BETWEEN ETHNIC MARGINALISATION AND FREEDOM. UNDERSTANDING SECESSIONIST AGITATION IN THE SOUTHEAST, NIGERIA
BETWEEN ETHNIC MARGINALISATION AND FREEDOM. UNDERSTANDING SECESSIONIST AGITATION IN THE SOUTHEAST, NIGERIA

Summary/Abstract: Freedom is ingrained in human history, and when it is threatened, humans usually improvise ways to safeguard it. One of such ways is to fight or build a resilient mechanism to properly adjust to the threat. This study examined ethnic marginalisation-secession linkage in the context of Southeast Nigeria. Previous studies have focused on collective memory of lost war, ideology and systemic exclusion. While these causes are outgrowths of marginalisation, they were limited in their focus on specific measures that empirically test marginalisation. This study drew its data strengths from the pool of secondary sources, including government reports, newspapers, articles, books and archival records. The study found that three strands of marginalisation influenced secessionist agitations in the region: political, economic, and social. The study therefore recommends a sovereign regional conference that will bring together critical stakeholders, including representatives of government, international bodies, youth, traditional rulers, civil society, and the media, for a roundtable discussion on issues of marginalisation, sincere solutions, and committed implementation. The critical role of the region’s political elites in light of entrenched socio-economic backwardness was also recommended.

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