Consequences of Ethnicity in Nigeria

EFFECT OF ETHNICITY IN NIGERIA CHAPTER 1 1. 0INTRODUCTIONNigeriaisbyfarthe most populated of Africas countries, with more than one-seventh of the continents people. The people belong to legion(predicate) different heathenal rootings. These groups give the country a prosperous culture, but they also pose study(ip) challenges to nation building. Ethnic strife has plagued Nigeria since it gained independence in 1960. appointedly known as the Federal body politic of Nigeria, she hasafederal form of government and is divided into 36 states and a federal nifty territory.Lagos, (formerly the capital of Nigeria) is the economic and cultural center located along the coast, and inhabited majorly by the Yoruba-speaking tribe. It is also the countrys bear-sizedst city (in terms of people). The government moved from Lagos to Abuja in 1991 in the hope of creating a subject argona capital where none of the countrys heathenish groups would be dominant. Theland size argonaof Nigeria is almost 923,768 sq km (356,669 sq mi).It was home to ethnically based kingdoms and tribal communities before it became a European colony. In hurt of European contact that began in the 16th century, these kingdoms and communities maintained their autonomy until the 19th century. The colonial era began in earnest in the late 19th century, when Britain consolidated its feel over Nigeria. In 1914 the British merged their northern and southern protectorates into a single state called the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria. Nigeria became independent of British rule in 1960.After independence Nigeria experienced frequent coups and long periods of autocratic military rule between 1966 and 1999, when a democratic civilian government was established Nigeria is very rich in raw materials like crude oil, tin, iron etc but is almost solely dependent on crude oil which is a major source of income for the country. While oil wealth has financed major investments in the countrys infrastructure , Nigeria remains among the ensnareings poorest countries in terms of per capita income. Oil revenues led the government to ignore agriculture, resulting in dependence on food importation.Fig 1. 1 MAP OF NIGERIA SHOWING THE 36 STATES 1. 1 The people of Nigeria Nigerias diversity, both in play and tribe makes it a very difficult region to subject to precise classification. This has led to the tendency among some(prenominal) scholars to focus on the three major ethnic or geographical zones in the country viz the Hausa-Fulani ( newtonern Nigeria), the Yoruba (Western Nigeria) and the Igbo (Eastern Nigeria). These geographic zones are not in any way solely occupied by the three ethnic groups. A plethora of smaller socio-ethnic groups may be located in these zones.Thehighestpopulation densities are in the Igbo heartland in south-eastern Nigeria, despite poor soils and heavy emigration. The intensively farmed zones around and including several(prenominal) major cities of the Hausa e thnic group especially Kano, Sokoto, and Zaria in the north are also densely populated. Other areas of high density admit Yorubaland in the southwest, the central Jos Plateau, and the Tiv homeland in Benue State in the south central region. Densities are relatively low in the dry northeast and in most parts of the middle belt.Ecological factors, including the prevalence of diseases such(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal) as sleeping sickness, carried by the tsetse fly, and historical factors, especially the legacy of pre-colonial slave raiding, help explain these low densities (Encarta, 2009). Table 1. 1 Statistics of Nigeria Population 138,283,240 (2008 estimate) Population density 152 persons per sq km 393 persons per sq mi (2008 estimate) Urban population distribution 48 percentage (2005 estimate) Rural population distribution 52 percent (2005 estimate) Largest cities, with population Lagos, 11,100,000 (2005 estimate) Ibadan, 3,570,000 (2007 estimate)Ogbomosho, 861,300 (2007 estimate) Official langu come along English Chief religious affiliations Muslim, 50 percent Christian, 40 percent Indigenous beliefs, 10 percent Life expectancy 47. 8 years (2008 estimate) Infant mortality rate 94 deaths per 1,000 break births (2008 estimate) Literacy rate 70. 7 percent (2005 estimate) Source Encarta Encyclopaedia (2009) 1. 2 Social issues Wealthandpowerare dispeld very unevenly in Nigerian society. This is due to several factors including obscureion, governmental instability, and unemployment, amid opposites.The great majority of Nigerians, inattentive with daily struggles to earn a living, drop few material possessions and little chance of improving their lot. Mean bandage, chiefs, rich merchants, politicians, and high-ranking civil servants often accumulate and flaunt massive wealth, which to a degree is expected and veritable in the Nigerian society. Most of these elite maintain power through networks of patronage They secure and distribute labour and re ceive political reinforcer in return.The system allows for some redistribution of income because patrons often pay for things such as school fees and marriage costs for relatives, community development, and charity work. Economicinequalityhas a weighty effect on health, especially for children. One-fifth of Nigerian children die before the age of five, primarily from treatable diseases such as malaria, measles, whooping cough, diarrhea, and pneumonia. Less than one-half of infants are immunized against measles, and malnutrition affects more than 40 percent of children under the age of five.Adults are equally affected, although with less deadly consequences. Only 20 percent of rural Nigerians and 52 percent of urban Nigerians have access to safe irrigate. One-third have no access to health oversee simply because they live too far from clinics or other treatment centres. Many others cannot afford the fees charged by clinics. Whileaverageincomes are higher and death rates lower in cities, urban poverty is as pervasive as rural poverty. Secure, well-paying jobs are scarce, even for those with considerable education. Food is typically expensive.Housing, too, is costly despite its rudimentary quality, prompting the poor to build basic houses in shantytowns. Sewage presidential term systems in most cities are also basic or primitive, with polluted streams, wells, roadside drains, and other bodies of water increasing the risk of infectious disease. Industry, automobiles, and the burning of fuel-wood further pollute air and water. CrimeinNigeria go up in the mid-1990s as a result of unemployment, economic decline, and favorable inequality, which are abetted by inefficient and corrupt police and customs forces.More than half of all offenses are thefts, burglaries, and break-ins, although armed robberies are also prominent. Nigeria is a major conduit for drugs moving from Asia and Latin America to markets in Europe and North America. Large-scale Nigerian fraud rin g have targeted business people in other parts of the world. Nigeriahasbeenwracked by periodic violent clashes between ethnic and religious groups since the 1990s. The reasons behind these clashes have varied from local political disputes to conflicts between fundamentalist Muslims and Christians or moderate Muslims.In many cases, local civic or religious leaders have manipulated these conflicts for political gain. 1. 3 Ethnicity The Ethnic Composition of Nigeria Ethnicity is a term not substantially defined and for proper understanding of the innovation related terms requires description an ethnic group is regarded as an informal interest group whose members are distinct from the members of other ethnic groups within the larger society because they share kinship, religious and linguistics ties (Cohen, 1974). Ethnicism is some other related concept used to denote ethnic loyalty (Pepple, 1985).The concept of loyalty here indicates willingness to support and act on behalf of the et hnic group. Subsequently, ethnic loyalty or ethnicism usually involves a degree of agreement and is often accompanied by a rejective attitude towards those regarded as outsiders i. e. members of other ethnic group (Salawu and Hassan, 2011). Thus the term Ethnicity can be defined as the interactions among members of many diverse groups (Nnoli, 1978). It is a familiar fact that Nigeria is a society with different ethnic groups, religions, dustups, cultures and institutional arrangements.As a heterogeneous society of several ethnic groups, Nigerians are thus characterized by groups, desires, beliefs, values, customs, fears etc. These diversities in national life manifest in several ways including music, diction, culture, dance, beliefs, religion etc. The fact that over three hundred identified language groups exist in Nigeria has created some confusion as one may equate each language group with an ethnic group (Adejuyibem 1983) and thereby arrive at over three hundred ethnic groups .As Iwaloye and Ibeanu (1997) and Anugwom (1997) have argued, however, languages and ethnic groups do not necessarily coincide. One language may be mouth by more than one ethnic group and one ethnic group may have linguistic variations of the same root language. Moreover, while language may be one of the important factors for formation an ethnic group, some ethnic groups in Nigeria may have lost their original linguistic roots, while retaining their identity, as a result of intense interaction with larger socio-ethnic groups.In the same vein, many ethnic groups may use the same language to case communication, as is the case of the smaller ethnic groups in the North of Nigeria, where Hausa has become more or less a lingua franca. Therefore, it has been proven that there is no bespeak relationship between language and ethnic group in Nigeria. Thus, the 56 ethnic groups identified by Iwaloye and Ibeanu (1997) as the existing ethnic groups in contemporary Nigeria are adopted. It is i mportant to note that the ethnic groups in Nigeria may exceed this number by far, though these 56 groups are both visible and easily identifiable.The 56 ethnic groups are fork overed in the table below. Table 1. 2 Ethnic group in Nigeria 1. Hausa-FuIani 29. Buri 2. Igbo 30. Balta 3. Yoruba 31. Kanuri 4. Edo 32. Margi 5. Bassawa 33. Delta Minorities 6. Igala 34. Gwadara 7. Idoma 35. Chamba-Daka 8. Ora 36. Mambila 9. Ijo 37. Katang 10. Isoko 38. Berom 11. Urhobo 39. Kadara 12. Itshekiri 40. Kurama 13. Baatonum 41. Mada 14. Karnbari 42. Alago 15. Dulawa 43. Migili 16. Kamaku 44. Eggon 17. Ebira 45. Bokyi 18. Nupe 46. Ekon 19. Gwari 47. Agoi 20. Tiv 48. Efik 21. Jukun 49. Ibibio 2. Chomo-karim 50. Annang 23. Jarwa 51. Mumuye 24. Angas 52. Waja 25. Yekhee 53. Busa 26. Karekare 54. Dendi 27. Eloyi 55. Buduma 28. Gade 56. Shuwa Source Iwaloye and Ibeanu (1997) Nigeria is known for its cultural diversities but while these diversities have been positively harnessed for illustriousness b y other nations of the world the opposite is regrettably the case in Nigeria despite the efforts of heroes past in ensuring that these diversities are harnessed for development rather they have served as the bane of social, economic and political development.Consequently, Nigeria as a nation has been besieged by an array of social, economic and political problems these include corruption, tribalism, lack of patriotism, political gangsterism e. t. c (Nduka, 2004 and Omo-Ojugo et al. , 2009). 1. 4 Ethnicity and Marginalisation Before the advent of colonialism, the area now referred to as Nigeria was a large landmass occupied by un-unified people of diverse ethnic groups but for administrative convenience they were fused and merged together by the olonialists. For the duration of colonial rule, the marriage of the diverse ethnic groups was maintained and the diversities were get together without any problem. With the exit of the colonialists, things started falling apart resulting in marginalisation and ethnic conflict thus adversely effecting the development of the budding nation. Ethnic conflict has been rightly defined as one of the greatest obstacles to substantive development in Africa.The ethnic factor did not diminish with the advent of independence rather, it became a yardstick for measuring contribution to the national development effort and especially for allocating and distributing power and national resources and eventually resulted in the 30- month slaughter in the Nigerian civil war (1967 to 1970) which was anchored on ethnic rivalry. The history of present day Nigeria is rife with cases of ethno-religious conflicts. Since the annulment of the 1993 elections, there have been increased demands and counter-demands for marginalisa1ion by various ethnic groups in the country.Marginalisation stems from a peoples perception of their treatment in the allocation or distribution of power and resources. A authorized example is made for the Ogoni, who des pite having provided the nation with an estimated $30,000 million in oil revenues, their people had no cry borne water or electricity, and lacked education, health and other social facilities it is intolerable that one of the richest areas of Nigeria should wallow in low-toned poverty and destitution (Saro-Wiwa, 1992).In this light, the Ogoni ethnic group has concrete reasons to consider itself marginalised, especially since these facilities can be found in other ethno-regional areas of Nigeria. 1. 5 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY The general objective of the study is to 1. Investigate the purpose ethnicity plays in the socio-economic development of Nigeria. 2. Assess the impact of ethnicity on present day Nigeria 3. Examine the effect on day-to-day activities of Nigerians 1. 6 RESEARCH QUESTIONS i. Impact of ethnicity on social and economic development in Nigeria? ii. social occasion of colonialism in ethnic groups formation . 7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY The scope of the project envelops the influence of ethnicity in Nigerias social and economic development and its impact on present day Nigeria. 1. 8 deduction OF THE STUDY The importance of this study is made manifest in the form of understanding the role ethnic diversity plays in the development of a country, in this case Nigeria. 1. 9 CONCEPTUAL CLARIFICATION ETHNICITY Ethnicity in this study is referred to as an affiliation resulting from racial or cultural ties or the interactions among members of many diverse groupsETHNIC separate For the purpose of this study, an ethnic group is regarded as an informal interest group whose members are distinct from the members of other ethnic groups within the larger society because they share kinship, religious and linguistics ties SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT in this project, socio economic development is defined as a comprehensive process involved in improving social and economic conditions on individual and group empowerment, community, national and regional building.