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Religious Sectarian Violence and Governance in Nigeria: Implications for Peace and Political Stability

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Religious Sectarian Violence and Governance in Nigeria: Implications for Peace and Political Stability Volume II, Issue IX, January 2015 - ISSN 2321-7065 Religious Sectarian Violence And Governance In Nigeria: Implications For Peace And Political Stability *ONYEKWELU,Chukwuemeka, A. Department of Geography University of Nigeria Nsukka **ONYEDIBE, Maria.Chidi, C. C. Department of Psychology University of Nigeria Nsukka Abstract Sectarian violence under whatever guise appears to have slowly but steadily rooted itself in Nigeria the most populous and richest black nation in the world. The first sign of uprising in the country was in 1953 and now in 2014, we find ourselves in the middle of a full scale war. Salient isues of mis-rule, power snatching and self-rule by a certain ethnic group tend to dominate the entire facade of governance. This paper captures the trend of events that may have helped in no small way in exacerbating the situation, drawing from both sides of the coin-the government and the citizenry. There is need to bring to the fore, that good governance can tackle inequitable distribution of resources and build bridges across ethnic and religious lines. It concludes by proffering subtle ways of achieving a balanced compromise between parties while building peace and unity within borders. All states within Nigeria are components of an indissoluble nation Keywords: Religious, Sectarian, Violence, Governance, Political Stability, Peace.. Word Count: 6414, character (with spaces) 41403, character (with no spaces,) 34479. 516 Volume II, Issue IX, January 2015 - ISSN 2321-7065 Background Religious Sectarianism refers to discrimination wihin members of a particular religion against other believers of the same religion or other religions, due to high priority placed on perceived differences in ideology. In Nigeria the Islamic Sect 'Boko-Haram' which literally means ' no western education' (based in Maiduguri,Borno State ) has since 2009 used violence as a way of expressing its disenchantment with the ruling non-muslim government. Religious Sectarian violence in Nigeria refers to the conflict between the sect and other non-believers of their quest. Nigeria has a population of over 150 million citizens and 374 ethnic groups (Sampson 2014). It is a West African Country populated with a mixture of religious denominations namely – Christianity, Islam and Indigenous religion (C.I.A. World Fact Sheet 2011). The major ethnic cleavages are three namely, Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba and Ibo; who occupy the North, South-West and South-East respectively. Nigeria was first established in 1861, with the colony of Lagos, then later on, the Oil Rivers Protectorate in the South and lastly Northern Nigeria (Wikipedia 2014). In 1914 when these three regions were amalgamated the British colonialists did not integrate or enforce the integration of administrative policies across regions but applied indirect rule. This did not augur well with the Muslim dominated North. A situation that brought about suspicion and perceived marginalization by the northern elites. The end result of this, is the institutionalization of individual laws of land tenure and policies in the three regions. In 1951, the nation’s political entity suffered a terrible blow along ethnic lines, when three major parties were formed based on the three major tribes and regions of the country. The political ideology that should drive the formation of political parties which consists of economic and developmental ideas were submerged in a state of ethnic quagmire. Between 1951 and 1954, two constitutional conferences were held in London and Lagos between Nigerian politicians and the British government. The outcome was the 1954 Federal Constitution which separated Lagos from the Western Region, the setting up of a Federal Government of Nigeria, comprising three regions, namely North, East & West Protectorate. In 1953, a 4 -day riot broke out in Kano,- (the first sign of general dissatisfaction with self-rule)- protesting the policy of self-rule. One of the arties, Action Group Party (AG) led by Akintola, 517 Volume II, Issue IX, January 2015 - ISSN 2321-7065 after a motion moved by Anthony Enahoro of (AG), made moves to obtain power but met stiff opposition. This spiraled into violent hostilities between the Hausas- (he Northerners), the Yorubas-( the Westerners) and the Ibos- ( the Easterners) in Kano city. The Northern Party (NPC) was led by Hausa-Fulani, the South Western party (AG) was led by the Yorubas and the South Eastern party (NCNC) led by the Ibos – Sir, A.T. Balewa, Chief O. Awolowo and Dr. N. Azikiwe respectively. This carved a niche for the struggle for power along ethnic lines in Nigeria. Nigeria is a Federal state and runs a democratically-elected presidential administration. The National Assembly consists of 2 chambers- a Senate and a House of Representatives. The citizens are governed by a three-tier government- Federal, State and Local government. There is a total of 36-states and FCT. Nigeria has experienced 3 civilian administrations, 5 and 7 military regimes since 1960. After Oct. 1 Independence election in 1959, an NPC and NCNC coalition led by Sir Abubakar T. Balewa ruled the country; serving as prime minister. In 1963, Nigeria was divided into 3 regions – Northern Region, Western Region and Eastern Region. In 1967, the number of regions increased to 12 namely North Western, North Central, Kano, North-Eastern, Benue-Plateau, Kwara, Western, Mid-Western, East-Central, South-Eastern, Rivers and Lagos. On the 15th of January, exactly six years later-(1966), Sir Abubakar and other northerners were killed in a military coup after a prolonged rule of seemed to be oppression and violence. This coup put in place the first military government of the country led by Aguiyi- Ironsi – John, T.U. General. Six months later in what seemed like a reprisal attack by the northerners, for fear of power slipping from their hands, the incumbent government was overthrown by a coup. Northern Soldiers, who felt that the corrective policy of centralization of power was not beneficial to them carried out the coup. Yakubu Gowom (Lt. General) was installed as the 2nd military head of state on 29th July 1966. Initially Gowon’s regime featured elements of violence and blood-letting in which about 30,000 Igbo residents were killed. In May 1967 Col. Odimegwu Ojukwu, governor of Eastern Region, raised issues about a secession, which led Gowon to issue a decree for the creation of 12 regions in 1967. By 30th May 1967, Ojukwu declared the Eastern Region, the sovereign Republic 518 Volume II, Issue IX, January 2015 - ISSN 2321-7065 of Biafra. Post events of this action culminated in a 30-month Nigeria Biafra war, which took off in July 29, 1967. The war ended in 1970, between January 1970 – 1975, – Gowon had the mantle of leadership and embarked on reconstruction and integration. The July 29th 1975, Gen. Murtala Muhammed assumed the post of head of state through a bloodless coup, a midst widespread greed and corruption. He initiated the return to civilian rule (4 – year tenure). In February 1976, Muhammed were assassinated in a foiled coup and his deputy, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo took the mantle of leadership. That same year the regional status was dropped and 7 additional States were created, bringing the number to 19 States. Obasanjo observed the set rule to return to civilian rule. In 1978, the constitution for civilian rule was drafted and this heralded the lifting of the ban on political activity. The political climate was charged and 5 political parties were created in 1979. After due elections in the same year, the Shehu Shagari – led (National Party of Nigeria) won. This kick started the 2nd republic of Nigeria. On the 31st Dec. 1983, Shagari’s government was overthrown; by Gen. Muhammed Buhari, who ruled from 1984 – 1985. General Ibrahim Babangida seized power in 1985 through a coup and created an additional 3 states bringing the number to 21 states in 1987, in 1991 he also created 9 states bringing the number to 30 states. In 1993 after due presidential elections in June 12, he failed to hand over power to Chief M.K.O. Abiola through a nullification of election results. He stepped down on 26th Aug. 1993 and set up a transition government led by Chief Ernest Shonekan, not before admitting Nigeria into Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC). On the 17th day of November 1993, Gen. Sanni Abacha assumed the throne as the Head of State of Nigeria. He instantly dissolved the poltical framework and the leaders of a major opposition group National Democratic Coalition NADEDCO were arrested. Four years later in 1997, He created 36 States, Abacha set up a transition to civil rule with an ambition of succeeding himself. The 5 political parties in existence were manipulated to adopt him as a consensus presidential candidate. Having failed in this move, despite the huge resources channeled to promote this, he died in 7th June, 1998. General A. Abubakar was next in line to succeed Abacha and drafted a plan to hand power over to civilians in May 1999. He released Abacha’s political prisoners, which included 519 Volume II, Issue IX, January 2015 - ISSN 2321-7065 Chief M.K.O. Abiola, the presumed winner of the presidential election of June 12, 1993; However, Abiola died of heart attack in August before he gained his freedom. A dissolution of the 5 party structure was done, by Abubakar & a 15-party structure emerged. At last only 3- parties were certified, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), All Peoples Party (APP) and Alliance for Democracy party (AD) to contest for Federal, State and Local government Seats; and on 29th day of May 1999 Obasanjo was sworn in as the Civilian President of Nigeria, in the 4th Republic. NIGERIA'S POLITICAL TIMELINE AND NATURE OF POWER SHIFT 1861-existence of three regions, Lagos colony, Oil Rivers and Northern Nigeria 1914-Amalgamation of North and South Nigeria 1951- The formulation of three political parties along three major ethnic groups 1953- Rampage in Kano-northern Nigeria over self-rule interest 1954- Establishment of constitution to separate Lagos from North and West Protectorates.
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