Causes of conflict in nigeria and ways of resolving them legit. Ethnic conflict and sustainable development in nigeria. The causes and dynamics of conflict in subsaharan africa subsaharan africa is a vast land rich in natural resources with great potential for investment and opportunity. Ethnic conflicts in nigeria and africa in general arise as result of scarcity of political resources, multiculturalism, religion, militarisation of ethnicity among others. The federal structure has developed deep cracks and demands urgent action to mend it. Conflict one of the earliest deftnitions of conflicts was by karl max 1818 1883. However, conflict continues to escalate, as various ethnic groups demand a political restructuring. 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.
Tivjukun conflict has a long history of occurrence and reoccurrence over a period of time. In fact, these tragic conflicts carry with them additional dangers that if not checked may spread and result in a tiv holocaust. Therefore, it is clear that accusations and allegations. The major causes of the conflict as identified by santsokwa 1998, aliyu 1998, andefika 2002, etc. Feb, 2018 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. Ethnic rivalry is a major cause of africas backward states. Conflicts and causes of conflicts in africa project. Aug 07, 2018 this article examined the major causes of ethnicity in nigeria. Ethnic conflict and national stability in nigeria a case study of obasonjos regime abstract. E 1 department of public administration, ebonyi state university, abakaliki 2 department of political science, ebonyi state. Then, we consider the three major ethnic groups in nigeria, before identifying the major factors that gave rise t ethnicity in the country. There are different identities and segments in this society. Ethnicity, ethnic crisis, and good governance in nigeria core. Literature on causes of ethnic conflict covers a number of competing theories.
Aug 11, 2014 another underlying cause of nigeria s conflicts is change in ethnopolitical situation. From the colonial times till date, leaders use ethnic biases to win election and divide the country. Many conflicts in nigeria occur along ethnic and religious. Pdf a historical survey of ethnic conflict in nigeria researchgate. They include competition for chieftaincy positions and litigation over rights of land tenure tsikata and seini 2004. One of the structural causes of conflict in the country is the unequal.
Mar 10, 2014 the roots of nigeria s religious and ethnic conflict. Interethnic conflicts and their impact on national. Igbohausa feud that began after the military coup and countercoup of 1966, culminating in the civil war in 1967, efikibibio conflict, tivjukun debacle, fulanibirom clashes, and itsekiriurhoboijaw conflict in the niger delta. It was discovered that political violence as brought a lot conflicts in nigeria among ethnics, nations, religions and tribes. Ethnic minority conflicts and governance in nigeria ethnic. In northern nigeria, one of the bloodiest and most protracted instances of ethnic conflict involves two minority communities in the middlebelt, namely the tiv and the jukun. Causes of ethnic and religious conflicts in nigeria. The causes of conflicts and crisis in school management 1 dr. Olusegun obasanjo, a civilian, has been president for several years. In many instances, the conflicts have resulted in the destruction of lives and properties and internal displacement of civilians. Causes and effects of communal and ethnic conflicts in tivland.
It is at its core an exploration of the ethnic issues that are prevalent in nigeria overlapping with political, economic and religious tensions causing. Causes of nigeria unrest and conflict situation proceedings of theires 3rd international conference, dubai, uae, 4th july 2015, isbn. The goal of this study determinates social context of ethnic conflict in multi ethnic societies. Ethnic conflict in nigeria has led to the lack of peace and harmony. And british also used this to exploit the traditional culture of nigeria. Most of the conflicts that take place begin from this ancient ethnic sentiments fueled by selfish political motives. This final criterion differentiates ethnic conflict from other forms of struggle. The objectives of the paper are therefore, to study the causes and effects of communal and ethnic conflicts in tivland with a view to finding lasting solutions to them so that the society can grow and develop. The conflict allegedly strained the relations between the three ethnic groups. Ethnic conflict between the muslims and christians in nigeria. Nigeria is a complex country in africa with over 300 ethnic groups and 120 different. The politics of conflict over oil in the niger delta region. Ethnicity is how individuals perceive themselves, and unlike race it can be changed.
Ethnic conflict and the politics of spoils in nigeria seun bamidele. Iosr journal of humanities and social science iosrjhss volume 19, issue 12, ver. Also, closely tied to ethnic representation was religious diversity. Proximate and underlying causes of nigerias conflicts. However, 17 posited that intra ethnic conflict is a conflict that occur among people of the same ethnic group, while 18 reaffirms that intra ethnic conflict occur when there is competition for the scarce resources, aftermost in value system and interest. The causes of ethnic conflict in multiethnic societies. The competition between these groups is impelled by economic disparity and perceptions of political under representation throughout nigeria s independent history. It is therefore patently clear that realistic measures to solve these problems are needed. Another cause of the conflicts has been the states use of religion and ethnicity in political discourse or action. Nigerian troops were deployed to warri after five people including a policeman, were shot dead and several others wounded in continuing inter ethnic fighting.
History of ethnic conflict in nigeria pdf squarespace. This paper examines how ethnic conflict occurred as a result of actions or decisions made by either local government, state or federal government in nigeria. Political violence and its effects on social development. Communal conflicts in nigeria can be divided into two broad categories. Nigeria has a population of 180,000,000 million inhabitants with over 250. Political violence and its effects on social development in. The main objective of this article is to explore deeper analyses on politics, ethnic conflict and its causes in the multicultural society like that of the. Causes of nigeria unrest and conflict situation victor osaghae department of public administration edo state institute of technology and management usen p. Nigeria is one of the major democracies in african continent.
There are countries in which there are several different types of ethnic groups, and in some cases that could lead to conflict within a country, but as research will show it is not the only cause, and in some cases the conflict was purposely organized. Ethnic conflict can be triggered due to various factors, such geographical proximity, group identity, deliberate. Inadequacy in nigeria as one of the causes of conflict in nigeria. Ethnic conflict and national stability in nigeria pdf. Section three explains the various ethnic conflicts and their situation in nigeria, while section four concludes with suggestions on how to ameliorate ethnic tensions in the emerging democratic tradition in nigeria. However, the two modern trends of democracy and economic prosperity elude this region due in large part to persistent conflict and complex sociopolitical dynamics. He further pointed out that by intra ethnic conflict. Other scholars have explained inter ethnic conflicts within the framework of the struggle for autonomy, litigation over land tenure.
A history of identities, violence, and stability in nigeria. Loyalty to ethnic groups impedes true nationalism and unity of the country. 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. Previous studies on the conflict have not given proper. The conflict between itsekiri and ijaw ethnic groups. Thousands have beep annilulated during inter ethnic clashes in africa particularly in countries like somalia, rwanda, sierra leone, liberia, uganda, chad, niger republic, nigeria etc.
To date, few such comprehensive analyses of the boko haram conflict have been. Another sacrosanct point is noted by owutu as the cause of religious conflict which akowonjo described as the indigenship and settlers division. The roots of nigerias religious and ethnic conflict the. This paper was undertaking to ascertain the effects of political violence on social development in nigeria. Ethnoreligious conflicts and democracy in nigeria dr. Tribalism is one of the causes of ethnic conflict in nigeria. Similar stories may also be told of liberia, uganda, rwanda, burundi, somalia, sudan, congo and a host of other africa states. The root of ethnoreligious not only conflicts, but also the rivalry in nigeria are traced to colonial amalgamation of 1914 from where the ethnic, religious groups and regions began to see one. Colonialism did not cause the primordial conditions and identities that have generated tensions and. The effects of inter communal conflicts in nigeria, the case. 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 causes of ethnic conflicts in the northern region of ghana are varied. Conflicts and causes of conflicts in africa project topics.
In nigeria, the colonial masters provided urban setting, which constitutes the cradle of contemporary ethnicity. The conflict theoretical perspective was adopted for the study in order to determine the problem at hand. A historical analysis of ethnic conflict in nigeria grin. Nigerians witness this inadequacy from generation to generation. Each time there is a shift in different ethnic groups access to the resources of the common state, which could be material or political, it has always resulted into one form of conflict or another.
Lastly, ethnic conflicts may not necessarily be caused within the state but by external influence, which then triggers off violent ethnic conflict. To properly situate and understand ethnic conflict, a few words on the nature of ethnic conflicts are in order. The main objective of this article is to explore deeper analyses on politics, ethnic conflict and its causes in the multicultural society like that of the giant of africa and the consequences. It is driven by a mix of historical, political, economic, and ethnic antagonisms. We begin by defining ethnic and national consciousness. Causes of conflicts in africaconflicts in africa may be said to have been caused by a multiplicity of factors such as. Decisionmaking approach was used to examine the scene of conflict by focusing only on the religious conflict between muslims and christians in the country. Islam and christianity are the two dominant religions in nigeria. For instance, in the sierra leonean war, it was identified that bad governance, corruption and poverty were the root causes of the conflict fithen 1999.
Other scholars have explained inter ethnic conflicts within the framework of. The conflict has affected the relationship between the two ethnic groups who have been living together cordially. The effects of inter communal conflicts in nigeria, the. For the country nigeria, the years 19992003 was years of great suffering caused by ethic crises. Ethnic group refers to a group of people sharing a. Jan 28, 2014 conflicts in nigeria, guineabissau, sierra leone, liberia, cote divoire and other west african countries notably hinge upon bad governance and corruption. Conflict can be defined as a clash or disagreement often violent between opposing groups or individuals.
Accordingly, the research has established that the post 1991 ethnic conflicts in ethiopia consisted of multifaceted variables which made the conflicts simply appear as a mere inter ethnic differences. It can also be said to be an incompatibility, as of two things that cannot be simultaneously fulfilled. Resolving it will require a deep understanding of conflict dynamics, as well as the motivations and capabilities of various key actors. Conflict and violence events in north central nigeria have remained steady since 20 to 2016 25% of households experienced any type of conflict event from 2010 to 2017 more than half of all reported conflict events 55% were caused by disputes over access to land. Since over 250 ethnic tribes comprise nigeria, adequate representation by the political parties was a key point of contention leading up to national independence. First, ethnic conflicts include not only conflicts between members of different groups intergroup conflict but also between members of different segments or subgroups of the same group intra ethnic conflicts, many of which belong. Conflict one of the earliest deftnitions of conflicts.
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 between. With no social flexibility the citizens of nigeria may have only one option and that is to rebel. Inter and intra community conflicts in selected communities. A historical survey of ethnic conflict in nigeria citeseerx. Those conditions are the quest by ethnic and religious groups for ethnic conflict or religious dominance. Causes of ethnicity ethnic consciousness in nigeria. Ethnic conflicts in nigeria continued through the democratic transition. Causes of conflict in nigeria and ways of resolving them. Rather, they see violent civil conflict as associated with conditions that favour insurgency, including poverty, which marks financially and bureaucratically weak states fearon and laitin 2003, 75. There have been a number of separatist movement causing. 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. The major causes of ethnic conflict in nigeria include. Pdf a historical survey of ethnic conflict in nigeria.
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