ETHNICITY IN NIGERIA

ETHNICITY IN NIGERIA

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, is composed of more than 250 ethnic groups; the most populous and politically influential are: Hausa and the Fulani 29%, Yoruba 21%, Igbo (Ibo) 18%, Ijaw 10%, Kanuri 4%, Ibibio 3.5%, Tiv 2.5%.

Ethnicity in Nigeria

Ethnicity, on the other hand, is the word used to describe the cultural identity of a person. These identities can include language, religion, nationality, ancestry, dress, and customs. The members of a particular ethnicity tend to identify with each other based on these shared cultural traits.

Recent studies have shifted focus from the so-called major ethnic groups which exclusively preoccupied studies in the period between 1950 and the mid-1970s to minority ethnic groups. While minority politics from the late colonial period to the onset of the civil war were subordinated to the conflicts of the major ethnic groups, the state creation exercises that started in 1967 reconfigured the terrain for contestation. It led to the rise of ‘majority minorities’4 who have increasingly been accused of oppressing the ‘minority minorities’ with occasional outbreaks of hostilities, vindicating the position of the Willinks Commission that states creation was not the solution to the minority problem. The problem is, however, compounded by the fact that major ethnic groups also acquired more states in successive state creation exercises. These groups continue to dominate the federation which witnessed greater fiscal centralization since the advent of the military in 1966. This provoked dissent from ethnic minorities in the oil producing Niger Delta region who bemoan the continuous reduction of the share of revenue based on the derivation principle since the discovery of oil (Naanen 1995, Mustapha 2000).

Some Historical Autecedents of the major Ethnic groups in Nigeria

Hausa-Fulani

Muslim Hausa and Fulani are the predominant ethnic groups in Nigeria’s northern region. Though the groups originated in different parts of West Africa, religion, intermarriage and adoption of the Hausa language by the Fulani have unified the groups over time. In contemporary Nigerian society, they are often referred to collectively as Hausa-Fulani. The largest of the major ethnic groups, Hausa and Fulani have been politically dominant since Nigeria’s independence from Britain in 1960. In recent years, Hausa and Fulani were instrumental in adopting and upholding Sharia, a system of Islamic law, in 11 of the country’s northern states.

Igbo

In 1967, an Igbo secessionist movement in Biafra state led to a 30-month war with the Nigerian government, in which hundreds of thousands of Igbo starved to death. After the war, Igbo were reintegrated into Nigerian society, but in a more marginalized role. Despite lingering ethnic tension, they now play an important part in southeastern Nigeria’s oil trade. In recent elections, however, they have struggled to coalesce around a single candidate for the presidency.

Yoruba

Like the Igbo, Yoruba held important roles in the British colonial government, participating significantly in both political and economic life. Since independence, the group has been overshadowed by the more numerous and dominant Hausa-Fulani. However, in 1999 a Christian Yoruba named Olusegun Obasanjo became Nigeria’s president and first elected head of state. He was reelected for a second term in 2003.

Ijaw

In recent years, the Ijaw have agitated for more political franchise in Nigeria. Although they are the fifth largest ethnic group in the country, their traditional lands in the Niger River Delta are some of the country’s most oil-rich. In January 2006, the Ijaw militia Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta kidnapped four Royal Dutch Shell employees in the Niger Delta region, demanding the release of an Ijaw militia leader who was arrested by Nigerian authorities. His continued detention has caused members of MEND to swear continued attacks and disruptions to the oil industry.Despite these ongoing tensions, 2007 could see an Ijaw take a major political office for the first time. Goodluck Jonathan, an Ijaw, is running as a vice presidential candidate for Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’adua, one of the front-runners.
Conclusion

Explanations of ethnicity would be richer if they combined the historical and structural approaches. As Mustapha (2000:105-106) has aptly argued there has recently been a tendency for western scholars to focus on the historical aspects in a bid to deconstruct the notion of primordial ethnic groups without relating such historical analysis to current manifestations of the problem which has been the preoccupation of scholars in Africa. The tendency for social constructionists to describe the agency of the colonial state, Christian missionaries, and fledging African elite in the construction of ethnic identities (as Law (1996) has reiterated for Yoruba identity) would be tantamount to a fairy tale if it is not related to contemporary developments.

Reference

Akinyele, R.T. (2001) “Ethnic Militancy and National stability in Nigeria: A Case Study of the Oodua People’s Congress”, African Affairs, Vol.100: 623-640

Albert, I. O. (1993) Inter-Ethnic Relations in a Nigerian City: a Historical Perspective of the Hausa-Igbo Conflicts in Kano 1953-1991, Ibadan: IFRA

Albert, I.O. (1999) “Ife-Modakeke Crisis” in O. Otite and I. O. Albert (eds.) Community Conflicts in Nigeria: management, Resolution and Transformation, Ibadan: Spectrum Books

Anber, P. (1967) “Modernization and Political Disintegration: Nigeria and the Ibos”, The Journal of Modern African Studies, Vol. 5 (5): 163-179