Nigerians tend to segregate and discriminate against people that are not from the same tribe. Causes of conflicts in africa conflicts in africa may be said to have been caused by a multiplicity of factors such as. There are a lot of problems with it, and the government is working on the way to compromise, but it still causes ethnic conflicts among people. Causes, effects, remedies, organizational, conflict, concept. Ethnic conflict and sustainable development in nigeria. 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. A historical survey of ethnic conflict in nigeria citeseerx. Causes of nigeria unrest and conflict situation proceedings of theires 3rd international conference, dubai, uae, 4th july 2015, isbn. The transitional authorities and their international partners must address crucial issues by implementing a comprehensive disarmament.
Ethnicity had played manifesting roles in nigerian politics since the precolonial era and is arguably one of the important causes of conflict and an overall obstacle to economic development 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. Yet by the late 1970s, it was seldom talked about outside nigeria. It can also be said to be an incompatibility, as of two things that cannot be simultaneously fulfilled.
Like most inter ethnic conflicts in the northern region of ghana, the root causes of the conflict between the nawuri and the gonja have been traced to the colonial policy of indirect rule introduced in the northern territories in 1932, which subsumed the nawuri under the gonja as part of the colonial governments effort of. Causal analysis and proposals for new management strategies. This paper analyses the structural challenges, root causes and dynamics of conflict, instability and resilience in nigeria. Nigeria, south sudan, congo and parts of kenya open up to ethnic wars.
You can trace causes of ethnic conflict to amalgamation, religious differences, inequality, lack of transparent governance, long military incursion in government and lack of vision or nigerian dream, to mention but a few. 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. The causes of ethnic conflict in multiethnic societies. 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. The roadmap to end the crisis including elections late 2015 presents only a shortterm answer and risks exacerbating existing tensions. 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. Ethnic conflict remains the biggest cause of deaths especially in the continent of africa. Ethnic conflicts were the main forms of political instability in the multi ethnic societies. Nigeria is synonymous with deep divisions which cause major. Also, ofuoku and isife 2009 conducted a study on causes, effects and resolutions of farmersnomadic cattle herders conflict in delta state, nigeria and identified that the major cause of. Ethnic conflict causes of ethnic conflict 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. However, it can be said that ethnic differences in nigeria would not have been such a prominent cause of conflict if they had not overlapped with the religious identities, or vice versa. Malthus, the eminent economist says that reduced supply of the means of subsistence is the root cause of conflict.
A historical analysis of ethnic conflict in nigeria. Each of the three geopolitical zones surveyed has a distinct principal cause of conflict. Religious intolerance one of the critical issues in nigeria is the conflict between muslims and christians. Get free research paper on religious conflicts in nigeria. The jos crisis, book haram terrorist attacks are examples of the various religious crises that have plagued the country in recent times. An ethnic conflict is a conflict between two or more contending ethnic groups. 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. Conflict can be defined as a clash or disagreement often violent between opposing groups or individuals. 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. Ethnoreligious conflict in jos, nigeria, intensely dissected the ethnoreligious crisis in jos and proffered workable solutions. 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. Sadly, the foundation of nigeria s party politics was triballyoriented as.
Religious conflicts in nigeria world socialist web site. This is approved for students in accountancy business computer science economics engineering arts. The roots of nigerias religious and ethnic conflict. For that reason, it is difficult to distinguish ethnic conflicts from religious ones in this country. Religious and ethnic nationalism has led to conflicts about control of state. The causes of ethnic conflict in multi ethnic societies1 hossien mohammadzadeh assistant professor of sociology, department of social science, payame noor university, tehran, iran email address. Uncertainty, each ethnic conflict has its own unique characteristics and, in different contexts, some of these elements will be more prominent than the others, but all of them are the common denominators necessary for ethnic conflict to occur.
Religious crisis in nigeria is prevalent, owing to a number of reasons. Nigeria is a country that is full of surprises and conflicts in different areas and regions. This final criterion differentiates ethnic conflict from other forms of struggle. Conflict, instability and resilience in nigeria gsdrc. A historical analysis of ethnic conflict in nigeria grin.
In central african republic, the conflict between armed groups is now compounded by a conflict between armed communities. Theoretical perspective 79 languages, customs and traditions gives the country a rich cultural diversity. Combining sophisticated theoretical insights and rich empirical details, the authors, collectively, illuminate the forces and factors that generate violent. This study examines the ethnic conflicts caused by the introduction of sharia law in the northern state of nigeria. This causes jealousy, hatred and can further cause conflict between two or more ethnic groups. The impact of ethnic conflict on economic development.
According to him, conflict is caused by the increase of population in geometrical progression and the food supply. However, they can be easily avoided through various ways. Force and intimidation can only be counter productive. 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. Pdf a historical survey of ethnic conflict in nigeria researchgate. Just as we have many authors, so we have several definitions of the concept. In fact, no decade of postindependent nigeria has been conflict free. The importance, how to, effect causes relationship, comparison, history, role. The first half of the paper explores the overall socioeconomic, sociocultural, political and environmental factors that shape conflict, instability and resilience in nigeria.
Issues and solutionsproject topics and materials in nigeria. Section two examines the causes of ethnic conflicts in nigeria. Causes of ethnic conflict in nigeria are many but we will focus on primary ones that government should deal with to stop the menace at once. Nigeria has not been without its fair share of conflict. Pdf indigenesettler and ethnoreligious conflicts in. Colonialism did not cause the primordial conditions and identities that have generated tensions and. Conflicts and causes of conflicts in africa project topics. This paper explored ethnic conflicts in nigeria and participatory democracy as a means of tackling ethnic conflicts. Conflict in nigeria 0 conflict and violence in nigeria results from the north east, north central, and south south zones. The conflict is usually not about ethnic differences themselves but over political, economic. There is a strong hostility between these two groups, both religious and ethnic. Causes of conflict in nigeria and ways of resolving them. Conflicts and causes of conflicts in africa project. Ethnic conflict, a form of conflict in which the objectives of at least one party are defined in ethnic terms, and the conflict, its antecedents, and possible solutions are perceived along ethnic lines.
Conflicts arising from the construction of ethnicity to conceal exploitation by building solidarity across class lines, conflicts arising from appeal to ethnic support in the face of vanishing political legitimacy and from. For instance, in the sierra leonean war, it was identified that bad governance, corruption and poverty were the root causes of the conflict. The nigeria biafra war that raged between 1967 and 1970 made headlines around the world, above all for the major famine in the secessionist enclave of biafra, and prompted a major international relief. Interethnic conflicts and their impact on national. European journal of social sciences volume, number 3 2010 345 ethnoreligious conflicts 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. Ethnic groups and conflicts ethnic group means different things to different people.
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