DOCSLIB.ORG

Rowland Onyenali CURBING RELIGIOUS CONFLICT THROUGH EDUCATION and RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE Rowland Onyenali Abstract the Level of Inse

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Rowland Onyenali CURBING RELIGIOUS CONFLICT THROUGH EDUCATION and RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE Rowland Onyenali Abstract the Level of Inse Rowland Onyenali CURBING RELIGIOUS CONFLICT THROUGH EDUCATION AND RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE Rowland Onyenali Abstract The level of insecurity in Nigeria today is easily attributable to political instability. Insecurity has led to a spiral of killings and wanton destruction of life and property in both the public and private sectors in the country. However, this situation is a result of the utilization of religion for political gains. Boko Haram insurgency, with its agenda of enthronement of an Islamic rule based on the Sharia law, has added another ugly feather to the already bad blood between the religions in Nigeria. The concentration of religious violence in the areas predominated by apathy to Western Education during the formative years of Nigeria as a nation shows the connection between lack of education and the tendency to conflict. This paper discusses the importance of a thorough-going religious education of the youth in addressing this issue. Keywords: Education, Instability, Nigeria, Political Conflict, Religious Conflict, Religious Dialogue Introduction Even a cursory observer of the Nigerian project readily perceives that religious conflict has been a serious setback to the realization of genuine development in every sector of the country. And it seems that this would continue to be the state of affairs in the near future. Statistics show that conflict between Christians and Muslims has claimed many lives and rendered many people homeless while so many others have been maimed for life. Even when the issues at stake are purely political issues, politicians have utilized religion to foment trouble and score some heavy political points. This is despite the fact that both Islam and Christianity, the two major religions in the country, claim a lot in the realm of the promotion of peace and peaceful coexistence. Even though the major dividing issue in Nigeria is not the issue of religion, per se, it is evident that many of the conflicts which could be traced to ethnic differences, civil strife and minority nervousness have been given a religious garb because of the tremendous emotional attachment people naturally have to their religious beliefs. This has made Nigeria to rank high on the list of the most unstable nations in the world. The main reason why this is so is because, religious education in Nigeria has not been given an adequate consideration. A situation whereby religious education is relegated to the recitation of creeds and the learning of religious books by rote can only breed religious fundamentalism. This is the Nigerian situation. This paper, then, tries to see inter-religious education and dialogue between Christianity and Islam as a veritable tool to forestall constant conflict in Nigeria. It 1 SIST Journal of Religion and humanities, Vol. 1(2), 2021 argues that if religion is properly understood and the core tenets of Islam and Christianity rationally applied, there would be a lot of good will among members of these two religions. This, in turn, will affect the political sphere in a positive light and help in the transformation of the country from a theater of religious conflict to a haven of peace and development. It is a project that is possible and urgent. Understanding Religion We must first acknowledge the difficulty in defining the concept of religion. Many authors (For example Pollack, 1995, Porzelt, 2009, Ziebertz et al, 2012) have come to the conclusion that the difficulty in defining religion comes from the fact that religion has become common in usage and application. In his influential The Sociology of Religion, Weber(1993; 1) asserts that “to define ‘religion’ to say what it is, is not possible at the start of a presentation such as this. Definition can be attempted, if at all, only at the conclusion of the study.” At the end of his presentation, Weber fails to give a precise definition of religion. The fact that Weber did not return to the definition of religion at the end of his book shows that he must have seen the task as an impossible one. Perhaps the etymology of the word can help in its explanation. The term religion seems to come from three different Latin roots. The first root is relegere. It means the desire or diligence to live according to the demands of the gods. This seems to be the sense in which Cicero (106-43 B.C.) understood the term in his De naturadeorum. He uses it together with other terms such as pietas, sanctitas, fides, cultusdeorum, societas and iustitia (Hildebrandt & Brocker; 2008, 12). On the other hand, Lactantius (ca. 250-325 A.D.) derived religion from religare which implies tying oneself back to God. Finally, Aquinas (1225-1274 A.D.) derived the term from reeligere as a form of reelecting or rechoosing God. These considerations led Ziebertz (2003; 69) to conclude that whether we derive religion from religere, religare or reeligere “all three meanings refer to humankind specifically turning to something very special.” This turning to something very special means that it involves the ultimate desires of the human person. Hence, Long (1986; 7) concludes that “religion will mean orientation-orientation in the ultimate sense, that is, how one comes to terms with the ultimate significance of one’s place in the world.” This could mean that religion is the object of one’s orientation to reality. It is the “thing” that determines the way an individual sees and interprets nature. It deals with what concerns the individual ultimately more than any other things. This is another way of expressing the conclusion of Tillich (1959) that religion, in the largest and most basic sense of the word, is ultimate concern. Since religion is related to the ultimate concerns of the human person, it is then easy to appreciate the situation when religious people apply all their emotions to propagate their religious beliefs. Sometimes this application neglects the rational angle of the human person and feeds the emotional aspect. The fact that religion relates to the ultimate concern of the human person means that many people who 2 Rowland Onyenali identify with one religion or the other would stop at nothing in propagating their religious beliefs. In most cases, this has led to conflict of various dimensions. The history of Nigeria bears ample evidence of this. Nigeria and the History of Religious Conflict The fact that an average Nigerian is very religious is observed by many sources (for instance Olubayo, 2010; Ekundayo, 2013). Religion plays a critical role in the Nigerian society and has expressed itself as a potent force in the political development of the country. This force which could have been used to unite Nigerians is the same force that has led to numerous conflicts in the country. Nigeria has been engulfed in numerous religious crises or conflicts since its birth as a nation. Some of these religious conflicts normally dovetail into ethnic conflicts. Due to their tendency to spread into other areas after an early stage in one area, ethno-religious conflicts have gained notoriety as the most violent crises in Nigeria. Initially, most of these conflicts occur in the middle-belt and along the culturally borderline states of the predominantly Muslim North, and also take place between Hausa-Fulani groups and non-Muslim ethnic groups in the South (Osaghae &Suberu, 2005). In conflicts of this nature occurring along the convergence of ethnic and religious lines, it is often very difficult to tell the differences between religious and ethnic crises because the dividing line between them is always very thin. However, in recent times, there is hardly any part of the country that does not bear the mark of the injuries of ethno-religious conflict. It is easy to see how religion is an integral part of the identification of many Nigerians (Lewis & Bratton, 2000; Osaghae & Subery, 2005). In the findings of Ruby and Shah (2007), religion was a more binding force than ethnicity for many Nigerians. Osaghae and Subery (2005; 10) report that “in parts of the North commonly referred to as the ‘core’ or ‘Hausa-Fulani North’ - which is roughly coterminous with those states that adopted Sharia law in the Fourth Republic - religious identity is morecritical than ethnic identity and in fact serves to activate ethnicity.” Therefore, ethno-religious formations are the most important identity markers in Nigeria (Nsongola-Ntalaja, 2004). Although Nigerian Muslims are more likely to manifest a religious affiliation than Christians or adherents of ATR (Lewis & Bratton, 2000), any religious conflict between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria is likely going to concern almost every Nigerian. The central position of religion seems to be partly because of the religious nature of the Nigerians and partly because of the material gains that seem to accrue from belonging to some religious sects. One of the areas in which this material gain is most obvious is in the area of politics. In the Nigerian case, the words of Wellman(2007; 1) that “politics, power, coercion, and religion may be strange bedfellows but they are structurally linked,” make much sense. Religion has always played a very vital role, albeit a divisive one in the politics of Nigeria. And it is mainly due to the politicization of religion that religious conflicts have become rife in Nigeria. The use of religion as an instrument of politics has been acknowledged by Falola thus: 3 SIST Journal of Religion and humanities, Vol. 1(2), 2021 Since the mid-seventies, politicians have urged their followers to vote along religious lines- Muslims are told to vote Muslims, and Christians for Christians. In 1978, the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) told its followers in one of its strong Islamic northern constituencies that the two- fingered V-for-victory sign of the United Party of Nigeria (UPN) was a covert symbol of polytheism, an idea counter to fundamental Islamic doctrine.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Rise of Boko Haram
    Master Thesis Political Science: International Relations The rise of Boko Haram A Social Movement Theory Approach Author: Iris Visser Student Number: 5737508 MA Research Project Political Science: International Relations Supervisor: Dr. Said Rezaeiejan Second reader: Dr. Ursula Daxecker Date: 25 June 2014 1 Master Thesis Political Science: International Relations The rise of Boko Haram A Social Movement Theory Approach 2 3 Table of contents Political map of Nigeria 6 I. Introduction 7 II. Theoretical framework and literature review 13 III. Methodology 34 Variables 34 Methodological issues 34 Operationalization 35 IV. Background of Nigeria 43 V. The rise and evolution of Boko Haram 51 VI. United States- Nigeria cooperation concerning counterterrorism 59 VII. A political process perspective 64 VIII. A relative deprivation perspective 75 IX. A resource mobilization perspective 91 X. A framing perspective 108 XI. Conclusion 122 Bibliography 127 Appendix: timeline of Boko Haram attacks 139 Number of Boko Haram attacks and resulting deaths 2010-2014 per quarter 139 Timeline of Boko Haram attacks 2010-2014 140 4 5 Map of Nigeria 6 I. Introduction Like many postcolonial states, Nigeria has a turbulent history. The country is plagued by all kinds of violence. There has been civil war,1 crime rates are high,2 communal violence is common, as is sectarian violence3 — and, often along the same lines, political violence4 — while in the south an added problem are conflicts concerning oil.5 One of the biggest problems Nigeria faces today, is that of radical Islamic violence in the north of the country. Whereas communal violence has long been an issue, the rise of radical Islamic groups such as Boko Haram, who function more like a terrorist organization, is relatively new (as it is in most parts of the world).
    [Show full text]
  • Public Spaces, Citizenship Right and Religion Conflicts in Nigeria
    International Journal of Political Science (IJPS) Volume 5, Issue 2, 2019, PP 20-29 ISSN 2454-9452 http://dx.doi.org/10.20431/2454-9452.0502004 www.arcjournals.org Public Spaces, Citizenship Right and Religion Conflicts in Nigeria Ola ABEGUNDE1*, Olayide I. OLADEJI1, Samuel Babatola AYITI2 1Department of Political Science, Faculty of the Social Sciences, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria 2PhD Researcher, Department of Political Science, Faculty of the Social Sciences, Ekiti State University, Ado- Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria *Corresponding Author: Ola ABEGUNDE, Department of Political Science, Faculty of the Social Sciences, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria Abstract: The Nigerian history is laced with obstinate conflicts mostly constructed around differences in political, cultural, ethnic and religious identities. There has been an upsurge in such conflicts since May 29 1999. While much of the conflicts revolve around struggles for the political control, others are hegemonic religion contests that are usually driven by fanaticism and involve claims or denial of the rights to use public spaces for religious purposes. The contestation is wide spread and involves Christianity, Islam and Traditional Religion Worshipers. The paper focuses on religion conflicts involving Muslims and Egungun (Masquerade) Worshipers in Kisi, Irepo Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria. The study utilized descriptive approach to examine the implications of religious fanaticism for citizenship and conflicts in Nigeria. Data were collected from both primary and secondary sources. The study revealed that in Kisi, some „Muslim fanatics‟ see and treat public spaces as the exclusive preserve of their religion and thus block the Egungun worshipers from using them for their annual festivals.
    [Show full text]
  • Muslim and Christian Women in Dialogue: Case of Northern Nigeria
    Contents Abbreviations 9 Introduction 15 Section One Islamic and Christian Feminism 1 Muslim Women’s Movement 21 Rise and Development of Muslim Feminism until the 1970s 23 Islamist Popularity and Islamic Feminism from the 1980/90s 32 The Contributions of Contemporary Islamic Feminist Scholars 38 The Muslim Women’s Debate 46 2 Christian Feminist Theology in Comparison with Islamic Feminism 57 Secular Christian Feminism 57 Christian Feminist Theology 63 Comparison of Christian and Islamic Feminism 67 Tension between Feminist theology and Secular feminism 80 Tension between Feminist theology and the Church 81 Conclusion 86 Section Two The Context: Northern Nigeria Section Three Women in Interreligious Dialogue 3 Development of Islam and Christianity in Northern Nigeria 89 7 Interreligious Dialogue in Northern Nigeria 247 Development of Islam in Northern Nigeria until 1960 89 Dialogue in community/Dialogue of life 248 Development of Christianity in Northern Nigeria until Spiritual dialogue 249 1960 105 Parliamentary dialogue 250 Political Developments from Independence to date Initiatives of Faith-based bodies 253 (1960–2005) 111 Dialogue of action/Dialogue in praxis 261 Religious Revivalism since Independence in 1960 127 Conclusion 269 Muslim-Christian Conflict in Nigeria 132 Conclusion 142 8 Towards a Women’s Liberative Interreligious Dialogue 271 The relevance of Theology to Interreligious Dialogue 271 4 Development of a Secular Women’s Movement in Nigeria Theological responses to Religious Pluralism and their with an Overview of Women’s
    [Show full text]
  • In Plateau and Kaduna States, Nigeria
    HUMAN “Leave Everything to God” RIGHTS Accountability for Inter-Communal Violence WATCH in Plateau and Kaduna States, Nigeria “Leave Everything to God” Accountability for Inter-Communal Violence in Plateau and Kaduna States, Nigeria Copyright © 2013 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 978-1-62313-0855 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch is dedicated to protecting the human rights of people around the world. We stand with victims and activists to prevent discrimination, to uphold political freedom, to protect people from inhumane conduct in wartime, and to bring offenders to justice. We investigate and expose human rights violations and hold abusers accountable. We challenge governments and those who hold power to end abusive practices and respect international human rights law. We enlist the public and the international community to support the cause of human rights for all. Human Rights Watch is an international organization with staff in more than 40 countries, and offices in Amsterdam, Beirut, Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Goma, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Nairobi, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo, Toronto, Tunis, Washington DC, and Zurich. For more information, please visit our website: http://www.hrw.org DECEMBER 2013 978-1-62313-0855 “Leave Everything to God” Accountability for Inter-Communal Violence in Plateau and Kaduna States, Nigeria Summary and Recommendations ....................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Boko Haram Attacks and Security Force Abuses in Nigeria
    H U M A N R I G H T S Spiraling Violence Boko Haram Attacks and Security Force Abuses in Nigeria WATCH Spiraling Violence Boko Haram Attacks and Security Force Abuses in Nigeria Copyright © 2012 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 1-56432-951-8 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch is dedicated to protecting the human rights of people around the world. We stand with victims and activists to prevent discrimination, to uphold political freedom, to protect people from inhumane conduct in wartime, and to bring offenders to justice. We investigate and expose human rights violations and hold abusers accountable. We challenge governments and those who hold power to end abusive practices and respect international human rights law. We enlist the public and the international community to support the cause of human rights for all. Human Rights Watch is an international organization with staff in more than 40 countries, and offices in Amsterdam, Beirut, Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Goma, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Nairobi, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo, Toronto, Tunis, Washington DC, and Zurich. For more information, please visit our website: http://www.hrw.org OCTOBER 2012 ISBN: 1-56432-951-8 Spiraling Violence Boko Haram Attacks and Security Force Abuses in Nigeria Glossary .......................................................................................................................................... iii Summary ..........................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • A Deadly Cycle: Ethno-Religious Conflict in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria
    WORKING PAPER (&/&7" %&$-"3"5*0/ A DEADLY CYCLE: ETHNO-RELIGIOUS CONFLICT IN JOS, PLATEAU STATE, NIGERIA By Jana Krause www.genevadeclaration.org Photo X Nigerian troops provide security in Jos, Nigeria, January 2010. © Sunday Alamba/AP Photo Geneva Declaration Secretariat c/o Small Arms Survey 47 Avenue Blanc 1202 Geneva Switzerland WORKING PAPER GENEVA DECLARATION A DEADLY CYCLE: ETHNO-RELIGIOUS CONFLICT IN JOS, PLATEAU STATE, NIGERIA By Jana Krause 2 Copyright A DEADLY CYCLE Published in Switzerland by the Geneva Declaration Secretariat © Geneva Declaration Secretariat, Geneva 2011 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the Geneva Declaration Secretariat, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction out- side the scope of the above should be sent to the Publications Manager at the address below. Geneva Declaration Secretariat c/o Small Arms Survey 47 Avenue Blanc 1202 Geneva Switzerland Copy-edited by Tania Inowlocki Proofread by John Linnegar Cartography by Jillian Luff, MAPgrafix Typeset in Meta by Richard Jones ([email protected]) Printed by nbmedia, Geneva ISBN: 978-2-9700771-0-7 3 The Geneva Declaration The Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development, endorsed by more than 109 countries as of this writing, commits signatories to supporting initiatives intended to measure the human, social, and economic costs of armed violence, to assess risks and vulnerabilities, to evaluate the effectiveness of DECLARATION THE GENEVA armed violence reduction programmes, and to disseminate knowledge of best practices.
    [Show full text]
  • RELIGION and CONFLICT in AFRICA with a SPECIAL FOCUS on EAST AFRICA Bjørn Møller DIIS REPORT 2006:6 DIIS REPORT DIIS
    DIIS REPORT 2006:6 RELIGION AND CONFLICT IN AFRICA WITH A SPECIAL FOCUS ON EAST AFRICA Bjørn Møller DIIS REPORT 2006:6 DIIS REPORT DIIS DANISH INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES 1 DIIS REPORT 2006:6 © Copenhagen 2006 Danish Institute for International Studies, DIIS Strandgade 56, DK -1401 Copenhagen, Denmark Ph: +45 32 69 87 87 Fax: +45 32 69 87 00 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.diis.dk Cover Design: Carsten Schiøler Layout: Allan Lind Jørgensen Printed in Denmark by Vesterkopi AS ISBN: 87-7605-145-5 Price: DKK 50.00 (VAT included) DIIS publications can be downloaded free of charge from www.diis.dk Hardcopies can be ordered at www.diis.dk This publication is part of DIIS’s Defence and Security Studies project which is funded by a grant from the Danish Ministry of Defence. Bjørn Møller, Senior Research Fellow, DIIS,DIIS, [email protected]@diis.dk The author holds an MA in History and a Ph.D. in International Relations, both from the University of Copenhagen. Since 1985, he has been (senior) research fellow, subsequently programme director at the Copenhagen Peace Research Institute (COPRI), which in 2003 became part of the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS). He served as Secretary General of the International Peace Research Association (IPRA) from 1997 to 2000, and has been External Lecturer at the Institute of Political Studies, University of Copenhagen since 1994 and at the Centre of African Studies since 2002. In the academic year 2003/04, he served as Visiting Associate Professor at the research centre on Development and International Relations (DIR) at Aalborg University, where he is pres- ently external lecturer.
    [Show full text]
  • Gender, Globalization, and Cultural Representation in Nigerian Beauty Pageants
    Contesting Nationalisms: Gender, Globalization, and Cultural Representation in Nigerian Beauty Pageants By Oluwakemi Monsurat Balogun A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology and in the Designated Emphasis in Women, Gender, and Sexuality in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Raka Ray, Chair Professor Paola Bacchetta Professor Ann Swidler Professor Barrie Thorne Professor Michael Watts Fall 2012 2012 Copyright Oluwakemi Monsurat Balogun Abstract Contesting Nationalisms: Gender, Globalization, and Cultural Representation in Nigerian Beauty Pageants by Oluwakemi Monsurat Balogun Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology and in the Designated Emphasis in Women, Gender, and Sexuality University of California, Berkeley Professor Raka Ray, Chair Over the last five decades, Nigeria has moved from being a nation enjoying its new post-colonial independence to a nation self-consciously placed within the international political economy. In this dissertation, I show how the complexity and tensions of this shift have helped shape, and are reflected in the Nigerian beauty pageant industry. Drawing on a case study of three beauty pageants, two national and one international, I compare the production, symbolism, and political controversies surrounding each pageant and the way it represents the Nigerian nation. I use these cases to argue that national identity exists at multiple levels and is constructed through and towards both national and international audiences. Organizers, contestants, corporate sponsors, fans and opposition groups manage and present the nation through pageants. They negotiate between highlighting cultural diversity within the country and displaying a shared national culture in a global world.
    [Show full text]
  • Politics of Sharia in Nigeria's “Far North”
    POLITICS OF SHARIA IN NIGERIA’S “FAR NORTH” AND THE FALLACY OF “SECULARITY PRINCIPLE OF STATE” La política de la sharia en el Extremo Norte de Nigeria y la falacia del principio de la “secularidad del Estado” OLATUNJI E. ALAO Adeleke University, Ede, Osun State, Nigeria [email protected] Recibido: junio 2018; Aceptado: abril 2019 Cómo citar: Apellido: Alao, Olatunji E. (2019). Politics of sharia in Nigeria’s “far north” and the fallacy of “secularity principle of state”. Revista de Estudios Africanos. Número Cero, páginas. 144-164 doi: http://doi.org/10.15366/reauam2019.0.007 Abstract Sharia had been an age-long practice in Nigeria’s twelve states of the “Far North”. But since the country’s return to democratic rule in 1999, the controversy surrounding sharia practice became violent because of the introduction of Sharia law by the twelve state governments. What became “the politics of Sharia” was considered as a breach of the secularity principle of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution (as amended). The non- Muslims’ opposition against the introduction of sharia law was premised on Section 10 of the constitution. However, the pro-sharia Muslims considered Sharia as the ideal of political governance pointing to Section 38, sub-sections 1, 2 and 3. The use of sharia practice to ventilate political interests could best be explained by religious mobilization theory, using historical and descriptive method. Despite the aversion for “secularity principle of state” by the Nigeria’s Far Northern political elite, the study recommends this principle as ideal formula for conflict regulation in deeply divided societies like Nigeria.
    [Show full text]
  • Lessons on Sharia and Pluralism from Nigeria's Kaduna and Kebbi States
    Emory International Law Review Volume 25 Issue 2 Sharia, Family, and Democracy: Religious Norms and Family Law in Pluralistic Democratic States 2011 Between Conflict and Compromise: Lessons on Sharia and Pluralism from Nigeria's Kaduna and Kebbi States Eyene Okpanachi Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.law.emory.edu/eilr Recommended Citation Eyene Okpanachi, Between Conflict and Compromise: Lessons on Sharia and Pluralism from Nigeria's Kaduna and Kebbi States, 25 Emory Int'l L. Rev. 897 (2011). Available at: https://scholarlycommons.law.emory.edu/eilr/vol25/iss2/7 This Religious and Legal Pluralism in Nigeria is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at Emory Law Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Emory International Law Review by an authorized editor of Emory Law Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact law-scholarly- [email protected]. OKPANACHI GALLEYSFINAL2 11/16/2011 4:06 PM BETWEEN CONFLICT AND COMPROMISE: LESSONS ON SHARIA AND PLURALISM FROM NIGERIA’S KADUNA AND KEBBI STATES ∗ Eyene Okpanachi INTRODUCTION The revitalized implementation of Sharia law and its expansion from the personal to criminal aspects in twelve northern states in the wake of Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999 represents one of the most turbulent cases of intergroup relations in the contemporary history of Nigeria.1 The development was set in motion by the formal adoption of stringent Sharia codes by Ahmed Sani, the governor of Zamfara State, on October 27, 1999, and thereafter by eleven other northern states—Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Katsina, Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi, Yobe, Gombe, and Borno.2 In reintroducing Sharia into the domains of criminal justice, these states evoked the “somewhat ambiguous clause [in the 1999 Nigerian Constitution] that empowered a state assembly .
    [Show full text]
  • Readdressing the Ethno-Religious Conflicts in Southern Kaduna, Nigeria in the Light of Abraham-Lot Narrative (Genesis 13:1-18)
    Readdressing the Ethno-Religious Conflicts in Southern Kaduna, Nigeria in the Light of Abraham-Lot Narrative (Genesis 13:1-18) Favour Chukwuemeka Uroko http://dx.doi./org/10.4314/ujah.v19i2.2 Abstract This article examines ethno-religious conflict in southern Kaduna and its negative impacts on development in the region. Several efforts have been made by the government and organisations to stop these reoccurring conflicts, however, the conflict continues to aggravate. It is the objective of this article to look at the factors encouraging this negative phenomenon, through the Abraham-Lot narrative (Gen. 13:1-18). It is really unfortunate that the conflicts in southern Kaduna, which are mainly between Muslims and Christians, have claimed thousands of lives and rendered so many homeless. Data were drawn mainly from secondary sources of information, with the adoption of the descriptive phenomenological method of research. It was discovered that fight for political and religious superiority between Muslims and Christians is the sustaining factor. As part of recommendations, adherents of religious and ethnic groups should ensure fairness in resolving any conflict situation Key words: Southern Kaduna, Muslims and Christians, Ethnic groups, Conflict Resolution, Conflict Mediation. 25 Uroko: Readdressing the ethno-religious conflicts in Southern Kaduna Introduction The Nigerian society, just like any other society struggles with its own social problems. One of these problems in Nigeria is the conflict in southern Kaduna. Conflict is prone to take place under any atmosphere, as far as it is a conglomeration of living things. The Nigerian society which was built on a platform of a merging together of different regions, religions, tribes and ethnic groups, has been besieged with hatred (vocal and physical) which culminates into conflicts.
    [Show full text]
  • List of Massacres in Nigeria
    3-2-2020 List of massacres in Nigeria - Wikipedia List of massacres in Nigeria The following is a list of massacres that have occurred in over the past number of years in Nigeria (numbers may be approximate): Contents List Bandit attacks Herder-farmer conflicts and communal conflicts Literature References List https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_massacres_in_Nigeria 1/17 3-2-2020 List of massacres in Nigeria - Wikipedia Name Date Location Deaths Notes Asaba Asaba, Delta Up to 500 Occurred during 1967-10-07 massacre State men[1] Biafran Civil War[2][3] Nigerian military attacked the village Odi, Bayelsa Odi massacre 1999-11-20 43[4]-2,500[5] of Odi, as part of the State Conflict in the Niger Delta. Religious riots between Christians and Muslims over the introduction of sharia 2000 Kaduna 2000-02-21 to 2,000[6][7]– Kaduna law in Kaduna State, riots 2000-05-23 5,000[8] start of the religious riots phase of the Sharia conflict in Nigeria. Religious riots 2001-09-07 to 2001 Jos riots Jos 500–5000[9] between Christians 2001-09-17 and Muslims. Inter-religious riots that started on 22 November in Kaduna, along with many houses of worship being burned by Miss World religious zealots. 2002-11-22 Kaduna 200+[10] riots Cause: article in Thisday about the 2002 Miss World beauty contest (to be held in Abuja), in which Muslims took offence. Religiously motivated Yelwa, Yelwa 2004-02 to killings between Shendam and c. 975[11] massacre 2004-05 Christians and Kano Muslims. The international crisis reached the Nigerian city of Maiduguri, in which over 50 people were killed and many Muhammad buildings destroyed 2006-02-18 Maiduguri 50+[12] cartoons crisis or damaged by rioting Muslims, outraged because of cartoons about Muhammad in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.
    [Show full text]