace of ethnoreligious conflict on economic development in nigeria. This book is for those who want to understand the role of. Implications on women article pdf available in mediterranean journal of social sciences 851. Ethnoreligious conflict in nigeria international center for ethno. The roots of nigerias religious and ethnic conflict the. University, gadau, nigeria ethnoreligious conflict in nigeria.
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. Systematically examined communal conflict dynamics in northern. D department of political science ekiti state university, adoekiti, nigeria abstract. The results are obvious, even a small spark can ignite a firestorm in nigeria. Nigeria ethno religious and socio political violence and. Various dimensions to the causes of conflicts have been identified by writers. 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. Religious conflicts in nigeria world socialist web site. Photo x nigerian troops provide security in jos, nigeria, january 2010. 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. Nigeria since independence has remained a multiethnic nation state with over 400 ethnic groups chidi, 2005.
European journal of social sciences volume , number 3 2010 352 the civil society also has important roles to play in the management of ethnoreligious conflicts in nigeria. While some of these conflicts were low intensity contestations and bitter war of words, others erupted into violent sectarian clashes. The middle belt region, to which plateau state belongs, is one of. Ethnoreligious conflicts and the dilemma of democratic. Imobighe 2003 and ikelegbe 2003 have stressed the need for the civil society to intervene in ethnoreligious conflict. On account of the nature of the conflicts among other security threats in the country, united states national council intelligence report on may 28, 2005 predicted that the nation may explode. Do religious symbols exacerbate or mitigate conflict, especially during. Thus, the recurring political and ethnoreligious conflicts in nigeria have become matter of great.
Ethnoreligious conflicts and the theoretical foundation. Ethnoreligious conflict in jos, plateau state, nigeria by jana krause. What are the interfaith efforts to ameliorate or mitigate ethnoreligious conflict. This paper attempts to draw explanations on why ethnoreligious conflicts have. Background to the northern nigeria ethnoreligious 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 herderfarmer conflicts, typically involving disputes over land andor cattle. In each of the conflict phases, an attempt will be made to identify the elements, causes sources or drivers and conditions that encourage ethnoreligious conflict in nigeria, the dynamics or patterns of the conflict and the intervention mechanisms or deescalation techniques previously employed to resolve these kinds of conflict. Religion and conflict in nigeria united states institute. Religious conflict in nigeria goes as far back as 1953, and in the case of the town of tafawa balewa, to 1948. The presence of minority groups of muslim culture is one of the greatest sources of societal tensions, and in some cases of violent conflict, in contemporary europe.
According to 12 the major cause of what we now see as ethnoreligious conflict in nigeria has to do with the accusation and allegations of neglect, oppression, domination, exploitation, victimization, discrimination, marginalization, nepotism and bigotry. Nigeria, if a religious conflict starts anywhere, the igbo man will in one way or the other be made to bear an extra portion of the brunt of the conflict. It adopted capturing theory as a theoretical framework while a thematic, descriptive and analytical methodology of historical research would be adopted hence our sources of data for the study shall be majorly secondarydocumented materials. Department of conflict resolution studies, nova southeastern university, fort. Pdf the menace of ethnoreligious conflict on economic. The impact of ethnoreligious conflict on nigerian federalism. Rhethorics and realities of managing ethnoreligious. The importance, how to, effect causes relationship, comparison, history, role, solutions are discussed. Of all these important institutions has actually increased ethnic and communal conflicts.
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