Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford A History of Identities, Violence, and Stability in Nigeria Eghosa E. Osaghae and Rotimi T. Suberu CRISE WORKING PAPER No. 6 January 2005 Dr. Rotimi Suberu: Department of Political Science, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
[email protected] Professor Eghosa E. Osaghae: Vice-Chancellor of Igbinedion University, Nigeria
[email protected] Centre for Research on Inequality, Human Security and Ethnicity, CRISE Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford, 21 St Giles, OX1 3LA, UK Tel: +44 1865 283078; Fax: +44 1865 273607; http://www.crise.ox.ac.uk/ CRISE Working Paper No. 6 Table of Contents 1. Introduction ...............................................................................................................4 2. The Nature and Scope of Nigeria’s Identity Diversity................................................5 2.1 Ethnicity.............................................................................................................8 2.2 Religion ...........................................................................................................10 2.3 Regionalism.....................................................................................................12 2.4 Class, Gender, and Youth ...............................................................................13 3. Enduring Patterns of Pre-Colonial and Colonial Conflicts.......................................14 4. Patterns of Post-Colonial Identity Conflicts .............................................................17