Nigeria is a mosaic of many ethnolinguistic groups, some large, many very small indeed, altogether numbering about 250. Ethnicity, politics, religious introduction nigeria became independent in 1960. The problem has produced several bloody crises across the country in addition to the 1967 to 1970 nigerian civil war. The republic of cameroon bound nigeria to the east. In the spirit of indirect rule, the major administrative and political units of nigeria were made to coincide with the spatial locations of the three major ethnic groups. The concept ethnicity and tribalism has always been a confused matter. Evidence of corruption and the influence of social norms. However other few empirical studies in the area of corporate governance in nigeria which are concerned with how other board characteristics are. However, it is pertinent to note that there is a difference between ethnicity and tribalism even though the difference is water. The war was fought, won and lost but the ethnic suspicions and hatred still remains unabated. This also means that individuals are likely to support political leaders from their own communities or ethnic groups, in the hope that they will benefit. Rakov, vassar college 92 english 32, fall 1990 the ethnicity of nigeria is so varied that there is no definition of a nigerian beyond that of someone who lives within the borders of the country ukpo, p.
The negative impacts of ethnicity in nigeria the question of whether nigeria is underdeveloped is not disputed. A major contributing factor to this reality could be attributed to. The 2011 elections will be a critical moment both for. In particular it focuses on locally published books, which began to appear slowly in the 1950s, but which have recently undergone major expansion. The hausa culture is homogenized, meaning, throughout nigeria, the hausa culture is extremely similar. Introduction nigeria as one of the developing countries in the world is one of the countries where ethnic pluralism is well pronounced. It is important however to remember that this nation came into being not by.
Ethnic politics and democratic consolidation in nigeria. Introduction in this paper, we ask whether members of african ethnic groups bene t di erentially from positive commodity price shocks in resource producing countries. Without doubt, one can say that ethnicity influences political development in nigeria as several events and activities such as the civil war, creation of states and the formation of political. This paper is a new attempt to relook the significance and relevance of true federalism in nigeria. Nigeria is a multicultural and multilingual state but the number of ethnic nationalities has been a debate and lot of confusion about language and dialects abound ikejiani and ikejiani, 1989. Ethnic structure, inequality and governance of the public sector in. Nigeria is a multiethnic and culturally diverse society that has witnessed conflicts arising from this ethnic and cultural diversity. Nigeria is a nation of more than million people, but many nigerians belong to ethnic communities so small that they fear being absorbed into the larger populations around them and losing. Ethnicity is one of the keys to understanding nigerias pluralistic society. This chapter1 explores the mechanisms by which ethnolinguistic minorities of nigeria draw attention to their language and culture, both to reinforce ethnic unity and to present that culture to outsiders. University, france, available at docs00586038pdfdtgreqam.
In preindependence era, party politics in nigeria was based on ethnic factor. Much has been nfp 2011 pdf said and written about nigeria, her people and culture, economy and politics, that sheds light on the. The country, from all indications, has not attained her set targets of unifying the diverse ethnic groups in virtually all facetssocially, economically, politically among others. Nigerian people and culture pdf nigerian peoples and culture is in eight units and was produced by a team of. Ethnicity, ethnic conflict, peace education, social justice, sustainable development 1. This article is focused on the historical incidents of ethnic conflicts in within nigeria societies, the cause of the conflicts and perhaps. Output 28 is the ethnicity, language and culture dimension. Managing ethnic and cultural diversity for national. The number of ethnic groups in nigeria has been placed somewhere around 250 or more. Ethnic conflict and sustainable development in nigeria. It distinguishes groupings of peoples who for historical reasons have come to be seen as distinctiveby themselves and otherson the basis of locational origins and a series of other cultural markers.
Pdf nigeria with over 300 ethnic groups, over dialects, who practiced several religions, with different cultures and histories came under. Oil prices experienced in early life predict differential adult outcomes across. Introduction the vilification of ethnicity as the scapegoat of all vices associated with the nigerian body polity has made the subject a dominant theme in the study of nigerian political economy. This instability is made possible as a result of shifts in ethnicity after. Geography nigeria is the most populous country in africa and accounts for over half of west africas population.
Sociological theory religious dimensions of political. Nigeria was forcefully done without the peoples consent. The following is a nonexhaustive list of ethnic groups in nigeria. Nigeria is the most populous cou ntry in africa, the second biggest economy, the third largest military power and the biggest oil producer 10th oil producer in the world. No work is deemed scholarly that does not consider the salience or. In some colonial territories, for instance nigeria, the strategy of decolonization gave impetus to political ethnicity.
Kamwe adamawa state and borno state republic of cameroon name of ethnic group state abayon cross river state. Introduction nigeria is usually characterised as a deeply divided state in which major political issues are vigorously some would say violently contested along the lines of the complex. The slave trade and the origins of mistrust in africa. A history of identities, violence, and stability 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. We find a sharp and significant conditional price change of about 20 to 25 percent between markets immediately across the national border. As otite 1990 observed and quite rightly too, the ethnic virus has been one of the most important causes of social crisis and political instability in nigeria. This situation is particularly true in nigeria considering the spate of. Nigeria is a complex state with hundreds of armed groups, and tracking and following all the various alliances that comprise mend or boko haram is a complicated task possibly fraught with many inaccuracies. Nigeria also is a major source, transit, and destination country for forced labor and sex trafficking. Nigeria full name federal republic of nigeria government presidential republic population 203,452,505 governmentrecognized religionsfaiths na religious demography 51. One can say without mincing words that it was during this period in question that the seed of ethnic. This entry provides the distribution of the population according to age.
Abuja has been the capital of nigeria since december 12, 1991. A key issue in the conflicts in plateau state is the relationship between the state and different sections of the citizenry. Abstract most students of african political scene are agreed on the fact that ethnicity is one of the most dangerous threats to the attainment of democracy in africa. Some scholars use the two concepts as though they carry the some meaning and strongly inseparable. However, despite all these, there are issues which point to the fact that ethnicity is not the problem in nigeria but nigerians themselves who choose to abuse ethnicity for their own tribal interest. Data was sourced from interview of elder statesmen sampled from the six geopolitical zones in nigeria, secondary documents and direct. Ethnic and religious crises in nigeria african journals online. First, ethnic identity is the most important and consistent basis of social identity in the country.
Nigeria is one of the most densely populated countries in africa, with approximately 200 million people in an area of 920,000 km 2 360,000 sq mi, and is also the country with the largest population in africa and the seventh largest population in the world approximately 50% of nigerians are urban dwellers, with the rate of urbanization being estimated at 4. Problems of ethnicity in nigeria and solutions information. 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. Ethnicity and maternal health care utilization in nigeria. On the study of ethnicity in nigeria by ukoha ukiwo 1. Documents of the conference, northern delegation, lagos. Current prevalence pattern of hypertension in nigeria. This paper expounds such conceptual issues as ethnicity, cultural diversity, federalism and national integration and then presents the historical background to ethnic and cultural conflicts in nigeria. Influence of ethnicity on human resource management in. Ethnicity is generally regarded as the most basic and politically salient identity in nigeria. Since 1992, the national population commission npc has been responsible for the registration of births in nigeria nigeria 29 july 2008.
Amongst black nations of the world, nigeria is the most populous and it is the most populated country in africa with a population of over 160 million people 16, 18. Why is ethnic inequality in educational attainment so high in nigeria. Ethnic militias and the threat to democracy in posttransition nigeria. We also find that price change significantly diminished when markets on either side of the border share a common ethnicity. Second, ethnicity is seen as a way for collective action. For barth 1969, ethnicity was an organizational vessel p.
Nigerian peoples and culture for distance learning students at. This was a major seed of conflict that is still troubling nigeria today. University, france, available at docs00586038pdf dtgreqam. For each ethnicity, i calculate the number of missions per 1,000 square kilometers on land historically inhabited by the group. The project is also limited in size and scope, as the tensions that exacerbate or cause violence in nigeria goes beyond religion, ethnicity. The problem of ethnicity in nigeria politics nigeria. In spite of the significant improvements in the health of women, maternal mortality worldwide ratio has remained high in nigeria as in other developing countries. The boundaries of the formerly english colony were drawn to serve commercial interests, largely without. Its seven most populous cities each house more than one million people, and about one out of two west africans is from nigeria. Between ethnicity, nationality and development in nigeria.
Finally, ethnicity is presumed to be a destabilising factor with farreaching impacts on democracy. About 48% of this large population reside in cities while the remaining 52% reside in rural areas. The division of revenues from commodity production is central to whether or not natural resources contribute to. Pdf an evaluation and understanding of the political development in nigeria requires a consideration of the impact of ethnicity. For example, while the individuallevel regression includes a nigeria country. Nigeria is well known for failing to convert its resource windfall into development. A history of identities, violence, and stability in nigeria by eghosa e. With estimates of their population reaching 67 million, hausa make up approximately 25% of the nigerian population. Nigeria was engulfed in 30 months civil war as a result of ethnic tension that had brewed for a long period of time. Ethnicity in nigeria affects all aspects of national life, most especially resource allocation and management of public institutions.
In the precolonial era and since the independence of nigeria, ethnicity played and still playing manifest and latent roles in the body politics of nigeria. According to preliminary results of the 2006 census and subsequent estimates, the most populous cities in nigeria are lagos about 8 million, kano 3. Nigeria as a nation is a constituent of several nationalities. The population of the country is heterogeneous with a mixture of over 250 ethnic groups. The major causes of ethnic conflict in nigeria include. Nigeria, the giant of africa is the most populous black nation in the world. This multi ethnic nature of nigeria comes with a lot of positives as well as negatives problems of ethnicity. Today in nigeria, there is serious rivalry among these tribes such as political and religious rivalry. In october 1963, nigeria altered its relationship with the united kingdom by proclaiming itself a federal republic and promulgating a new constitution. Whether a member of an ethnic group can be identified by. Information is included by sex and age group as follows.
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