Ethnicity, Religion, and Polarization in Nigeria

Background 

Nigeria is a diverse country manifested by culture, religion, ethnicity, language, climate, occupation, and education. Diversity is usually preached as strength when the country faces ethno-religious crises that threaten its unity and peaceful coexistence. But its cohesive role is relegated when either ethnicity or religion is invoked to curry favor or to outwit one another in politics. There have been different perspectives to the narrative about the problems of Nigeria, with insignificant efforts to solve the issues and strengthen the unity of the country. The different steps that individuals and groups take to express ethno-religious identity in Nigeria tend to complicate cleavages without showing strong peacebuilding drives. It calls for building strong and resilient ethno-religious structures, with emphasis on religious harmony, inclusive political leadership, social justice, and reformed education objectives. The weaknesses of these structures are characterized inter-ethnic and religious conflicts. Many Nigerians loosely blame diversity for most crises in the country, but skewed perceptions and attitudes toward diversity itself nurture the problem. This article analyzes how these factors affect Nigeria. 

Religion and Peacebuilding in Nigeria 

National integration in a diverse society includes deemphasizing religion in politics and governance. This has eluded Nigeria, where volatility of religious expression has contributed to violent conflicts and killings in the country. Different religious sects and infighting commonly occur among the ranks of Muslims and Christians. The sensitivity of religion in Nigeria has been of great concern for quite a while. In 1986, Nigeria registered as a member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The non-Muslims viewed the development as an attempt to Islamize the country despite Nigeria's designation as a secular state. For example, Section 10 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), provides that the "Government of the Federation or of a State shall not adopt any religion as State Religion." However, the same constitution in Sections 260, 261, and 262, also permitted Sharia Courts for Islamic law in civil proceedings, which other religious groups saw as breaching Section 10. Gradual application of Sharia law on criminal cases other than civil proceedings makes some people apprehensive that it might affect non-Muslim citizens. It is reasoned that such legislation can promote conflict or jeopardize peacebuilding in a diverse country when the enforcement is abused. In other words, religion seems to influence leadership selection in the political system, in coexistence and general perception about one another, and it is possible that religious tensions could complicate achieving Nigeria's national goals. 

Ethno-Religious Diversity and Political Leadership

Ethno-religious considerations polarize Nigerians in leadership selection. Every election comes with its own dynamics, which finds expression in ethno-religious factors including in the north, east, and west. This is most appealing in the selection of political leaders at all levels, and sharing of other sensitive positions. Since Nigeria's independence in 1960, religious balance reflected in the selection of presidents and vice presidents occurred in almost all cases, except for 1993 election when Social Democratic Party (SDP) presented a Muslim/Muslim ticket. There has never been a joint ticket by one religious faith until political parties unveiled their presidential aspirants and the running mates ahead of the 2023 general elections. The All Progressive Congress (APC) submitted a south/north Muslim/Muslim ticket, which some critics label as being insensitive and divisive. Some argue that allowing the dominance of a particular religion in national leadership will reinvent a type of politics that provokes indignation and segregation, which appears to be a major cause of conflict. Power tussles in Nigeria revolve around the same chain of controversy (ethnicity and religion, majority and minority, Christian and Muslim) and it is yet to be clearly streamlined in legislation or national practice. There are also unsettled arguments for and against power rotation or zoning of political leadership either among the six geopolitical zones or similar structures in each state and local government that can mitigate political marginalization and crisis in Nigeria. This is the idea behind the federal character principle in the Constitution to encourage balancing in political leadership positions and thereby douse any imminent ethno-religious tensions in the country. 

Recommendations 

A number of measures, including representation and inclusion, rotating political power and education reforms can be introduced to mitigate the impact of ethno-religious factors on representation and participation in decision-making and governance in Nigeria.

• Representation and Inclusion: Ethnicity and religion contribute tensions in Nigeria as different groups feel inadequately represented and express their displeasure through conflicting demands. The Niger Delta region is demanding for resource control; the minority is demanding equal treatment with other groups; some groups in southeast and southwest are asking for breakup of the federation. Furthermore, many others are talking about power devolution, and alteration of revenue sharing formula to favor states. These fundamental questions are demanding for answers to injustices that seem to be threatening national unity in Nigeria. Equal opportunity, not skewed by ethno-religious influences, in political governance and other national responsibilities can close any lopsided gaps in representation and sharing of every benefit in the system.
• Rotating Political Power: To implement power rotation in Nigeria requires legislation that defines the modalities and deepens the benefits for democracy and national integration. Despite the opposition to this peacebuilding option, it may mitigate political agitation and open the political space for dialogue and shared understanding. Many politicians and religious leaders in Nigeria discuss the fragile unity of the country by merely recounting ethno-religious sentiments and malice among different groups. This has not helped the task of promoting tolerance and harmony. The goal of nation building anchors on transforming the drivers of ethno-religious polarization as instruments for energizing national consciousness for peacebuilding. There is a need to support a detribalized leader(s) who can consciously deemphasize ethno-religious sentiment and articulate roadmaps that can unite the various groups and ensure mitigation of ethno-religious intolerance in Nigeria.
• Education System: Education can play a critical role in enhancing peace, but in Nigeria, it has ceased to impart virtues that encourage peacebuilding. The Nigerian government would do well to reevaluate its use of ethnicity-based quota systems in higher-education admission and employment for their effect on national unity. Such practices can sacrifice merit-based hiring and cause displeasure among ethno-religious groups. Civic education in the school system in Nigeria could be reformed in order to blend theory and practice, without the theory contradicting the action(s) and inaction(s) of their political leaders. Reformed education system can go a long way in nurturing and imparting positive ethno-religious value orientation and developing corporate perception in the society, based on national ideologies that emphasize equality, regardless of religion and ethnicity.

• Implementing Secularism in the Constitution: Compliance to the secularity principle in the Constitution implies that every symbol that denotes religion in national institutions and provisions that relate to religion in the constitution other than the aforecited Section 10 should be expunged. To hold true to this principle and Section 10 of the constitution, the government should reconsider declaring national holidays to mark religious feasts, sponsoring religious pilgrimage, and building religious worship centers with state funds, but instead focus funds on supporting public goods and infrastructure.

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Dr. Hyginus Banko Okibe holds a Ph.D. Degree in Political Science. He is a Senior Lecturer at Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Department of Political Science and at the Institute for Peace, Conflict and Development Studies department of the university. He was a Southern Voices Network for Peacebuilding (SVNP) Scholar during the summer 2022 (May to August) term at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. 

Photo credit: Muslim faithfuls praying under a bridge in Lagos, Nigeria, June 20, 2020 by Oluwafemi Dawodu/Shutterstock.com 

The opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of the authors. They do not reflect the views of the Wilson Center or those of Carnegie Corporation of New York. The Wilson Center's Africa Program provides a safe space for various perspectives to be shared and discussed on critical issues of importance to both Africa and the United States.