Lion Flash Drives

Lion Flash Drives are Still Available @ Centre of Lion Gadgets & Technologies.

Lion Flash Drives 8GB is also now available @ an AFFORDABLE PRICE of...

THE NATIONALISTICS TENDENCY IN “THOUGHT IN RETREAT”

THE NATIONALISTIC TENDENCY IN “THOUGHT IN RETREAT”

(A POEM BY NNAMDI AZIKIWE)

AN ANALYSIS BY NWANI UCHENNA WILLIAMS

          

         In the poem “Thought in Retreat” by Zik, the sense of ‘nationalism’ forms the principal theme. The patriotism in his psyche is evidently seen. Nationalism is understood to be an ideology that gives a nation a sense of unity by imposing on them the same set of identities. It is marked by a feeling of patriotic love, loyalty principles, efforts, and pride of superiority over other countries.

            In one of his poems “Land of the Rising Sun”, Zik proclaimed his love for his country, and his eagerness to fight for and defend his country. He was placed at the core of the political struggle of his people who saw their survival directly at stake. He wrote:

                                    “Land of the Rising sun, I love and cherish the

                                    Beloved home land of our brave heroes

                                    We should protect our loves or we perish

                                    We must preserve our hearts from all our foes

                                    But if the price is death for all we hold dear

                                    Then let us die without a shred of fear.”

            Furthermore, in his poem “Leadership”, nationalism and patriotism are captured. The qualities of a good leader were pointed out. His nationalistic and patriotic spirits runs down from the first to the last stanza. The end stanza reads:

                                     “Steady leader, face the music
                                       once you’re convinced that you’re waging war
                                       to save the gullible weak
                                     from the bluff tales that are staging.”

            In the above poem, Zik is portrayed as a sterling leader who wages diplomatic war to save the weak members of the society he is leading.

            He also rendered an inspiring and bold patriotic spirit to his fellow comrades and all in his poem: “Fortitude”:

                                   “Muster courage, fellow comrade…

                                    Face the foe without complaining

                                    You’re as good as he is claiming

                                    Hit him hard by demonstrating

                                    How your prowess can be taming.”

            Summing up, “Thoughts in Retreat” and others such as “courage”, “True leadership”, “Liberty”, “Benevolence” et al portrays Zik as an excellent nationalist who championed and struggled for his country’s freedom.

THE DEAD END OF AFRICAN LITERATURE: BY OBIAJUNWA WALI

THE DEAD END OF AFRICAN LITERATURE: BY OBIAJUNWA WALI

(CHAPTER 40 in the Anthology of African Literature)

A SUMMARY: BY NWANI UCHENNA WILLIAMS

            During a conference of African writers held in Makerere university, Kampala in 1962, African literature as presently defined and fully apprehended, leads nowhere. African writers of English expression such as Wole Soyinka, Christopher Okigbo, and Ezekiel Mphalele dealt with utmost derision, this kind of literature which expresses sterile concepts such as negritude or the African literature.

         Ibidem, the works of Tutuola, one of the most significant writers today was excluded during the conference. This unjust treatment could be because he was grouped in the “negritude school” and somewhat because he has won many awards oversees for using the English expressions that is ‘non-Makerere.’

            However, Obi Wali who is well known for his assertion that African literature should only be written in African languages emphasized the importance that works deemed "African" be written in the languages of the African peasantry and working class rather than in English or other foreign languages. Through an alliance of these classes within the many nationalities of Africa, he predicted an "inevitable revolutionary break with neo-colonialism." He then expressed these views in his controversial essay, “The Dead End of African Literature” which is considered a landmark in the field of African literary modernity. In this essay, Wali writes that "an African writer who thinks and feels in his own language must write in that language.

 Although opposed by some, Wali's essay has been lauded by many African literary giants such as Ngugi wa thiong'o, who changed his name to a traditional African name after reading Wali's argument. Wali is often cited together with ‘Ngugi Wa Thiongo’ and ‘Immeh Ikiddeh’ for what is called the "radicalist" viewpoint – that African literary expression should be exclusively in indigenous African languages.

Additionally, Wali argues that it is necessary for literary critics to learn African languages before analyzing African literary texts and producing theories about their meanings. Wali and Ngugi’s viewpoint that African literature be exclusively written in African languages is often positioned in opposition to the opinions of Chinua Achebe and Amma Ata Aidoo, who argued that African literature can also be written in foreign languages.

PRODIGALS, COME HOME: BY CHINWEIZU

PRODIGALS, COME HOME: BY CHINWEIZU

(CHAPTER 32 in the Anthology of African Literature)

A SUMMARY: BY NWANI UCHENNA WILLIAMS

           Many African writers have lost sight of their traditional sensibility in their works of art. Chinweizu emphasized the discrepancy between ‘African modernity’ and ‘modernity in Africa'; ‘modern poetry in Africa’ and ‘modern African poetry.’ Many African writers have deviated from the forms, values, and attitudes of their nativity in their writings. They rather bring to the fore, the value, forms, sensibilities, and attitudes of the Europeans even though they are African writers. These ones who are seen as ‘prodigals’ are exhorted to employ modern African poetry.

            Modern African poetry is seen as a poetry written by Africans and dominated by a sensibility derived from the African tradition. Examples of modern African poetry includes ‘song of Lawino’ by P’Biteks, and  ‘path of thunder’ by Okigbo. These poems are seen as prototypes of modern African poetry.

            Furthermore, Echeulo a Nigerian poet and critic presented a paper at the University of Nigeria, in 1966 in which he remarked the problem facing Nigerian writers today; “transferring from indigenous to modern poetry instead of transferring from modern poetry to enhance the quality of indigenous poetry.”

          Moreover, our African writers are encouraged to avoid obscuring explicitness of our forms in their writing; they should rather speak accents which the less educated ones can understand. Wole Soyinka is a writer who chose to wallow in dense obscurities in the name of modernity. He is not worthy to emulate in this sense. Obscurity is attached to modernism, whereas, explicitness is attached to African poetry. This is our hallmark.

          Conclusively, let them learn from Nassir, P’bitek and Okigbo’s work. Let them stop disguising themselves, assuming the appearance of something they are not. They should declare themselves for what they are - modernist of the west or African modernists. Given all exhortation, let them return home, let them come expend what they’re endowed with in enriching and enhancing African modernity. For if they do, they shall gladly be welcome home and celebrated.

NEGRITUDE AND A NEW AFRICA AN UPDATE: BY PETER S. THOMPSTON

NEGRITUDE AND A NEW AFRICA, AN UPDATE: BY PETER S. THOMPSTON

(Chapter 31 in the Anthology of African Literature)

A SUMMARY: BY NWANI UCHENNA WILLIAMS

            The negritude movement is now held in low esteem. The reactions of our African writers towards negritude are not heartwarming especially when compared to the past. This is chiefly because their view towards this movement is by some means, contradicting the perception of the earlier writers. Because some oppositionists and critics have asserted that negritude is dead, Senghor and Cesare continued to fan the definition, meaning, and idea of negritude thus, keeping it alive. They are the remnant of the movement. Others include Rene Maran, Ezekiel Mphlele and Abiola Irene. According to them, negritude is the clear recognition of the fact of being black, and the acceptance of the fact of our history, culture and future as black.

         Many writers today are the chief critics of negritude. Some see it as racialism. Europeans see it as an opposition instrument used by Africans against them. Soyinka especially is known for criticizing what negritude has done.

        Meanwhile, we are most attracted to those voices that express the pride and independence of our distinct culture, which seems to the outsider and student - most overt definition for it.                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
 

                                                                                                                                                                                     

PROOFREADING AND PROOFREADING MARKS

PROOFREADING AND PROOFREADING MARKS.

Definition

            Several definitions have been put forward in a bid to define what proofreading is. Below are some of these scholarly definitions:

            According to Wikipedia, (2016), “Proofreading is the practice of reading a galley proof or an electronic copy of a publication to detect and correct production errors of text or art.”

            In Encyclopedia Britannica (1911), “proofreading is the skill of correcting printed copies of articles or books set in type before publication.”

The writer’s handbook, (2016) defines Proofreading as the art of examining your text carefully to find and correct typographical errors and mistakes in grammar, style, and spelling. 
Chisholm Hugh, (1931) defines proofreading as “searching for errors, both grammatical and typographical in a text before submitting for final publication.”

Based on the above ideas and facts having been gathered and summarized, proofreading can be said to be the skill of going through an article or an electronic copy of a publication in order to point out errors and correct them.

Further, a person who proofreads is called a proofreader. According to Hugh (1931), the individual must be academically and professionally sound with good inculcation, training and experience. According to him, journalists, linguists, editors, who are familiar with writing, are good proofreaders. But sometimes, the author proofreads it.

            A brief history of proofreading, according to Merriam Webster (2014), originates in the early days of printing, at about 1499, where authors were required to crosscheck their work. But “the modern day have infused so much changes that one can proofread another’s work and even electronically too.”

Why is proofreading important?

         According to the Reference guide (2016), Proofreading is important because mistakes in written work can lead to misunderstandings, changes in meaning or intent and can cost companies money.

According to the National Association of Legal Professionals, sloppy copy also reduces quality of work and decreases the reputation of the company or person that made the errors.

Also, proofreading academic papers reduces mistakes and can...
For full article, reach me via this number 08136246950 or email me via nobleplendour1@gmail.com. This is because, there are some marks or shapes in the work that can't display correctly here. Meanwhile, getting the full article is free.

Ethnicity and Ethno-religious Crises in Multilingual Nigeria: A Linguistics Perspective.

Ethnicity and Ethno-religious Crises in Multilingual Nigeria: A Linguistics Perspective.

Nwani Uchenna Williams

Department of Linguistics, Igbo and Other Nigerian Languages, University of Nigeria, Nsukka
*email of corresponding author uchenna.nwani.232067@unn.edu.ng

Abstract:

In contemporary Nigeria, no issues has induced wide public concern and commentary more than the issues of ethno-religious crises, corruption and leadership generated from differences in  religious and ethnic identities in multilingual Nigeria, which has been rocking the nation and its agonizing consequences on nation’s unification.

            Given the above, this research paper seeks to examine the concepts of politics of ethnic identity, religious identity, corruption, leadership, ethno-religious crises and national unification in multilingual Nigeria from a linguistics perspective.

            Moreover, this paper shows when nation unification became an issue in multilingual Nigeria. It further reveals some ethno-religious crises the country experience and the relationship between religion, ethnicity and ethno-religious crises in Nigeria, and its implication on the country. It also examines the concept of identity and how it explains the development of crises and complexities in contemporary Nigeria.

Keywords: Religious identity, ethnic identity, ethno-religious crises, leadership, national unification.

1.0 Introduction:

It is a common axiom that every country on earth craves for national unification. National unification remains one of the prime objectives of every multi-ethnic nation, such as Nigeria. The nation’s leadership is geared towards conceiving and establishing national development. Incompetent leadership and corruption are identified to be high as among the problems of the country’s diversity which manifests very often in ethno-religious crises, ethnic squabbles, ethnicity among others.

            Since 1960 when Nigeria attained independence, ethno-religious violence has left the nation torpid. Inter-ethnic rivalry, religious bigotry, mutual distrust, ethnic cynicism and religious intolerance have invariably and seriously undermined the nation’s desire for national unification. Osaghae and Suberu (2005:4) note that, “breakdown, civil strife, breakaway, civil war, minority tension and violent crises, all of which are seen as unusual in normal states, are actual occurrences in divided states.” Because of complicated network of politically silent identities, conjoined with a history of prolonged and apparently stubborn wars and instability, Nigeria is on top of the list as one of the most wobbly state.

            Ibidem, Nigeria has been driven hither and thither by recurrent crises of regional or state illegitimacy often impairing efforts as democratization, stability, economic transformation and national cohesion. A peak of the crises occurred during the civil war of the 1960s, which began shortly after the independence.

            Since 1999, when Nigeria transited into civilian rule, it has seen rapid increase in the number of crises.

            A high level of corruption and the looting of state resources is another severe and epidemic problem that makes all forms of conflict and trouble work in Nigeria. Nigeria is fatly bestowed with natural resources and rich quality human capital; but corruption has retarded the country’s development. The appropriation of state resources by certain hands makes poverty and bitter anger inevitable aspects of daily socio-economic and political routine. Poverty and injustice caused by corruption weaken any sense of mutual tolerance, social solidarity or co-existence, while reawakening social hatred, radicalism and violence.

           The aim of this study is to x-ray the nexus between religion, ethnicity and the triggers of crises in the country. It also examines the notion of linguistic identity in an attempt to explain the crises development and the complexities of contemporary Nigeria.

1.1 Examining the identity factor.

            From a linguistics socio-political standpoint, Okpanachi (2010) observes that “identity bears a personal and a social meaning. Processes related to identity are located at the core of the individual and in the core of his community culture.”

            Thus, identity can be said to be an individual’s sense of belonging to a group if it influences his political behaviour. Smyth and Robinson 2001:7-11) also state that “identity is marked by features such as an emotive tie to a group, love and belief for a group, pledge to a cause, and commitment and duties to a group with which a person identifies.”

According to Castells (2010:8), notions of identity are present only when social actors co-opt them. Oftentimes, self-definition of identity overlaps with role expectations, but identities are more steady springs of meaning than social roles. This is because; identities establish the meaning, while social roles shape the functions.

However, identity is not consistent among groups or individuals. Its strength and importance is dynamic and differs from group to group. Also, identity consciousness keeps on changing to show the changing role of the identities and the increasing enormity.

On the one hand, recent studies on religious identity have emphasized the positive function of religion in promotion of peace. On the latter, however, mobilization of identity constructed from Linguistic affiliation has been employed to instigate political groups to struggle and religious groups to legitimize wars and various dimensions of brutal and violent acts.

1.2 Politics of ethnic identity in Nigeria:

Ethnicity is a social phenomenon that is reflected in interactions among individuals of different ethnic groups within a political system where language and culture are the most prominent attributes. The formation of dialects within languages was one of the ways in which ethnicity – both small-scale and large-scale – became fixed in Nigeria.

From the beginning, these ethnic components that make up Nigeria, according to Agbedo (2004), did not see themselves as having come into existence in order to ‘live well’ in the Aristotle’s conception of the city state.

While there are over 400 languages in Nigeria, only three are reckoned important while the rest are considered minor languages. Still, the distribution of these languages is directly proportional to both political and socio-economic power, and thus the language group to which one belongs defines his/her status in the society. Different Languages in Nigeria should not be neglected. They should also be given wide recognition since potentials which can boost the standard and unification of the country lies therein. It is noteworthy why Ahamefula (2011:16) opined that “it is believed that there are lots of traditional or indigenous science and technology that have been bottled up with the rural populace who have little or no contact with the white man’s education, hence, could not grapple with the mechanics of English. Such indigenous potential which are sometimes dismissed as local or crude are in essence the livewire or the nucleus of any right thinking nation and if properly harnessed and developed shall ultimately contribute immensely to the Nigerian quest for national development.” This, by implication entails that the very idea of clinging to an ethnic group is rooted in linguistic affiliation. Thus, each language should be accorded recognition as participatory languages in the nation’s affair.

Missionaries and domestic politicians created standard languages and hoped that they would homogenize language and ethnicity, and create more harmonious ethnic identities.

Lewis and Bratton (2000:26) are of the opinion that ethnicity is seen as the most basic and politically salient identity of Nigerians. This argument is based on the premise that in their competitive and non-competitive contexts, Nigerians tend to define themselves in terms of linguistic ethnic affinities as opposed to other identities. A survey conducted in Nigeria by Lewis and Bratton found that almost half of Nigerians (48.2%) labeled themselves with an ethnic identity compared to 28.4% who labeled themselves with respect to class and 21% who identified with a religious group. This means that over 66% of Nigerians view themselves as members of an elemental ethnic or religious group. Noteworthy is the fact that religious and ethnic identities are more salient than class identities.

The Hausa-Fulani and other smaller ethnic groups that inhabit the north of the country are Muslims, while the Igbo and the other smaller groups residing in the South are primarily Christians. Groups lying in the middle comprise a mixture of Christians and Muslims, while the Yoruba found in the Southwest are almost half Muslim and half Christian. This Muslim-North and Christian-South cleavage enhances ethnic fractionalizations in Nigeria, especially in Northern Nigeria where Islamic identity plays a dominant role.

Of course, exceptions should not be overlooked for both parts of the country. There is a considerable population of Muslims in the South, especially in the Southwest, and a sizeable number amongst the Benin in Edo State. Even in the Southeast, amongst the Igbo, there has been a rising number of Muslims, causing the governors of some Igbo-speaking states to introduce state programmes for Muslims. The same goes for Christians in the North, where the considerable number of Christians cannot be disregarded in any analysis of religious groupings in Nigeria. For example, the ‘Enugu state Muslim community’ headed by Sheik Zulqarnaini, was created to house and cater for the interest of all Muslims residing in Enugu state and also getting material comforts and assurances of personal safety and protection from the benefactor.

Lewis 2007:2). states that civilian governments supposedly promote the creation of an ethnic politicization and political friction. On the other hand, non-democratic regimes like military rules are usually repercussions from the side of the political elite. In most cases, therefore, mechanisms of political governance are formed on the basis of linguistic affiliation and ethnicity through custom-made patronage systems. For instance, in Nigeria, the ethnic factor is seen when political parties are formed and during elections. The Northern People’s Congress (NPC) was formed in the first Republic and it was a Hausa-Fulani party. Similarly, the Igbo belonged to the National Council of Nigeria and Cameroon (NCNC) while the Yoruba prided themselves as members of the Action Group (AG). These parties, during the second republic, later transformed into The National Party of Nigeria (NPN), the Nigerian People Party (NPP) and the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN). The third Republic, attributed to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and National Republican Convention (NRC), was disbanded by annulment of the June 12, 1993 elections due to ethnic reasoning when it became clear that the Northern political hegemony risked being lost forever. Thus, here it is possible to detect that stimulation of ethnic awareness easily turns into a conflict in order to get more from scarce societal resources. And this situation provokes political tensions and divisions among the ethnic groups.

Since the restoration of democratic rule, ethnic identity and mobilization in the Nigerian political landscape has often resulted in political instability. For example, between 1999 and 2013, more than 11 000 deaths have occurred as a result of more than five hundred incidents of communal violence. Ethnic violence has been witnessed in almost all regions in the country but with particular frequency in the Niger Delta, the Muslim North and Northwest, and along the middle-belt. The level of insecurity witnessed during the post-military period is considerably higher than that experienced during the three decades of military rule that ended in 1999. It is often assumed that there exist stable identities in Nigeria and consistent group motives in the approach to ethnic politics. However, the upsurge of ethnicity in Nigeria in recent years leads researchers to re-examine identity formation.

2.0 Religious identity

Nigeria is the most crowded African country with a population of about 182 million by 2015. A majority of the scientific academic sources accept that the half of the population is Christian, the other half Muslim. However, there is uncertainty about the exact percentages; hence various sources give different figures.

Nigeria has three major religious identities: Christian, Islam and traditional religions. Traditional religions are the most politically inactive of the three groups, numbering several hundreds of ethnic groups and sub-groups, villages, clans and kin groups; and, involving the worship of different gods and goddesses. On the other hand, Christian and Muslim identities have continued to be the backbone of religious disparity and conflict (Lewis and Bratton 2000:5; Osaghae and Suberu 2005:11). This differentiation underlies the North-South cleavage.

It is worth noting that, within the wide Christian and Muslim categories, there lie many sub-cleavages and intra-group conflicts that have either been active politically in the past or have a potential of being salient in the future. Among the Christians, notes Osaghae and Suberu (2005:11), sub-cleavages include the Protestants (Anglican 10%, Baptist 8%, Methodist 5%, and Lutheran 5%), the Catholics 15%, the Evangelical Church of West Africa 2%, Jehovah’s Witnesses 5% and a myriad of other local (Aladura, Cherubim and Seraphim, Celestial Church of Christ 20%) and Pentecostal churches 30%.

The Pentecostal churches form the fundamental division of Christianity in Nigeria which has experienced rapid growth in numbers of followers in the last few years with the majority of adherents, especially the youths, joining the church from the older and more traditional denominations. The church has played an important role in civil society in anti-military struggles and democratization. This has been made possible through umbrella bodies such as the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), and the Catholic Bishops Conference. However, politicization of Christianity has been reliant on moves by the Muslims and the interventions of the government. Still, Protestant-Catholic cleavages have continued to play an important role in elections among the Igbo communities living in the Southeast of Nigeria.

Muslims also belong to a number of sub-cleavages that include Ahmadiyya 12%, Sanusiyya 5%, Tijanniyya 3%, and Quadriyya 8% which have in turn been in conflicts. And as among the Christians, the Muslims also have umbrella bodies which aim at propagating different understandings of Islam. Notable among these organizations is the Jamaatu Nasril Islam (JNI) which was established by Sardauna of Sokoto in 1961. Following events in Iran during the Islamic revolution of 1979, radical fundamentalist activities increased among Muslim youths. These conditions resulted in the formation of fundamentalist Muslim factions such as the Maitatsine, the Isala movement, the Shiites, the Talibans and most recently, the Boko Haram which demanded the establishment of a purist Islam based on Sharia law, the abolition of unorthodox innovations, and the creation of an Islamic theocracy. These relatively new sentiments that depend on a unique and radical interpretation of Islam provoke conflicts with the traditional and/or more moderate understandings.

2.1 Ethno-religious crisis in Nigeria.

Ethno-religious crisis can he described as a situation in which relationship between members of one ethnic group and another or generally amongst ethnic groups is characterized by tensions. In a multicultural polity such as Nigeria it is characterized by a lack or cordiality by heightened mutual suspicions and fear, by quarrelsomeness and by a tendency towards violent confrontation. Ethno-religious crisis are extreme manifestation of conflict in the crisis of identity. In so many parts of Nigeria, states Mohammed (2013), Nigerians are finding it difficult and/or impossible to coexist with themselves. Ethnic and religious sentiments are rising and the country is daily challenged by these forces. The character of the Nigerian sate is responsible for the country’s deepening ethno-religious contradiction that are presently threatening the fabric of the country, and which has become a clog in Nigeria’s attempt to develop her economy

Nigeria one of the largest countries in Africa is made up of many ethnic groups with diverse cultural, religious and social backgrounds. These ethnic groups have different political, social, religious and economic interests to protect and they do this by using any machinery at their disposal even if it is at the detriment of the country. Ethnic and religious issues form part of the most recurring phenomena in Nigeria’s body politic. The issue has permeated the nation’s political and economic landscape in the last few years, and there seems to be no solutions to it. In Nigeria, ethnicity plays a major role’ in almost everything. Whatever is done or anticipated to be done in Nigeria particularly in government quarters has, ethnic and religious undertone. From employment, admission into schools, distribution of social amenities and even in social relationships ethnic and religious affiliation and attachment are conspicuously manifest. Attachment of the average Nigerian first to his ethnic and religious groups before the nation is the best of Nigeria national integration/nation building. Between 2001 and 2014, so many crisis stimulated by ethno-religious reasons have engulfed Nigeria. Ethnic and religious bigotry has become a serious issue undermining the very foundation of Nigeria’s unity. Mutual fear and suspicion, absence of cordial relations ethnic alignment and re-alignment, ethnic affiliation and attachment have being very strong features of Nigeria since independence. Nigeria has become a theatre of war characterized by an increasing number of ethnic and religious crises. In 1980 in some parts of Kano and Maiduguri there were the Maitatsine religious disturbances. By 1984, there was the Yola religious disturbance. In 1992 the Zango Kataf crisis rocked Kaduna State. This crisis spread to Kafachan and other parts of the north central states. By 1999, the Shagamu religious crisis took place, Tafawa Balewa in 2001; Hausa, Christian and Muslim still exhibit existence of hate to date. The above is evidence of the rate at which ethno and religious crisis takes place in Nigeria. Anytime this crisis takes place in any part of Nigeria the fear of reprisal attack is always high. The Jos case is a pointer to the fear of reprisal attack. The extent to which ethno-religious crisis is going in Nigeria is alarming. It has been hijacked by a group known as “Boko Haram”. This group is responsible for many bomb explosions in some parts of northern Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory.

They have invaded churches, mosques, markets, schools, motor parts, homes and killed and of maimed innocent citizens and have destroyed properties worth billions of naira. In fact, Jega (2007) identified leadership and ethno-religious crisis and ethnic militancy among the problems challenging Nigeria’s integrational quest.

3.0 Causes of ethno-religious crisis in Nigeria

Many factors can be held responsible for the rampant cases of ethno-religious in Nigeria. As observed by Alfa (2012), the major causes of ethno-religious in Nigeria can he attributed to the overbearing character of the post colonial Nigeria state, greed, selfishness, parochialism, pettiness and irresponsible conduct by those who are supposed to be leaders. Nigerian leaders pursue self-serving objectives in the power tussle and in the process of accumulation of wealth and tend to aggregate these with and project them as a part of an ethno-religious group agenda. Moreover, the leadership has largely failed to provide the needs of the people. An average Nigerian lacks access to all the basic things for a healthy, satisfying and productive life. This has contributed to the emergence of large number of frustrated population who are ready made tools in the hands of extremist.

Growing population of Almajiri’s, Quranic students in the northern part of Nigeria is also one of the causes of ethno-religious crisis in Nigeria. These children who are sent to live and study with Islamic teachers are cramped into shacks and left with little or no food, forcing them to roam the street from where they are recruited by extremist, tribalist or desperate politicians as thugs, supporters or followers to achieve their end.

In addition, weak national security system is also one of the factors responsible for ethnic and religious conflicts in Nigeria. This problem of weak national security system is, compounded by illegal cross border migration and arms trafficking across the nation’s boarder. The porosity of Nigeria’s land borders especially in the northern part has seriously undermined the nation’s security as this give rise to the influx of foreign national whose activities are inimical to the security interest of the country.

In addition, the lack of clear cut document on national security policy has remained a problem confronting the country since independence. The lack of security policy to a reasonable extent has undermined the capacity of the country to confront ethno-religious crisis whenever they arise.

Unemployment is also a factor responsible for ethno-religious crisis in Nigeria. Large numbers of Nigerian youth are without any legitimate source of livelihood. Most of the recent ethno-religious and communal conflicts in Nigeria can be explained from the angle of joblessness and intense competition over scarce resources and services both in urban and the rural areas. The mass of unemployed youths are ready made

4.0 Conclusion

This study in one sense has tried to look at the emergence of identities and their impact on the conflicts in the most crowded African country, Nigeria. From social and political perspectives, ‘identity’ has a personal and social meaning. Identity can be defined as distinct qualities, characteristics and beliefs of an individual or a group of people. And it is an individual’s sense of belonging to a group which often has an impact on his/her political behavior.

Identity has been a significant aspect of the Nigerian political process, during the colonial period and in the post-colonial era. Ethnicity is a social phenomenon that is related to interactions among individuals of different ethnic groups within a political system where language and culture are the most prominent attributes. Both ethnicity and religiosity have emerged as the most basic and politically salient identities of the Nigerians.

In Nigeria, structures of political control are formed on the basis of ethnicity and religiosity via a custom-made patronage system. These identities have been a constant source of conflict and cleavage in the country. Since the restoration of democratic rule, ethnic identity and mobilization in the Nigerian political landscape has often resulted in political instability and constant conflicts. A number of uprisings and concomitant mayhem have been reported since 1999 and have resulted in the loss of thousands of lives and the destruction of property. In recent times, for instance, the militarization of Boko Haram has undermined Nigeria’s stability and placed the country under constant threat.

Despite some exceptions, such as the Yoruba being made up of both Christian and Muslim segments, ethnic identities generally overlap with religious identities in Nigeria. For that reason, it is difficult to distinguish ethnic conflicts from religious ones in this country. However, it can be said that ethnic differences in Nigeria would not have been such a prominent cause of conflict if they had not overlapped with the religious identities, or vice versa. In other words, in many instances, religion provides a mobilization frame for conflict and this effect is amplified when religious and ethnic cleavages run parallel. And there is no doubt that inter-religious conflict in Nigeria form part of the dynamics of identity politics. As stated above, while some sources reveal the importance of ethnicity as a causal factor of cleavages, others underline religious identities as a more determinant element in the perception of difference. The diversity in the scientific findings and literature was probably caused by researchers focusing on different groups in Nigeria. Basically this means that for some groups ethnicity is more binding, while in others religion plays a dominant role in group identification and a sense of belonging. Since this paper has been mostly concentrated on conflicts in the North, the religious factor might be highlighted – due to the decisive religious cleavages in this region.

It is generally accepted that the inefficacy of politicians in Nigeria at the points of good governance, national consolidation and economic development has caused political cleavages, social disintegration and massive unemployment. This, together with the absence of social control mechanisms and a high level of corruption, has stimulated ethno-religious conflicts.

Finally, the nation-state model is in danger in Nigeria, as in many other so-called nation-states. Of course, globalization feeds this process, but the main reason is related to inherent features of the model. The majority of modern states consist of different groups and usually one of them tries to rule the system while provoking the objections of others. Consequently, the ethnic, religious and maybe ideological groups compete for dominance and this weakens the basis of any achieved unity. This is then seen as the inevitable character of heterogeneous nation-states.

5.0 Recommendations

The problem posed by ethnic and religious crisis is a threat to Nigerians corporate existence and its desire to engender national integration.

There is nowhere in the world were brothers are at war that there will be peace and development of any magnitude. The crises in Nigeria are capable of truncating her hard won democracy and return the country to military rule. Leadership crisis in Nigeria has had effect of retarding development and national integration in the country. However, if the following recommendations are strictly adhered to, then the country can reduce the incidence of leadership and ethno-religious crisis currently threatening the country’s national integration for effective development.

First and foremost, the constitution, of Nigeria should be restructured and reformed to meet up with the challenges and the phenomenon of ethnic and religious intolerance in Nigeria. The security system of the country should be strategically placed to confront such problems anytime they arise.

In stemming the ugly tide of leadership and ethno-religious crisis, the government of Nigeria must imbibe the spirit of democratic federalism and all principles of good governance that includes political and financial transparency, executive and judicial responsiveness and accountability and genuine independence of all the institutions of democracy like the judiciary, the electoral management agency, legislature and anti-graft agencies. The government must also tackle the problems of imbalance in education between the north and the south.

Religious bodies should partner with Nigerian state in the provision of social services, basic healthcare, education, job security among others to all population, not only to reduce threats of ethno-religious crisis but also as a matter of rights for all Nigerians.

Convocation of regular national dialogue is recommended here because this will facilitate the mobilization of those who are divided along ethnic, cultural, economic and religious lines in the task of national unity and nation building.

Strengthening the Nigeria inter-religious council will also help to check the occurrences of ethno-religious crisis. This can be done by expanding the scope of the council to include ethnic matters as well. Hence, instead of just inter- religious council, it should be inter-religious and ethnic council to cater for ethnic conflicts as well.

The National Orientation Agency should also be made more viable and proactive. It can be used to build bridges across religious and ethnic divides by deepening national values in the citizenry through social programmes, such as educating the populace on the dangers of ethno-religious bigotry, extremism or fundamentalism in order to address the low level of consciousness of the vast majority of Nigerians which makes them easy to be manipulated by politicians and other extreme groups in the country.

Corruption in all forms must be eradicated, and the imposition of leaders by political godfathers must be discouraged. This will help to entrench leadership integrity, values, accountability, tolerance and selflessness. Once the leadership is a reflection of the wishes of the people then the dream of nation building and integration is largely achieved.

Finally and most importantly is the provision of employment for the country’s teeming youths. If these youth are gainfully employed, it becomes difficult for anybody to recruit them and use them to cause ethno-religious problems and other disintegrative activities.

References

Agbedo C. O. (2019), “Multilingualism and National Development in Nigeria: Issues and Challenges, Nsukka: University of Nigeria Press Limited

Agbedo, C. U. (2004). Linguistic option for managing ethnic crises in Nigeria. In J. Onuoha & P. U. Okpoko (eds.) Ethnic nationalism and democratic consolidation: Perspectives from Nigeria and the United States of America (pp. 357 – 39). Nsukka: AP Express Publishers Limited.

Ahamefula, N.O. (2011). Language in national development: The Nigerian perspective. A paper presented at the 24th Annual Conference of the Linguistics Association of Nigeria held at Bayero University Kano, between 5th to 9th Dec..

Alfa, A. (2012). The challenges of ethno-religious crises to national security. Journal of Nigeria computer Society. Vol.1.

Anderson, Mary R. 2010. Community identity and political behavior. New York, Palgrave Macmillan.

Castells, Manuel 2010. The power of identity. 2nd ed. London, Wiley-Blackwell. Available from: <https://archivocienciassociales.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/manuel_castells_the_power_of_identity_the_information_age_economy_society_and_culture_volume_ii_second_edition_information_age_series__2009.pdf> [Accessed 25 July 2016].

Jega, A.M. (2007). Tackling ethno-religious conflict in Nigeria, Ibadan: Spectrum Books Ltd.

Lewis, Peter and Michael Bratton 2000. Attitudes towards democracy and markets in Nigeria: Report of a national opinion survey, January-February 2000. Washington, D.C., International Foundation for Election Systems, and Management Systems International.

Mohammed, A. A. (2013). Leadership and ethno-religious crises in Nigeria: A challenge to national development. Lapai International Journal of Politics, Vol.1, No.1, pp.172-176.

Okpanachi, Eyene 2010. Ethno-religious identity and conflict in Northern Nigeria. IFRA (Institut de Recherche français en Afrique) e-papers. Available from: <http://www.ifra-nigeria.org/publications/ifra-e-papers/article/eyene-okpanachi-2010-ethno?> [Accessed 11 July 2016].

Osaghae, Eghosa E. and Rotimi T. Suberu 2005. A history of identities, violence, and stability in Nigeria. CRISE working paper No. 6. Oxford, Centre for Research on Inequality, Human Security and Ethnicity. Available from: <http://r4d.dfid.gov.uk/PDF/Outputs/Inequality/wp6.pdf> [Accessed 14 July 2016].

Smyth, M. and G. Robinson 2001. Researching violently divided societies: Ethical and methodological issues. London, Pluto Press.