Resolving Communal Clashes

Nigeria’s communal and ethnoreligious struggles draw from its multicultural and multi-ethnic diversity. However, the various unresolved group wars have worsened from the Nigeria-Biafra Civil War to the various low intensive conflicts. As a result, diversity, which should be Nigeria’s source of socio-economic strength, is a liability. Anugwom (2000) argues that the ethnic factor in Nigeria is the primary yardstick for allocating power and distributing national resources. This point set the stage for the various forms of identity politics and economic struggle, leading to fierce competition between and among the different tribal groups that make up Nigeria. Identity conflict in Nigeria is wide-reaching.

Data from Nextier SPD Violent Conflict Database shows that in the twelve months to September 2021, communal clashes accounted for 14 out of the 890 conflict incidents and 80 out of the 3,787 casualties. Although this conflict type accounts for only 1.6 percent of the incidents (and 2.1 percent of the casualties), it has a super sized influence on the conflict situation in the country. These unresolved grievances fester over time and colour how social, cultural, and economic challenges are interpreted and resolved.

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