GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP II ASSIGNMENT

CRESCENT UNIVERSITY, ABEOKUTA

RESOLVING CONFILCTS IN NIGERIA

PRESENTED BY:
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S216305041
S216305043
S216305044
S216305045
S216305046
S216305047
S216305050
S216305052
S216305056

SUBMITTED TO
DR. KASALI
CRESCENT UNIVERSITY, ABEOKUTA
JUNE 23RD, 2018
In Nigeria, the large number and high intensity of manifest or potential violent
conflicts dominate both the political culture and the people’s everyday lives.
Since the beginning of the democratisation process in 1999, the number and
intensity of violent conflicts has tended to increase rather than decrease.

One of the central conflicts, influenced by ecological, economic and social

factors, involves petroleum and natural gas production in the Niger Delta and
the distribution of profits. A second conflict which has escalated dramatically
since 1999 is the introduction of the Islamic Sharia in Nigeria’s northern
states. On the one hand, this is a religious conflict between the country’s
Muslim-influenced North and Christian-influenced South. Tensions between
members of the different religions repeatedly lead to violent conflicts and
protests, many of which are caused by a lack of understanding for the
respective other religion. On the other hand, however, political influence and
the distribution of power are at stake as well. The victims are those whose
fundamental human rights are being threatened or violated. Women in the
Muslim-dominated states are particularly affected.

In various regions and cities of the country, ethnic militias threaten the
legitimate power monopoly of the state, whose institutions (such as the
security sector) can no longer tackle basic societal responsibilities because of
their weakness and inefficient functioning.
Conflicts are a part of life for any country. However, they can be easily
avoided through various ways. Nigeria is a country that is full of surprises and
conflicts in different areas and regions. There are five major causes of conflicts
in Nigeria
1. Religious Conflict:
Let's start by examining the causes of conflict in Nigeria from a religious
perspective. The main reason for this is intolerance between religious groups.
The struggle between religious groups in Nigeria started in the middle of the
20th century. Before that, tensions between rivalry groups were covered and
maintained by the colonial regime. The first major conflict started on the 1st
of May 1953. It was called the Kano Riot. This conflict led to a series of violent
actions between Muslims and non-Muslims. The Muslims waged a violent war
against representatives of other religions. The most obvious controversies
happened during the proposal of Sharia law in 1999. It only sparked more
controversies in the country. Christians also created problems with violent
attacks in Jos in the 1990s. However, their extreme groups were inferior to the
numerous radical Muslims. The most obvious example of the radical Islam is
represented by thre Boko Harm group on the North-East of Nigeria. When it
comes to religious conflicts in Nigeria, the main cause is the intolerance
towards representatives of a different religion. Intolerance is the main cause
of religious riots and conflicts not only in Nigeria but around the world. It
divides countries. Therefore, Nigerian citizens are urged to understand and
acknowledge each other and respect one another's religious views in order to
prevent the country from falling.
2. Boko Haram Conflict:
Problems of ethnicity in Nigeria The Boko Haram insurgency started in 2009.
This Jihadist group was birthed by the religious tensions between Nigerians.
At the first stages of its existence, they pretended to be peaceful followers of
Islam. All this changed in 2009, when the Nigerian Police reports provided
information that the group was arming itself. During the investigation, some
rebel group leaders were arrested. This sparked deadly clashes between the
Nigeria security forces and members of the Boko Haram. The first terrorist act
was sparked after the death of Boko Haram leader – Mohammed Yusuf. Today,
the conflict between the government and Boko Haram has escalated to
extreme proportions. What caused this religious conflict in Nigeria? Boko
Haram believes in the idea of creating a new Great Caliphate with Sharia Laws.
Nigerian Government will not provide this possibility. Therefore, the tension
will continue until the group is eliminated or pacified.
3. Political conflict:
It`s hard to cover all the causes of political conflict in Nigeria, but let`s take a
look at the most obvious ones: Corruption. This is one of the failures of the
political system in Nigeria. You can choose whatever criteria for estimating
corruption in the country and you will get the same results – Nigeria is on the
list of top most corrupted countries. Corruption is something that can easily
destroy the political system in Nigeria failure of Justice in Nigeria. People who
are at the top of the political system of Nigeria can easily destroy the ones who
are at the bottom. With no independent justice system in the country – the
corrupted leaders will always have all the power! Poverty. This is referred to
as regulated poverty – when people get enough money to eat and exist but
have no idea how their future will be. Most people are more concerned about
where their next meal is coming from instead of making sound political
choices. The political leaders know this and take advantage of this
desperation!
4. Ethnic conflict:
The ethnic conflicts happen as a result of intolerance and inadequate
relationship between the regions within the country. That is exactly what we
are facing now with the Biafra region. This conflict has continually existed in
the cold zone and has not been resolved in a long time. The results are
obvious, even a small spark can ignite a firestorm in Nigeria. If the Federal
Government try to freeze this conflict again instead of resolving it, then the
next generations will bump into the same problem.
5. Inadequacy conflict (Poverty):
It`s hard not to rebel if you see how rich becomes richer and poor becomes
poorer. Nigerians witness this inadequacy from generation to generation.
With no social flexibility – the citizens of Nigeria may have only one option
and that is to rebel. The elites also know this but they understand that if they
share their power, they will destroy the balance created in the political system
of the country.

HOW TO RESOLVE THE CONFLICTS

Some people might say that the only way to resolve these inner conflicts is a
Revolution. Still, the beginning of the twenty first century showed that
revolutions do not help.
What really can help are as follows
 The social acceptance between the citizens of Nigeria. Acceptance
should be promoted through the social and political justice
between each other.
 The second option is to implement a real mechanism of fighting
with corruption within the boundaries of the country.
 The third idea is acceptance between the citizens of this country.
This acceptance may be achieved through a centralized policy of
social, ethnic, religion and cultural acceptance. That`s how
Nigeria will become a great country.