Historical Background of Ethno-Religious Conflicts in Nigeria
In Nigeria, the volatile atmosphere of ethnic diversity accompanied with a religious complexity bred seeds to ethno-religious hostilities that have been a recurring decimal since independence in 1960 and most importantly, in a more exacerbated manner since the reestablishment of democratic rule in 1999. In this light, this research is aimed at analyzing conflicts of this nature, the causes, and implications in the historical perspective and plausible solutions to alleviate these societal maladies. Main objectives of this research are to identify the fundamental causes of ethno-religious conflicts, to examine the effects of those conflict, and to propose strategic solutions to overcome these types of conflicts in Nigeria. This comparative research, based on the interview and questionnaire as primary data, has proven that ethno-religious unrests bring about nepotism, favoritism, and corruption in the Nigerian political and administrative system. Therefore, undermining the efforts of the political and bureaucratic administrators, leading to political and administrative underdevelopment; which in turn have adverse effects on the socio-economic arrangement. The inquiry therefore, recommends that whatsoever problems ethno-religious conflicts in Nigeria have precipitated, these conflicts could be abated with the political will, commitment and sincerity from the part of the policy makers and individual citizens to mainstream every part of the country.
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