AFRICOLOGY LECTURE

2ND AFRICOLOGY LECTURE

Multi ethnicity and multi religiosity in Nigeria

INTRODUCTION: 

The multi- ethnic and multi- religious nature of Nigeria has been a source of conflict since the amalgamation of 1914. Despite the fact that many has made effort to put a stop to these problems which arise it appears to be escalating very rapidly. This is due to the differences which exist between these groups and their inability to understand and tolerate one another.

This study exposes one to the he Entity called Nigeria , the ethnic groups in her, the nature of religion in Nigeria, the problems/ conflicts that exist between these ethnic and religious groups the causes of these problems/ conflicts and finally the possible solutions to these problems.

It is geared towards sensitising individuals with respect to these problems and their possible solutions and its primary objective is to build up more patriotic  citizens.

Definition of terms:

Ethnic group: this us defined by Ukpo as ''a group of people having common language and cultural values”. These things they have in common are emphasized by constant interaction within that group.

Religious group: this refers to a group of people that share a common believe an object of worship and are devoted to the worship if the object usually referred to as God or gods as the case may be.

Note that object here refers to both animate, inanimate and supernatural creatures/ beings.

 BRIEF HISTORY OF NIGERIA.

Nigeria officially referred to as the Federal Republic of Nigeria is a federal state in West Africa. It borders Cameroon and Chad to the East, Benin to the west, and Niger to the north. It also has a coast in the south that lies on the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean. Nigeria is made up of 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, as Abuja, the administrative capital. Nigeria has a total land mass of 923,768 squared kilometers and a population of about 174,507,539 as at the year 2013.Nigeria is made up of 371 tribes ( ethnic groups), but has the Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba tribes as the major tribes.These ethnic groups speak over 200 languages that are indegenious. She gained her Independence on the 16th of October 1960 and became a republic in the year 1963.

With the above in mind, the country’s early history till date will be discussed in brief below.

 Early History of Nigeria (500BC – 1500)

Between 500 BC and 200 AD, the Nok civilization living in Northern Nigeria thrived in the territory. They made life-sized terracotta sculptures which are among the earliest recognized figures in Sub-Saharan Africa. Other cities further north such as Katsina and Kano also have a history that dates to around 999AD. During this era, the Kanem-Bornu Empire and the Hausa kingdoms flourished as trade points between West and North Africa.

In the 10th century, the Igbo people of the Nri Kingdom merged. The kingdom, however, lost its power to the British in 1911. The city if Nri is believed to be the cornerstone of Igbo culture. In the 12th and 14th centuries respectively, the Yoruba kingdoms of Ife and Oyo in the southwest region of Nigeria attained prominence. The first evidence of human civilization at Ife’s present-day location go way back to the 9th century whose main culture included bronze and terracotta sculptures.

Middle Ages in Nigeria (1500 – 1800)

In the late 17th to early 18th centuries, Oyo was at its zenith and was able to expand its influence form western Nigeria to present-day Togo. The Benin Empire had sovereignty over the region between the 15th and the 19th centuries. The Fulani Empire, also referred as the Sokoto Caliphate, was then developed at the beginning of the 19th century by Usman dan Fodio who led a successful jihad. The empire ruled over what is currently central and northern Nigeria and its sovereignty lasted until 1903 when it was broken up into a number of European colonies.

People in the territory traded a lot with merchants from North Africa and the cities in the region were transformed into regional centers for the trade routes that extended to West, Central, and North Africa. It was in the 16th century when Portuguese and Spanish explorers began direct trade with the locals in Calabar and the port they named Lagos. It was these trade interactions that led to the Atlantic slave trade and the port of Calabar became one of the biggest slave trading stations in West Africa during the transatlantic slave trade period. Other slave stations were Bonny Island on the Bight of Biafra and Badagry, Lagos on the Bight of Benin.

British Nigeria (1800 – 1960)

A number of European states and non-state actors, for instance, Portugal, the Netherlands, Great Britain, and private organizations, as well as a number of African countries and non-states actors were actively involved in the slave trade business. It was in 1807 when Great Britain abolished the transnational slave trade. After the Napoleonic Wars, Britain created the West African Squadron in an effort to put an end to the transnational slave trade.

In 1851, British bombarded Lagos while intervening in the Lagos Sovereignty power struggle, deposed Oba Kosoko who favored slave trade and in his place appointed Oba Akitoye. On 1 January 1852, the treaty between Great Britain and Lagos was signed and in August 1861 Lagos was annexed as a Crown Colony via the Lagos Treaty of Cession.

In 1856, Britain chartered the Royal Niger Company and in 1900 the company’s region came under the leadership of the British government which then consolidated its control over the area of present-day Nigeria. Nigeria was then made a British protectorate on 1 January 1901 thus becoming a section of the British Empire. Towards the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th centuries, the sovereign kingdoms that would later become Nigeria fought against Britain’s attempts to enlarge its territory. Benin was conquered by the British in 1897 who also overpowered other opponents in the Anglo-Aro War that took place from1901-1902.

The Niger was officially merged as the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria in 1914. Nigeria remained administratively divided into the Southern and Northern Protectorates and Lagos Colony. Western learning institutions were established in the Protectorates by Christian missions. The Christian missions were, however, not encouraged to operate their missions in the northern region of the country which was Islamic.

After World War II there were demands for independence by the locals and consecutive constitutions established by Britain helped move Nigeria towards a self-government. Towards mid-20th century a big wave for sovereignty was sweeping across the African continent and Nigeria attained its independence on 1 October 1960. The government was made up of an alliance of conservative parties: the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons, dominated mostly by Christians and Igbo people, and the Nigerian People’s Congress (NPC) which was dominated by people of Islamic faith and Northerners. The opposition party was made up of the liberal Action Group (AG) which was dominated by the Yoruba. The first Federal Republic was created in 1963 and in 1965 elections were held and the Nigerian National Democratic Party assumed power in the western region of the country.

Civil war of Nigeria (1967-1970)

The results of the 1965 elections led to a number of military coups in 1966 due to the alleged corrupt electoral and political processes. In January 1966, the first coup was executed by soldiers from Igbo under the leadership of Majors Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu and Emmanuel Ifeajuna. A counter-coup took place in the same year, executed by military officers from the north, resulting in Lt. Colonel Gowon being head of state.

The Eastern Region, in May 1967, declared its sovereignty as a nation known as the Republic of Biafra and was led by Lt. Colonel Emeka Ojukwu. On 6 July 1967, The Nigerian Civil War started when the government attacked Biafra at Garkem. The war came to an end in January 1970 and it is estimated that between 1 and 3 million people in the former Eastern Region died from warfare, starvation, and disease.

Military Juntas in Nigeria (1970-1999)

In the 1970s Nigeria experienced an oil boom. The country joined OPEC and the oil revenues generated helped enrich the economy. Much was, however, not done to improve the standards of living for the locals; the military government did not invest in infrastructure or help businesses grow thus leading to a political struggle in the country.

In 1979, power was returned to the civilian regime led by Shehu Shagari but his government was viewed as corrupt. In 1984, a military coup led by Muhammadu Buhari was executed and people thought of it as a positive development. Major reforms were promised by Buhari but his government was no better and he was overthrown in 1985 by another military coup.

Ibrahim Babangida became the new president and in his tenure, he enlisted Nigeria in the Organization of the Islamic Conference. He also introduced the International Monetary Fund’s Structural Adjustment Program to assist in repaying the country’s debt.

On 12 June 1993, the first free and fair elections were held since the military coup of 1983 and the presidential victory went to the Social Democratic Party after defeating the National republican Convention. The elections were, however, cancelled by Babangida. This led to civilian protests which eventually led to the shutting down of the nation for weeks.

On 5 May 1999, a new constitution was adopted and it provided for multiparty elections.

Democratization of Nigeria (1999-present)

Democracy was regained by the county in 1999 after Olusegun Obasanjo was selected as the President of Nigeria. He was re-elected again in 2003. In the 2007 general elections, Umaru Yar'Adua came to power under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). He passed on in May 2010 and was replaced by Dr Goodluck Jonathan ( Umar Yar' Adua' s vice president )who won the 2011 general elections but was defeated in the March 2015 general elections by Muhammadu Buhari.

ETHNICITY IN NIGERIA

Nigeria is made up of several ethnic groups, majority of which are the Igbo, Hausa and the Yoruba. Within these ethnic groups are several tribes numbering 371.

However, the multi-tribal nature of Nigeria may put someone at a loss, especially when such tribes begin to display their unique culture, dialect, etc. 

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. 19). The boundaries of the formerly English colony were drawn to serve commercial interests, largely without regard for the territorial claims of the indigenous peoples . As a result, about three hundred ethnic groups comprise the population of Nigeria , and the country's unity has been consistently under siege: eight attempts at secession threatened national unity between 1914 and 1977. The Biafran War was the last of the secessionist movements within this period .

The concept of ethnicity requires definition. Ukpo calls an "ethnic group" a "group of people having a common language and cultural values". These common factors are emphasized by frequent interaction between the people in the group. In Nigeria, the ethnic groups are occasionally fusions created by intermarriage, intermingling and/or assimilation. In such fusions, the groups of which they are composed maintain a limited individual identity. The groups are thus composed of smaller groups, but there is as much difference between even the small groups; as Chief Obafemi Awolowo put it, as much "as there is between Germans, English, Russians and Turks" .

The count of three hundred and seventy one ethnic groups cited above overwhelmingly enumerates ethnic minority groups, those which do not comprise a majority in the region in which they live. These groups usually do not have a political voice, nor do they have access to resources or the technology needed to develop and modernize economically. They therefore often consider themselves discriminated against, neglected, or oppressed. There are only three ethnic groups which have attained "ethnic majority" status in their respective regions: the Hausa-Fulani in the north, the Ibo in the southeast, and the Yoruba (Soyinka's group) in the southwest .

We must be very careful to avoid the use of the term "tribe" to describe these ethnic groups. "Tribe," Ukpo points out, is largely a racist term. The Ibo and Hausa-Fulani of Nigeria are each made up of five to ten million people, a figure comparable to the number of, say, Scots, Welsh, Armenians, Serbs or Croats. Yet we do not refer to the latter groups as "tribes." The term "tribe" is almost exclusively, and very indifferently, applied to peoples of Native American or African origin. It is a label which emerged with imperialism in its application to those who were non-European and lived in a "colonial or semi-colonial dependency...in Asia, Africa and Latin America". As we are attempting to discard the prejudices of imperialism it is in our best interests to discard the use of the term "tribe" when referring to the ethnic groups of Nigeria.

With that in mind, we should dabble in brief definitions of the major ethnic groups of Nigeria. The majority groups, as stated above, are the Hausa-Fulani, Ibo and Yoruba. The first, the Hausa-Fulani, are an example of a fused ethnic group, as they are actually made up of two groups, not surprisingly called the Hausa and the Fulani.

The Hausa are themselves a fusion, a collection of Sudanese peoples that were assimilated, long ago, into the population inhabiting what is now considered Hausaland. They believe in the religion of Islam. Their origin is a matter of dispute: legends trace them back to Canaan, Palestine, Libya, Mecca and Baghdad, while ethnologists hold them to be from the Southern Sahara or the Chad Basin. Once they arrived in Hausaland they became known for setting up seven small states centered around "Birni," or walled cities. In these states the Hausa developed techniques of efficient government, including a carefully organized fiscal system and a highly learned judiciary, that gave them a reputation of integrity and ability in administering Islamic law .

The Fulani are also Muslims, and, like the Hausa, their origin is more or less an open question. Once a nomadic people, they believe themselves to be descended from the gypsies, Roman soldiers who became lost in the desert, a lost "tribe" of Israel, or other groups such as the relatives of the Britons or the Tuaregs, who inhabit the southern edge of the Sahara in central Africa. Scholars claim that the Fulani are related to the Phoenicians, or place their origin in shepherds of Mauritania that were looking for new pastures. Whatever their origin, the Fulani are known to have arrived in the Hausa states in the early 13th century. Since then they have intermarried with the Hausa, and have mostly adopted the latter's customs and language, although some Fulani decided to stay "pure" by retaining a nomadic life and animist beliefs. The Fulani are most distinctively known for a dispute that developed between them and the local King of Gobir, a spat which developed into a religious war or Jihad ending with a Fulani conquest of the Hausa states .

The second majority ethnic group is the Ibo, who like the Hausa-Fulani are a synthesis of smaller ethnic groups. In this case the smaller groups are the Onitsha Ibo, the Western Ibo, the Cross River Ibo, and the North-eastern Ibo. Their origins are completely unknown, as they claim to be from about nineteen different places. They do maintain an "indigenous home," however: the belt of forest in the country to the east of the Niger Valley. This home was established to avoid the Fulani's annual slave raids, which were conducted on cavalry that was unable to explore very deeply in the forest. The Ibo thus generally inhabited inaccessible areas, although during the 19th century they began to assert ancestral claims to Nri town, "the heart of the Ibo nationality".

The Ibo established a society that was fascinating in its decentralization. Their largest societal unit was the village, where each extended family managed its own affairs without being dictated to by any higher authority. Where chiefs existed they held very restricted political power, and only local jurisdiction. The villages were democratic in nature, as the government of the community was the concern of all who lived in it.

The third ethnic majority group, the

Yoruba , is like the others made up of numerous smaller collections of people. Those who are identified as Yoruba consider themselves to be members of the Oyo, Egba, Ijebu, Ife, Ilesha, Ekiti or Owu peoples. The Yoruba are united, however, by their common belief in the town of Ife as their place of origin, and the Oni of Ife as their spiritual leader. Their mythology holds that "Oduduwa" created the earth; present royal houses of the Yoruba kingdoms trace their ancestry back to "Oduduwa," while members of the Yoruba people maintain that they are descended from his sons. Yoruba society is organized into kingdoms, the greatest of which was called Oyo and extended as far as Ghana in the west and the banks of the Niger to the east. The Oyo empire collapsed in 1830 when Afonja, an ambitious governor of the state of Ilorin, broke away but lost his territory to the hired mercenaries of the Fulani. Despite the fact that this event occurred in close temporal proximity to the Fulani Jihad, it was not associated with it .

These three groups comprise only fifty-seven percent of the population of Nigeria. The remainder of the people are members of the ethnic minority groups, which include such peoples as the Kanuri, the Nupe, and the Tiv in the north, the Efik/Ibibio, the Ejaw, and the Ekoi in the east, and the Edo and Urhobo/Isoko to the west, along with hundreds of other groups that differ widely in language, culture and even physique. The specific groups mentioned above are distinct in that they were found, in the 1953 census, to have over one hundred thousand members. As the population of Nigeria has doubled to over seventy-eight million people in 1982 from approximately thirty-one million in 1953, it is safe to assume that these groups are now much larger (24, AHD p. 1509).

RELIGION IN NIGERIA

Nigeria is a society with Christianity, Islam and Traditional African religion being professed. According to recent estimates Christianity is practiced by 50.5% of the population . (19.9% Protestantism, 12.3% Churches of Christ, 10.1% Anglicanism and 8.2% Catholicism). Islam is the second greatest religion by 43.5% consisting of 95% Sunni Islam and 5% Shia Islam. 6% of the Nigerian people practices Traditional African religion.

From the 1990s to the 2000s, there was significant growth in Protestant churches, including the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Winners' Chapel, Christ Apostolic Church (the first Aladura Movement in Nigeria), Deeper Christian Life Ministry, Evangelical Church of West Africa, Mountain of Fire and Miracles, Christ Embassy, The Synagogue Church Of All Nations, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Aladura Church (indigenous Christian churches being especially strong in the Yoruba and Igbo areas), and of evangelical churches in general. These churches have spilled over into adjacent and southern areas of the middle belt. Denominations like the Seventh-day Adventist and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have also flourished.

Other leading Protestant churches in the country are the Church of Nigeria of the Anglican Communion, the Assemblies of God Church, the Nigerian Baptist Convention and The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations. The Yoruba area contains a large Anglican population, while Igboland is predominantly Catholic and the Edo area is predominantly Assemblies of God, which was introduced into Nigeria by Augustus Ehurie Wogu and his associates at Old

Islam dominated the north and had a number of supporters in the South Western, Yoruba part of the country. Nigeria has the largest Muslim population in sub-Saharan Africa. In terms of Nigeria's major ethnic groups' religious affiliations, the Hausa ethnic group in the North is 95% Muslims and 5% Christians, the West which is the Yoruba tribe is 35% Christians and 55% Muslim with 10% going to adherents of other African religions, while the Igbos of the East and the Ijaw in the South are 98% Christians (Catholics) and 2% practitioners of traditional religions. The middle belt of Nigeria contains the largest number of minority ethnic groups in Nigeria and they are mostly Christians and members of traditional religions with few Muslim converts.

The vast majority of Muslims in Nigeria are Sunni, belonging to Maliki school of jurisprudence; however, a sizeable minority also belongs to Shafi madhhab. A large number of Sunni Muslims are members of Sufi brotherhoods. Most Sufis follow the Qadiriyya, Tijaniyyah and/or Mouride movement. A significant Shia minority exists (see Shia in Nigeria). Some northern states have incorporated Sharia law into their previously secular legal systems, which has brought about some controversy. Kano State has sought to incorporate Sharia law into its constitution. The majority of Quranists follow the Kalo Kato or Quraniyyun movement. There are also Ahmadiyya and Mahdiyya minorities.

According to a 2001 report  from The World Factbook by CIA, about 50% of Nigeria's population is Muslim, 40% are Christians and 10% adhere to local religions. But in some recent report, the Christian population is now sightly larger than the Muslim population . An 18 December 2012 report on religion and public life by the Pew Research Center stated that in 2010, 49.3 percent of Nigeria's population was Christian, 48.8 percent was Muslim, and 1.9 percent were followers of indigenous and other religions, or unaffiliated. Additionally, the 2010s census of Association of Religion Data Archives has reported that 46.5 percent of the total population is Christian, slightly bigger than the Muslim population of 45.5 percent, and that 7.7 percent are members of other religious groups.

 Brief History of Christianity in Nigeria.

The history of Christianity in Nigeria can be traced back to the 15th century, when the Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive the shores of the region via the Atlantic. The Portuguese brought Christianity with them but were unable to successfully plant Christianity because of their involvement in slave trade. It can be argued that the actual intent behind their voyage was more in the interest of slave business, than it was for missionary goals and objectives. Most of the Portuguese slave traders took Nigerian slaves to be resold in the Americas and parts of Europe. Hence, they were not committed to missionary work.

In the 17th century, attempts were again made to establish Christianity in the region through Roman Catholic missionaries. Just

like the Portuguese, the Roman Catholic missionaries also arrived as merchants. They journeyed into the hinterlands to do trade with locals and preach to them and even visited the cities of Benin and Warri. However, many of the kings and traditional rulers took more interest in the guns and mirrors the Europeans had brought with them to do trade, and barely showed an interest in the new religion being introduced to them.

After the abolition of the slave trade in the British Empire in 1833, things took an interesting turn. Slaves captured by European masters were freed and sent to Freetown in Sierra Leone. These slaves had lived with their masters in Europe and America, and many had accepted Christianity at the time they were freed. In 1841, freed slaves arrived in Sierra Leone and gradual changes began in British policies. Slavery was frowned upon, and the British government took it upon itself to enforce new laws and policies, in a bid to stop trading and owning slaves.

Towards the end of the 19th century, some of the freed slaves began to retrace their ways back home. Freed slaves from Nigeria sailed from Sierra Leone to Lagos and Badagry on vessels acquired from slave courts in Freetown. Some of the freed slaves settled in

Abeokuta (capital of Ogun State) and other cities in western Nigeria. They also had opportunities to acquire education offered by the Church Missionary Society (CMS). They practiced Christianity and preached the gospel to their family and kinsmen. Over time, a good number of former slaves converted to Christianity. One of those slaves worthy of mention was Samuel Ajayi Crowther. He was captured at age 12 by Fulani slave raiders and sold to Portuguese slave traders. He later regained his freedom and went on to become the first African to be ordained bishop by the Christian Missionary Society (CMS) in addition to his consecration as bishop of the Niger territory. Samuel was one of the pioneers of local Christian missionary work in Nigeria and contributed to the translation of the Bible into Yoruba language. Christianity gradually influenced the people’ s life style starting from the culture where it encouraged worship of one God and monogamy. It also influenced the educational system in a big way. The educational system as we know it presently is as a result of the introduction of Christianity to Nigeria.

The Emergence of Mega Churches

 The emergence of churches in Nigeria dates back to 1853 when St. Peter’s Church was founded in Lagos, Nigeria. It was founded by Catechist James White, Reverend Charles Gollmer and Reverend Ajayi Crowther, who later became Bishop. It was the first ever church building to be erected in Lagos. Over time, more churches were built in other cities as Christianity continued to spread in Nigeria.

Around 1910, a local charismatic movement led by an Anglican deacon split from the Anglican church to become the Christ Army Church. Revival units sprung up within Christ Army Church and some mission churches, notably after an influenza epidemic in 1918. These charismatic units grew in size and formed independent churches characterized by fervent prayer styles, known by the Yoruba word Aladura (“praying people”). Some of the early Aladura churches include the Eternal Sacred Order of the Cherubim and Seraphim Society, founded in 1925, and the Church of the Lord ( Aladura), founded in 1930. One of the Aladura prayer groups prayed mainly for healings from influenza, and later associated itself with Philadelphia based church, Faith Tabernacle.

Later, other’ s broke out such as Joseph Babalola' s Independent Christ' s Apostolic Church, in the year 1941,The Welsh Apostolic Church established in 1931, Assemblies of God in 1939. Around the same time, the Foursquare Gospel Church was also introduced in Nigeria.

Then came Pentecostalism in the 1950’ s with churches like The Celestial Church of Christ. In 1952, a former member of the Cherubim and Seraphim society, Pa Josiah Akindayomi, founded the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG). He was succeeded by Enoch Adejare Adeboye. Under Adeboye, the church became increasingly Pentecostal in theology and practice.

In the 1960s and 1970s, a wave of Pentecostal expansion was experienced by the country’s youth population, mainly students on college campuses leading to student revivals. One of the leaders behind these revivals during this period was Benson Idahosa, one of Africa’s most influential Pentecostal preachers in the 20 century. In 1972, Benson Idahosa established the Church of God Mission International. Later came the Pentecostal umbrella organization, Grace of God Ministry was founded in eastern Nigeria. In 1975, William Folorunsho Kumuyi, a mathematics professor at the University of Lagos, founded the Deeper Life Bible Church, which soon became one of Nigeria’s largest neo-Pentecostal churches.

New charismatic churches continued to spring up and grow throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In 1986, David Oyedepo founded Living Faith Outreach Worldwide, popularly known as “Winners’ Chapel. Nigeria, a former destination for foreign church missionaries now exports Christianity back to the Western world. Below are five prominent megachurches in Nigeria: The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Deeper Life Bible Church,Living Faith Church (Winners’ Chapel),Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries and Christ Embassy.

Nigerian megachurches preach messages of hope, salvation and prosperity; however, it can be argued that many of them focus more  on prosperity. 

Brief history of Islam In Nigeria.

Islaam On The African Continent About 600 years after the Ascension of Nabiyy Eesa (alayhi salaam), Allaah raised the seal of all His Prophets and Messengers (alayhimus-salaam) Muhammad bin Abdullaah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) to renew and perfect the call to mankind to worship none but his Creator; the call of Islam. Only five years -later, Islaam had reached the African continent: some of the opposed and oppressed Muslims had to escape the worst of treatments from their immediate idol worshipping Arab community and had to take solace in Abyssinia. 

From Farmaa, to Balbees to Munif which was the seat of Muqauqis (the title of the Egyptian ruler) at the time and known in history as the city where Pharaoh lived to Raodah and others. The governor of Misra, Abdullah bn Abee Sarh, was permitted by Uthmaan bn Affaan (RA) to proceed into North Africa in 25H (648 CE) with an army of people from Egypt and Madeenah including some of the most learned men ever in the in the history of Islaam. Notable amongst them were some of the Muhaajiroon and Ansaar such as and the likes of Abdullaah bn Abbass, Abdullaah bn Amr bn al-Aas and Abdullaah bn Zubayr.

Thus, the Companionsdawah on the African continent did not leave out any difficult or easy terrain except that they traversed it. Allaah blessed their efforts and Islaam spread across the north of Africa and westwards to its south. By 47 AH (670 CE), the magnificent centre of knowledge and dawah [call to Islaam] had been established known as the city of Qayrawaan. Companions On The Soil Of Nigeria? Trade links that predated the advent of Islaam were already established between the Northern and Western Africa.

Thus, while the physical jihad subdued some of the cities of North Africa; the Companions carried Islaam on the wave of the jihad of dawah accompanied by trade into the adjoining cities and deep into the West African Region. Ash-Shaykh Abdullaah bn Foodee (RAH) wrote, Verily, the entry of Islaam to the West - West Africa - was in the first century of Hijrah (of the Prophet SAW) in the hands of the eminent Companion Uqbah bn Naafiwhen he came to one of the tribes of Room and invited them to Islaam and their king accepted without any fight. Uqbah married the daughter of that king - her name was Baj Mong from whom he had children who were raised in the lands of their mother and spoke the language of their father ... " (Tazyeen al-Waraqaat in Al-Islaam fee Nigeria).

Many people of most West African kingdoms accepted Islaam in the hands of the companion (RA). (AI-Islaam fee Nigeria). Did the illustrious Companion, Uqbah bn Naafi bn Aamir al-Juhanee, reach present-day Nigeria in that wave of dawah of the first Islaamic century? The answer appears to be; Yes, he did.Muhammad Naasir al-Mukhtaar AIKabara quoted that the author of the book Aathaar al-Bilaad (The History of the Cities) said that Uqbah bn Aamir came to Kwwaar. They used to mention Kwara as kwwaar." (Risaalatu al-Jaliyyah limakaanati Nayjeeriyyah al-Ilmiyyah Qabla kiyaanati Daolati Sokoto). AI-Imaam Yaaqoot al-Humawee (d.626) also mentioned the efforts of Uqbah bn Aamir in Kwara with a narration of his relation with the ruler of the people there at the time. (Mujam al-Buldaan).

The eminent companion Uqbah (RA) died on his way back to Qayrawaan. (AI-Islaam fee Nigeria). From this, it is safe to conclude that some of the northern parts of Nigeria as well as the tip of its south-western part received Islaam directly in the age of the glorious Companions. The civilization collapsed in the 16th century CE. All these were to the precursors to the real growth of Islaam in Nigeria.

 Revival & Renaissance Renaissance of Bn Foodee Ash-Sheikh Uthmaan bn Foodee (RAH) was born in the mid 17th century CE (I 168 AH) in the City of Gobir, into a family with a long Islamic tradition. He learnt the Quraan at his fathers feet at a very early age and proceeded to study elementary fiqh and Arabic language. He also learnt from other scholars at the time. Allaah blessed Uthmaan bn Foodee with the ability to express himself well at an early age, and he would move through different areas of Hausaland teaching the people. He focused on giving the people basic Islamic education and he was well-versed in classical Arabic, Hausa, Fulani language and Tuwadic language, which made him more capable of speaking to masses of people in their own language.

He taught many other different Islaamic concepts to the people focusing on teaching matters of belief (Aqeedah), fiqh, the life of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and other basic rudiments. For over thirty years, Shaykh Uthmaan bn Muhammad Fodio prepared a generation of Muslims - Scholars and their Students, conscious and learned of their deen along with other disciplines. The dawah produced a plethora of writing that was unprecedented! Shaykh Uthmaan, his brother Abdullah and his son Muhammad Bello (RAH), together authored some three hundred works of varying fields and sizes, and the literary culture they instituted continued to turn out more authors.

Indeed many of the Umaraa (sing. Amir) who headed the various emirates after the jihad were renowned scholars who continued to learn, teach and write until the beginning of the 19th Century [ 14th Century AH]. The movement was confronted by those who did not want that worship be dedicated to the Lord of the Universe. This led to the jihad in which Allaah aided the believers and gave them total but swift victory. Thus, over a short period, the regions of Katsina, Zaria, Gombe, Kano, Adamawa, Daura, parts of Nupeland and parts of the Borno Kingdom had been overcome by the renaissance. The subsequent revival of the deen from this period also spread to parts of Yoruba land and subsequently to about every other part of the entity now referred to as Nigeria and beyond.

CAUSES AND SOLUTIONS OF ETHNO- RELIGIOUS CONFLICT IN NIGERIA.

Causes of ethno- religious conflict in Nigeria.

1) Amalgamation

Amalgamation of the northern and southern protectorates made up of many ethnic groups with different languages and cultures, was an error which Nigeria suffers till date. History show that modern Nigeria came out of the merging of two British colonial territories of southern and northern protectorates in 1914.

The colonialist did it for administrative convenience though they were incompatible neighbors. The north practices Moslem religion while the south is predominantly of Christian faith and traditional religion.

These religious differences have been a source of political disagreements and suspicions between the two regions since colonial times. Moreover, both regions have ethnic and religious minorities holding grievances against three major ethnic groups they see as oppressors.

Due to the over 200 ethnic groups that formed Nigeria, there is division of the nation along tribal lines. Suspicion, hatred, lack of trust and discrimination influence the relationship between the people of different ethnic groups in the country, and deprive Nigeria real national loyalty and unity.

2) Tribalism

Tribalism is one of the causes of ethnic conflict in Nigeria. Loyalty to ethnic groups impedes true nationalism and unity of the country.

From the colonial times till date, leaders use ethnic biases to win election and divide the country. Most of the conflicts that take place begin from this ancient ethnic sentiments fueled by selfish political motives. For example, employment into public office, ministries, agencies and directorates of federal government are mostly for tribal reasons and not competence. When you raise objections it snowballs into ethnic fight.

3) Favoritism

You can define Favoritism as preferential treatment. It is the action of somebody in power favoring their relatives and friends especially in appointing them to good positions. This is a source of conflict in the nation, as some people in authority fail to follow rules strictly when it relates to their relatives and friends. These officials prefer relatives and friends even when they are not qualified for government appointments, positions or carrying out contracts. Based on this, to say that Favoritism produces a corrupt and an inept leader is true.

4) Corruption and Inept Leadership

Corruption and unqualified leaders cause ethnic conflict in Nigeria. Gross mismanagement of national resources and misrule by unqualified leaders, have impoverished and denied opportunities to majority of Nigerians since independence which has led to agitations by citizens.

Clear inequality exists in the way Nigeria shares its federal positions and allocation of infrastructure projects among the federating states.To create a sense of balance and share appointments and projects fairly, Government established Federal Character Commission but this has not stopped protests since government sometimes fail to use federal character for all appointments, hence the clamor for resource control among other demands.

5) Resource Control

This is one of the causes of ethnic conflict in Nigeria. From 1966, when Isaac Adaka Boro formed a militia group to fight for resource control till date, this issue has been a contentious one in the country.

Resource control is a hot issue which has refused to go away due to environmental degradation of the area and lack of real development in the Niger Delta which makes over 90% of federal revenue for running the economy of the nation.

Late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua tried to resolve the resource control issue when he gave unconditional amnesty to Niger Delta militants, and offered to train them and rehabilitate the area in exchange for surrendering their weapons.

Although, militants have stopped destroying NNPC pipelines and vandalizing export terminals, the agitation for resource control persists today. Recently another militia force gave an ultimatum to other ethnic groups living in the Niger Delta to go before October 1, 2017.

We should all condemn this extreme stance but the cause is partly due to marginalization of some ethnic groups in the country and wish for more development from the center.

6) Marginalization of Some Ethnic Groups in the Country

Marginalization of some ethnic groups that make up the country is one of the causes of ethnic conflict in Nigeria.

People fighting for ethnic groups have emerged in the recent time such as the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). This group is fighting for the state of Biafra which many Nigerians see as an ideal which can never happen.

Marginalizing the eastern part of the country in the Nigerian project, which was part of the cause of the civil war in 1967-1970, has yet to receive full reparation and attention of successive governments.

Till date, reconciliation, rehabilitation, and restoration of the economy and the people in the east is still ongoing and the wounds of the war has not healed totally after over five decades.

Now, this same issue of marginalization of the IGBO ethnic group is threatening to undermine the peace of the southeast geopolitical zone, as IPOB is demanding for a separate state of Biafra.

The present government is doing its best to find solution to the inequitable distribution of government appointments and projects to the eastern part of the country. It should go further to stamp out marginalization of ethnic groups and start constitutional reforms to stop IPOB’s separatist agenda.

7) Constitutional Reform

The 1999 constitution is widely seen as a military constitution and this document is one of the causes of ethnic conflict in Nigeria.

To replace it, Nigerians are asking for a true constitution prepared by the people and for the people.

Civil society and opinion leaders have repeatedly called on various governments to convene a sovereign national conference to discuss thorny issues in the federal system of government, and make a new constitution, but this has not happened.

President Goodluck Jonathan’s government organized a constitutional conference in 2014 i.e. the CONFAB to discuss issues that cause ethnic wrangling and disunity, and came out with far-reaching resolutions for restructuring the Federal system of government.

Now, government is studying it while the National Assembly has started amending some parts of the 1999 constitution.

The house of Assembly should amend the constitution to deal with the following issues.

To resolve request for true federalism, resource control, rights and privileges of citizens, remove state of origin from our forms, revisit federal character and educationally disadvantaged states quota, review lopsided division of the country into states and unequal creation of local government and states in the six geopolitical zones.

The new constitution should devolve power over resource development and distribution from the central government, to states and local governments to make sure of economic justice and equity.

In addition, the new constitution should define rights and privileges of citizens by the place they live in not by place of origin, and remove bad influence of religion in politics and deal with religious intolerance.

8) Religious Intolerance

Religious bigotry between Christians and Moslems is one of the key causes of ethnic conflict in Nigeria. History shows that religious intolerance was the cause of the Riot that took place in Kano on May 1, 1953 which began a series of violent attacks against non-Muslims in the Country.

Because of strong religious and ethnic hostility, some nationalist believe that amalgamation was a mistake and that Nigeria is a mere geographical expression.

Christian ethnic groups in Southern Nigeria fear the North’s political power which they think they could use to Islamize the country. This suspicion has openly caused religious conflicts where each religious faith targets the other causing revenge killings.

In addition, due to religious differences,

Boko Haram Islamist terrorist organization sprang up denouncing western education and culture, and killing and maiming Christians and Muslims alike.

Within the past fifty years some radical groups such as Maitatsine, Darul Islam, and the Shiite movements have risen and caused riots leading to destruction of lives and property. However, Boko Haram which has taken mindless killings and destructions to a sickening level tops them all.

Since Nigeria is a circular state, it should not have considered imposition of Islamic Sharia law on non-Muslims.

9) Introduction of Sharia Criminal Legal System

One of the other crucial causes of ethnic conflict in Nigeria is the introduction of sharia criminal legal system in some parts of Northern Nigeria.

The introduction of Sharia law is one way politicians use religion to create division and gain cheap votes. For example, the former Governor of Zamfara State Alhaji Sani Ahmad Yerima suggested that Zamfara state should adopt sharia criminal legal code in 1999.

This suggestion, led to the starting of Sharia criminal legal system by 12 predominantly Moslem states in the North in year 2000 to 2002, which caused national controversies and led to an outcry by Christians. Christians in the affected states protested and this led to killings and destruction of properties.

After these conflicts, a compromise allowed states with large Muslim populations to set up Islamic courts but limit the use of Sharia to inheritance and family law.

Another spin-off from ethnic conflicts and religious differences is the spate of attacks on innocent farmers by people alleged to be Fulani herdsmen.

10) Disputes over Ownership of Land

History has shown that ethnic wars had broken out among people of the same states such as Brass and Nembe communities of Bayelsa and Aguleri and Umuleri of Anambra State.

In these land disputes kith and kin kill themselves cheaply because of tussle over ownership of land.

In 1981, International Boundary dispute erupted when Cameroonian Gendarmes gunned down some Nigerian Soldiers patrolling the Bakassi peninsula. This could have gone into full-scale war but for Nigeria’s maturity, magnanimity and playing the big brother role by not retaliating.

11) Long Military Incursion in Government

Long rule by the military in Nigeria put military psyche into Nigerians.

This affects the way civilians treat themselves with a lot of suspicion and hatred as if they are in a war zone. Civilians have assimilated military behavior and use it in simple disputes between neighbors and this sometimes lead to ethnic conflict.

The show and use of force by some members of the armed forces, police and political office holders, give citizens wrong role models to copy. For example these leaders use Sirens and drive recklessly on our roads as if to say that might is right.

Many Nigerians live under a lot of pressure hence the short fuse that makes little misunderstandings lead to ethnic conflicts, killings and destruction of properties with reckless abandon as if a fellow citizen’s life is worthless as long as it is the other persons’.

Where is the value and sanctity of human life?

You can put the cause of this bad behavior against fellow citizens to long military rule, and partly to lack of a Nigerian Vision or dream.

12) Lack of vision

Because the colonialist formed the country out of diverse ethnic nationalities, there is no ideal to inspire patriotism among citizens. Nigerians sing the national anthem and say the pledge without attaching any deeper meaning to them.

In America, you have the American dream but in Nigeria, there is no vision which citizens fight to uphold. Until we define the Nigerian dream, ethnic crisis may continue to dog the country.

Solutions to the ethno- religious conflict in Nigeria.

SENSITISATION

Sensitization: There should be workshops to sensitize and create awareness to the general public on the need for national unity and patriotism.

EQUITY

Equity: the government should be careful enough to share financial resources and otherwise, equally.

DIALOGUE

Dialogue: the two ethnic and religious parties should employ the use of dialogue to settle disputes.

Creation of Job opportunities

Creation of Job opportunities: there should be the presence of an enabling environment to engage the youths to avoid idleness. They should be adequately trained on how to establish small and medium scale enterprises.

INTEGRATION

Integration: platforms, where Nigerians get to learn more about other ethnic qnd religious groups, should be encouraged. This would inculcate the spirit of unity and togetherness among citizens. unn.edu.ng

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