Ethnic Minority Conflicts And Governance In Nigeria

Ethnic Minority Conflicts and Governance in Nigeria explores and analyses the underlying sources and salient features of recent ethnic minority conflicts in Nigeria, the largely controversial policies by which the Nigerian state has sought to contain these conflicts, and the prospects and preconditions for a more stable and equitable system of federal governance in the country. Through an insightful examination of two most recent minority conflicts in the country, the author probes the contemporary problems of ethnic minorities. He appraises the management of the conflicts by the State, and proffers appropriate policy responses for the resolution of the country's ethnic minority problems. The book is recommended to policy makers, students of history and political science, academicians and the general public.

This book represents a serious attempt to develop new strategies to manage the ethnic conflicts that continue to undermine Nigeria's efforts at democratic consolidation. Case studies discuss the socio- economic and political dynamics that fuel ethnic conflicts; highlight the limitations to their management; and propose civil society approaches. The book is organised into three parts. The first analyses basic concepts at play, such as ethnicity and ethnic conflict, specifically in the Nigerian context, and against the background of the position of civil society and development in the country. The second part comprises six case studies spread across Nigeria's six geo-political regions. The third section concentrates on the critical issue of civil society empowerment, and proposes ways to enhance its creative participation in the country's development.

This book offers a thematic study of key debates in the history of the ethnic politics, democratic governance, and minority rights in Nigeria. Nigeria provides a framework for examining the central paradox in post-colonial nation building projects in Africa – the tension between majority rule and minority rights. The liberal democratic model on which most African states were founded at independence from colonial rule, and to which they continue to aspire, is founded on majority rule. It is also founded on the protection of the rights of minority groups to political participation, social inclusion and economic resources. Maintaining this tenuous balance between majority rule and minority rights has, in the decades since independence, become the key national question in many African countries, perhaps none more so than Nigeria. This volume explores these issues, focusing on four key themes as they relate to minority rights in Nigeria: ethnic and religious identities, nationalism and federalism, political crises and armed conflicts.

Research Paper (postgraduate) from the year 2012 in the subject African Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: none, , course: International Studies and Diplomacy, language: English, abstract: Observably, most developing countries are ethnically diverse. Ethnic diversity may lead to increased civil dissonance. The National Question in Nigeria is probably one of the most complicated in the world with her over 250 ethnic groups and 120 different languages spoken in the country. The colonialist while pretending to carry out a mission of uniting the warring ethnic groups, wilfully and systematically separated the various Nigerian people thereby creating a suitable atmosphere for conflict. With the heterogeneous nature of the country, the tendency of the various nationals is towards parochial consciousness at the expense of national consciousness. This paper, therefore, relies on content analysis as its methodology to examine ethnic conflicts in Nigeria. It also examined the fundamental causes of ethnic conflicts in the country and identifies the possible issues for resolution. The paper also proffered suggestions on how to curb ethnic conflicts in future Nigeria.

FOREWORD by Larry Diamond

Diploma Thesis from the year 2017 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Region: Africa, language: English, abstract: Ethnicity remains an important aspect of Nigeria Policy making process used in analysing political conflict among ethnic groups in the country. However, it has not been properly researched in the field of Conflict and Strategic Studies. Therefore, gaps and insufficient literature prompted this study to examine the ethnicity as potent contributor of political conflicts in Nigeria. The study focuses on four major ethnic groups: Yoruba form the South West, Igbos of the South East, Hausa from the North, while the Ijaw represents the South-South region. The study aims to understand and assess the veracity that ethnic methods of politics on socio-political conflict among the ethnic groups, determines what, how and when political considerations are arrived at in Nigeria. The study adopted quantitative research technique to analyse and capture political conflicts among the ethnic groups. The survey research design was adopted via administration of questionnaire (EPQ) with a population of 600 with a cluster sampling techniques used for the ethnic population. A reliability index of 0.69 was got after using Pearson product moment correlation co-efficient via test re-test statistics. The results revealed that there is a significant relationship between ethnic politics and political unrest 'P-value for ethnic politics and political unrest is = .038 α = 0.05, hence the stated hypothesis was rejected'. Thus, the study recommended an all-inclusive implementation of true federalism, meritorious rotation of government key positions, with fair resource allocation among ethnic groups and/or states. Nonethele

Since 1982, Nigeria has experienced more than ten large scale ethnic or religious riots in its major cities. These violent clashes have wreaked economic, political, and social havoc; caused an enormous number of deaths and injuries; and posed serious obstacles to Nigeria's sociopolitical development as well as retarded efforts at nation-building. The papers collected in this book serve as a critical part of an overall objective to develop and promote mechanisms for the understanding and resolution of ethnic and religious conflicts in Nigeria. Both academic and community leaders address various aspects of these conflicts, and Uwazie offers several thoughtful options for their successful resolution. Inter-Ethnic and Religious Conflict Resolution in Nigeria will interest students of African history and current affairs, scholars of anthropology and ethnicity studies, and those involved in international relations and peace studies.