Ethno-Religious Conflict and Peace Building in Nigeria: The Case of Jos, Plateau State

Abstract

Nigeria has played host to different types of conflict, especially since the beginning of the Fourth Republic. Critical amongst these, is ethno-religious conflict, whose centrifugal tendencies potent dangerous vortex for the corporate existence of the country. The conflict in Jos, which has become interactable, is generally characterized as ethno-religious (mainly between majority Christian indigenes and minority Muslims settlers). The continual manipulations of these socially constructed categories trigger and drive violence in the city. Consequently, efforts at peace building within the ethno-religiously divided city have defied real and apparent solutions so far. One the one hand, government responses to the recurring conflicts have been widely perceived as ineffective, while on the other, the non-committal stance of the warring factions has given momentum to the collective destruction going on in the city. This study is an attempt to interrogate the intervening variables in the Jos crises. Aside its reliance on recorded data, the paper draws heavily on current reports of the crises in the city. After a carefully analysis of the available data, the paper recommends amongst others; a review of the 1999 constitutional provisions on citizenship, the strengthening of the security architecture not only in Jos but throughout the country, the prioritization of minority rights, the calvarisation of education in the country and the promotion of good governance.

DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2013.v2n1p349