Nigeria is a product of the 1914 amalgamation of Northern and Southern protectorates by the British Colonialists. The amalgamation of these protectorates was the singular primary cause of the Nigeria’s political problem as it did not factor in the consequences of bringing together peoples with disparate culture and religion. The secondary cause was the lack of political will of Nigeria’s political leadership to emplace institutional framework, to wit, the political system, political leadership, political structure and relevant constitution, which had promoted peaceful coexistence and tolerance in plural societies elsewhere.
These shortcomings present Nigeria with two choices namely, retaining the structure as bequeathed to Nigeria with all its internal contradictions and endeavouring to make the 1914 amalgamation, work through political cum constitutional engineering that would tinker with structural deficiency to achieve political stability.
The study derives its objectives from the preceding, which achievement it considers as the road map for ensuring Nigeria’s stability, growth and development.
The chronicled ethnic and religious conflicts suggest the absence of a truly federal constitution that includes fiscal federalism and secularism. Thus the various ethnic and religious conflicts including the 3-year civil war and the Boko Haram insurgency were exemplifications of Nigeria’s faulty constitutional framework or the politicisation of religion.
The review of extant literature and conflict theories shows that ethnicity and religion are identity-based and would thus spawn conflicts while Human/Basic needs; Realist; Frustration-Aggression, Scapegoat and Structural theories are adequate tools for explaining ethnic and religious conflicts.
The work considers the harmony construct as adequate framework for dealing with Nigeria’s internal conflicts.
Author(s): Monica Emmanuel
Publisher: Globethics.net International Secretariat
Year: 2016
Language: English
Pages: 522
City: Geneva
Tags: ethnic conflict, religious conflict, federalism, federal constitution, fiscal federalism, secularism, public policy, religious politics, social transformation, social change, antireligious movements, new global order, confessional management, global politics toward religious confessions
List of Tables and Figures .................................................7
Abstract and Executive Summary ..................................15
Abbreviations and Acronyms..........................................33
1 Research Background ...................................................33
1.1 Introduction..................................................................................33
1.2Methodology................................................................................49
2 Literature Review and Theoretical Framework.........57
2.1 Introduction..................................................................................57
2.2 Literature Review ........................................................................58
2.3 Conflict Resolution Method ........................................................59
2.4 Conflictive Ethnic, Cultural and Religious Diversities................70
2.5 Reasons for Conflict: Nigeria’s Perennial Diversity Conflicts ....79
2.6 Ethno-Religious Diversity and Conflict.......................................80
2.7 Impact of Political System on Stability and Development ..........86
2.8 Theoretical Framework................................................................97
2.9 Relevant Conflict Theories and Growth Models .........................98
2.10 Growth Theories......................................................................105
2.11 Summary of Chapter 2.............................................................111
3 Ethnic and Religious Conflicts: Causes,
Consequences and Prospects for Stability ...............119
3.1 Introduction ............................................................................... 119
3.2 The Nature of Ethnic and Religious Conflicts ........................... 120
3.3 Ethnic and Religious Conflicts, and the Nigerian Civil War ..... 128
3.4 Igbo Attitudinal/Cultural Dispositions and Conflict/Harmony
Framework................................................................................. 142
3.5 Igbo and the Embrace of Machiavellian Strategy...................... 144
3.6 The lopsided Political Structure, Military Coup and Nnamdi
Azikiwe’s “Manifest Destiny” of the Igbos............................... 162
3.7 Jukun-Tiv Conflicts ................................................................... 170
3.8Hausa-Kataf Conflicts ............................................................... 172
3.9Hausa-Fulani versus Beroms (Settlers versus Indigenes
Conundrum) Conflict................................................................. 175
3.10 Ife- Modakeke Conflict ........................................................... 178
3.11 The Ijaw – Itsekiri- Urhobo Conflicts and Niger
Delta Militancy .......................................................................... 183
3.12 Chronicle of Causes and Consequences of
Religious Conflicts .................................................................... 189
3.13 Maitatsine Religious Uprising................................................. 196
3.14 The Shariah Crisis ................................................................... 198
3.15 Boko Haram Religious Crisis.................................................. 205
3.16 Impact of Ethno-Religious Conflicts on Nigeria’s
Development.............................................................................. 221
3.17 Assessment of Impact of Conflicts on Humans
and Infrastructure....................................................................... 227
3.18 Achieving Post-conflict Harmony and National Stability .......231
3.19 Summary of Chapter 3.............................................................235
3.20 Causative factors of Nigeria’s Ethno-Religious Conflicts.......237
4 Research Questions and Methodology.......................243
4.1 Introduction................................................................................243
4.2 Sampling Technique ..................................................................256
5 Data Presentation and Analysis .................................263
5.1 Introduction................................................................................263
5.2 Research Question 1: .................................................................263
5.3 Research Question 2: .................................................................280
5.4 Research Question 3: .................................................................295
5.5 Research Question 4 ..................................................................310
5.6 Research Question 5: .................................................................326
5.7 Summary of Chapter 5 ...............................................................352
6 Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations .........355
6.1 Introduction ................................................................................ 355
6.2 Chapter-by-Chapter Summary ................................................... 356
6.3 Conclusions ................................................................................ 371
6.4 Recommendations ...................................................................... 377
7 Bibliography.................................................................393
8 Appendices ...................................................................433
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1.1 Nigeria’s Amalgamated Protectorates ................................37
Figure 1.2 Some of Nigeria’s Ethno-Linguistic Groups........................38
Figure 1.3: 4 Regions in Existence between 1963 and 1967.................40
Figure 1.4: 12 States of Nigeria from 1967-1976 .................................41
Figure 1.5: 19 States of Nigeria (1976 - 1987) .....................................42
Figure 1.6: 30 States of Nigeria (1987-1991) .......................................44
Figure 1.7 Present-Day Nigeria with a 36-State Structure ...................44
Figure 2.1Reconciliation and Conflict ..................................................61
Figure 2.2: Conflicts in Africa by State Borders...................................72
Figure 2.3: 2011 Presidential Election Results Show Regional
Divide in Nigeria .............................................................................76
Figure 2.4: Feature of Federalism........................................................93
Figure 3.1 Map of Biafran Republic ...................................................158
Figure 3.2: Col. Odumegwu Ojukwu, the Biafran Leader at Nigeria-
Biafra Peace Talk in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia .................................165
Figure 3.3: Timeline of the Civil War .................................................166
Figure 3.4: Countries with the Largest Displacement Related
to Conflict and Violence ................................................................169
Figure 3.5: 12 Countries with the Largest Displacement in 2013 ..... 175
Figure 3.6: Mass Burial for Villagers Attacked by Herdsmen
in Jos Plateau ................................................................................ 178
Figure 3.7: States under Sharia Law in Nigeria ................................. 199
Figure 3.8: Boko Haram Fatal Attacks............................................... 219
Figure 3.9: Reported Civilian Deaths by Boko Haram....................... 219
Figure 3.10: Infrastructure Worth Millions of Dollars is Destroyed
Yearly Due to Ethno Religious Conflict......................................... 228
Figure 4.1: Nigeria’s 6 Geopolitical Zones ........................................ 249
Figure 4.2: Distribution of Gender of Respondents ............................ 252
Figure 4.3: Distribution of Age of Respondents.................................. 253
Figure 4.4: Distribution of Occupation-Type of Respondents ............ 254
Figure 4.5: Distribution by Academic Qualifications of Respondents 255
Figure 5.1 Do the Adoption and Current Practice of Federal
Constitution have any Linkages with the Conflicts?...................... 265
Figure 5.2: Existing Policies that have Fuelled or are Fuelling Conflicts
Experienced in Nigeria.................................................................. 267
Figure 5.3: Political System/Regime-Type and Constitution .............. 282
Figure 5.4: Degree of Stability Experienced in Nigeria Due
to the Current Practice of Federalism........................................... 283
Figure 5.5: Response on whether Ethno-Cultural and Religious
Diversities are a Part of Nigeria’s Developmental Challenges..... 285
Figure 5.6: Response on whether Ethno-Cultural and Religious
Diversities are the Root Causes of Nigeria’s Developmental
Challenges .....................................................................................286
Figure 5.7: Respondents’ Views on the Implication of the Federal
Constitution as Currently Practiced for the Crisis Rocking
the Country ....................................................................................295
Figure 5.8: Respondents’ Views on whether a Well-Implemented Truly
Federal Constitution Can Solve Country’s Problems....................296
Figure 5.9: Effect of True Federalism Including Fiscal Federalism
and Devolution of Power on Different Sectors of the Nation ........299
Figure 5.10: Respondents’ Perceptions on whether Ethno-Cultural
and Religious Diversities Pose a Threat to Nigeria’s Stability......313
Figure 5.11: Perception on whether Ethnic and Religious Diversities
are Nigeria’s Main Problem..........................................................315
Figure 6.1: President Jonathan Taking Pictures with Select National
Confab Delegates...........................................................................380
LIST OF TABLES
Table 3.1 Dual- Concern Model/ Harmony Factors ...........................131
Table 3.2 Dualistic Model of Harmony ...............................................133
Table 3.3 Harmony Framework Based on Chinese and Igbo Cultures134
Table 3.4 Demographic Information (1995) .......................................137
Table 3.5 Placing the Hausa/Fulani in the Conflict/Harmony
Construct .......................................................................................141
Table 3.6 Placing the Igbo in the Conflict/Harmony Construct..........147
Table 3.7 Placing the Yoruba in the Conflict/Harmony Construct .....152
Table 3.8 Nigeria’s Ruler From 1960-2011........................................159
Table 3.9 Major Military Installations in Nigeria and their
Locations before the January 1966 Coup......................................161
Table 3.11 Record of Boko Haram Menace of Sweat and Tears
across Nigeria (26 July, 2011 – 18 January 2012)........................213
Table 3.12: Northern Region Religious Distributions.........................219
Table 3.13 Western Region Religious Distributions............................220
Table 3.14 Eastern Region Religious Distributions ............................221
Table 3.15 Nigeria’s Population and Religious Distributions 1952
and 1963 ........................................................................................221
Table 4.1 Overview of Discussants, Interviewees, Issues/Questions
by Geo-Political Zones ..................................................................250
Table 4.2: National Distributions of Respondents by Gender,
Age, Occupation and Academic Qualifications ............................ 251
Table 5.1 Do the Adoption and the Current Practice of Federal
Constitution in Nigeria have any Linkages with the Conflicts
in the Nation? ................................................................................ 265
Table 5.2: Policies that have Fuelled/and are Fuelling Conflicts
Experienced in Nigeria.................................................................. 267
Table 5.3 Views of Respondents on whether the Adoption
and the Current Practice of Federal Constitution have any Linkages
with the Conflicts in the Nation (Geo-Political Zones).................. 276
Table 5.4 Policies that Have Fuelled/are Fuelling
the Conflicts Experienced (Geo-Political Zones) .......................... 277
Table 5.5: Type of Constitution and Governance System Adopted
in other Countries Having Ethno-Cultural and Religious
Diversities (Evaluation on Geo-Political Zone Basis)................... 287
Table 5.6: Degree of instability Experienced in Nigeria Due
to its Current Practice of Federalism (Evaluation
on Geopolitical Zone Basis) .......................................................... 288
Table 5.7: Showing (a) Diversity as Part of the Causes
of Developmental Challenges, and (b) Diversity as the Root
Cause of Developmental Challenges of Nigeria............................ 290
Table 5.8: Respondents’ Views on the Implications of Current
Practice or Implementation of the Federal Constitution
on the Crises Experienced in the Nation........................................ 298
Table 5.9 Key to Questions on Devolution of Power........................... 300
Table 5.10 Respondents’ Views on the Effect of Practice/Proper
Implementation of federal Constitution on the Crises
Experienced in the Nation (Geo-Political Zones)..........................302
Table 5.11: Effect of True Federalism that Embraces
Devolution of Power on the Nation ...............................................304
Table 5.12: Identification of Perceived Causative Factors
of Conflicts.....................................................................................311
Table 5.13: Respondents’ Views on whether Ethno-Cultural
and Religious Diversities Pose a Threat to Nigeria’s Stability......314
Table 5.14 Respondents’ Views on whether Ethnic and Religious
Diversities are Nigeria’s main Problem........................................315
Table 5.15 Assumed or Perceived Causative Factors
of Conflict (Geo-Political Zones)...................................................316
Table 5.16 Respondents’ Views on whether Ethno-Cultural
and Religious Diversities Pose a Threat to Nigeria’s Stability
(Geo-Political Zones) ....................................................................318
Table 5.17 Respondents’ Views on whether Ethnic or Religious
Diversity is Nigeria’s Main Problem (Geo-Political Zones) .........319
Table 5.18: Respondents’ Views on the Relationship between Unitary
System of Government and the Ethno-Cultural and Religious
Conflicts in Nigeria........................................................................326
Table 5.19 Respondents’ Views on Retaining the Present Structure
or Reverting to Old Structures or Adopting New Six (6)-Geo-
Political Zone Structure.................................................................329
Table 5.20: Assessment of Respondents’ Views on (a) Q50
and (b) Q48 as Spelt out in the Key below (Geo-Political Zone)...332
Table 5.21: Respondents’ Views on Retaining the Present Political
Structure, Reverting Back to Old Ones or Adopting New Six
(6) Geo-Political Zone Structures.................................................. 335
Table 6.1 Summary of Focus Group Discussions, and the Interviews 370
