UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN

FACULTY OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING

OKUNOLA TOLULOPE DIMEJI

Abstract

The continent of Africa has been highly susceptible to intra and inter- state wars and conflicts.
This has prompted the insinuation that Africa is the home of wars and instability. Most pathetic
about these conflagrations is that they have defied any meaningful solution and their negative
impacts have retarded growth and development in Africa while an end to them seems obscure.

Nigeria, as one of the major country in Africa with huge natural and economic resources is
plagued by various kinds of violent conflicts. These conflicts include ethnic, religious, social,
economic, political, and many other forms of conflicts. Communal conflicts in Nigeria have
remained unabated.

What then are the causes of these communal conflicts in Nigeria? How far have they weakened
cohesion, unity and the potential development of the Nigeria as a country and African continent?
Of what importance or relevance is this conflict to the nation? What can we do to overcome this
conflict? Answers to these questions form the bone of contention of this paper.

Key words: Conflicts, Violence, Communal, Security, Leadership.

Introduction

Conflict is defined as a clash between individuals arising out of a difference in thought process,
attitudes, understanding, interests, requirements and even sometimes perceptions. Whenever two
individuals opine in different ways, a conflict arises. In a layman’s language conflict is nothing
but a fight either between two individuals or among group members. No two individuals can
think alike and there is definitely a difference in their thought process as well as their
understanding. Disagreements among individuals lead to conflicts and fights. Conflict arises
whenever individuals have different values, opinions, needs, interests and are unable to find a
middle way.

Nigeria has witnessed many conflicts revolving around political, economic, religious and ethnic
motives and after independence in I960.As a country, Nigeria suffers a variety of complex
economical and political problems including inequality, corruption, oil disputes, national dis-
unity, communal conflict and the Boko Haram insurgency. This Violence has also intensified in
rural areas between Fulani herdsmen and farmers amid claims of trespassing and sabotage it is
good to note that this cycle of violence is also catalysed by the drought. All these conflicts have
had enormous consequences on the development of Nigeria as a Nation.

Communal Conflict in Nigeria

Among all the conflict experiences in Nigeria, Communal conflict has become critical menace
which has taken huge dimension in the recent years. Thus, it need to be curb without delay
before further damages are done.
Communal conflict could be defined as a “struggle over values or claims to status, power and
scarce resources in which the aim of the conflicting parties are to gain the desired values but also
to neutralize, injure or eliminate their rivals”. Lyman (2001) contends that “Communal crisis or
conflict is any disagreement or dispute between two or more communities which is capable of
even degenerating into riots or wars, thus disrupting the peace, tranquility and economic life and
progress of anyone or all the communities concerned. Such disruption or disturbance may leads
to loss of life and property often valued at high cost.
Also, Communal conflict is the term used to describe conflict that occurs between competing
groups within a state. It may arise over disputes concerning access to scarce resources or political
power. Such conflicts may lead to violent warfare between the two or more defined communities
that are involved within the state.
Land is also often at the heart of communal conflicts that centre on groups’ main livelihood. One
example is pastoralist conflicts, i.e. herder-farmer conflicts and conflicts between various
pastoralist groups. Pastoralists and their animals move over extensive areas, often under
extremely harsh conditions, and during this movement they often come into conflict with other
communities that are either also on the move or more settled

Communal conflicts in Nigeria can be divided into two broad categories:

 Ethno-religious conflicts, attributed to actors primarily divided by cultural, ethnic, or

religious communities and identities, such as instances of religious violence between
Christian and Muslim communities.
 Herder–farmer conflicts, typically involving disputes over land and/or cattle between herders
(in particular the Fulani and Hausa) and farmers (in particular the Adara, Berom, Tiv and
Tarok).

The most impacted states are those of the Nigerian Middle Belt like Benue, Taraba and Plateau
Violence has reached two peaks in 2004 and 2011 with around 2,000 fatalities those years. It
resulted in more than 700 fatalities in 2015 alone. 3,641 people have died in the clashes from
2015 to late 2018.

Causes and Effect

 Ethno-religious conflicts:

Unlike other forms of social conflicts, ethno-religious conflict entails different ethnic groups that
belong to different religions. It is essential to advert that both religious and ethnic causal agents
have always acted together in the majority of social conflicts in Nigeria. At different levels and
times in the past, the Nigerian people have complained of religious and ethnic discrimination.
Most ask for religious and ethnic rights within their state. Another cause of the conflicts has been
the state’s use of religion and ethnicity in political discourse or action. Therefore, it is clear that
accusations and allegations of neglect, oppression and domination are the major causes that fuel
ethno-religious conflicts (Ikelegbe 2001:14; Kura 2010:35-36; Salawu 2010:348).

The main forms of inter-religious conflicts in Nigeria are between the Muslims and the
Christians. The conflicts are sometimes so intense that they have turned into wars in different
parts of the country, and they range from the Kano revolt (1980), Bulunktu Bisarre (1982),
Kastina crises (1999), Samfara conflict, Kaduna revolt, Bauchi crises and Sokoto (1999). More
recent examples are the Jos crises and the current conflict by Boko Haram against Christians and
moderate Muslims. These are only a few examples of inter-religious conflicts in Nigeria, since
not a year passes without three to four incidences of inter-religious conflicts.

 Herder–farmer conflicts:

Climate change played a major role in the migration of Fulani herdsmen. Africa countries have
been affected the most by climate change globally. This notion has contributed to the migration
of Fulani Herdsmen from the North towards southwest Nigeria. As observed from a "Push and
pull" model, desertification, landslides, droughts, pollution, sand storms, and diseases that have
all transpired from climatic changes have led Fulani Herdsmen to leave their communities. This
is mostly due to droughts which time spans have persisted longer than anticipated, such as the
evaporation of Lake Chad.

Since the Fourth Nigerian Republic’s founding in 1999, farmer–herder violence has killed
thousands of people and displaced tens of thousands more. Insecurity and violence have led
many populations to create self-defence forces and ethnic militias, which have engaged in further
violence. The majority of farmer–herder clashes have occurred between Muslim Fulani
herdsmen and Christian peasants, exacerbating ethno-religious hostilities. This violence stems
from the relationship between the Bororo Fulani and the Yoruba farmers.

Currently, the conflict between Fulani herders and other Nigerian farmers have intensified. From
2011 to 2016, roughly 2,000 people have been killed and tens of thousands have been displaced.
This is partly due to the rise of jihadist groups, such as Boko Haram. Their presence has
jeopardized many herders and farmers that graze in Northern Nigeria. The government has made
little efforts to intervene and create schemes to alleviate this conflict. Hence, herders and farmers
take it upon themselves to solve the conflicts existing within the community which invigorates
conflict.

Consequences of Communal conflicts on national integration in Nigeria

Without doubt, communal conflicts have knelt a serious blow on the national integration efforts
of the Nigerian state. Consequently, Nigeria’s bid towards a properly integrated nation that
would pave way for a meaningful socio-economic and political development has been greatly
hampered. This study examined the following:

i. Threat to state and national security: The persistence of communal conflicts in

Nigeria has imposed greater security threats and challenge in the country. To a large
extent, the level of insecurity, occasioned by the persistence of communal conflicts in
Nigeria has led to a culture of palpable fear, apprehension and state of uncertainty
among the populace (Nwankwo, 2013). The security of a nation is therefore measured
with respect to its ability to secure the nation’s core values, life, property, liberty, and
deter aggression or win war when it becomes inevitable. Values constitute those tangible
and intangible assets that enable individuals and nations to live a meaningful life or
realize national objectives.

Generally, human security which has to do with the overall people’s wellbeing and
welfare has continued to be threatened in Nigeria. Across the ethnic groups therefore, the
problems occasioned by communal conflicts have continued to threaten national security.
Consequently, this has impacted negatively on the overall psyche of the people which has
led some to be involved in unethical practices. Following incessant Boko Haram attacks
and persistent communal conflicts in the North East, Nigeria and its environs between,
2009 and 2015, the area became highly unsafe and insecure for business and other
transactions. This led some Nigeria’s foreign partners such as the United States and
Britain to warn their citizens against travelling to those hostile areas in Nigeria.

ii. Loss of lives and property: Communal conflicts have generally resulted to high
mortality rates, and huge damage to citizens’ property (Akpenpuum, 2013). Similarly,
Babangida (2002:11) submitted that: “communal conflicts have resulted to incalculable
loss of human and material resources as well as grossly affecting the productive capacity
of the nation. Communal conflicts have also resulted to the death of many of the
combatants and civilians through direct military action, famine and starvation. Others
have also lost their lives due to improper medical attention. Some survivors of violent
 conflicts in most cases have been permanently deformed as some others suffer other
forms of physical and psychological scares.
iii. Threat to intra and inter-ethnic harmony, mutual co-existence and migration:
Communal conflicts in Nigeria have constituted a serious threat to intra and inter-ethnic
harmony, mutual co-existence and level of citizen’s inter-ethnic migration. The outbreak
of conflicts have usually led to serious breaches in intimate communication and cordial
relationship as people part ways and treat or see each other as rivals. In this case,
disharmony ensues which seriously affect mutual trust or peaceful co-existence. On
extreme cases, this is followed by the outbreak of violent conflicts which often lead to
the dispersion of people from their places of location to other safer areas. For instance,
some people of South East extraction were forced back to their region in year 2000
following the Sharia crises in parts of Northern Nigeria. Incessant communal conflicts in
Northern Nigeria in recent times have also made some people to flee to their states of
origin for fear of losing their lives (Nwanegbo & Odigbo, 2013).
iv. Increasing cases of internally displaced persons and dislocation of persons:
Communal conflicts in Nigeria have resulted to greater incidents of humanitarian
problems such as internal dislocation and displacement of persons. As at 2014,
communal conflicts in Nigeria led to the internal displacement of over 750, 000 persons.
In Jos alone, about 220,000 persons got internally displaced between 2010 and 2014.
The problem of internal displacement also affected over 1,500 people (Alimba, 2014).
Similar conflicts in Nassarawa State within the period under review led to the
displacement of 4,500 people. Some of the Internally Displaced Persons were either
forced out of their ancestral homes or had their houses set ablaze by rival combatants.
The Internally Displaced Persons across the country have been faced with enormous
nutritional, health and security challenges. Their health and rehabilitation have remained
a serious challenge due to limited assistance from individuals, the government and non-
governmental organizations.

Recommendations

For the purpose of this paper, the following options are hereby recommended:
i. Adoption of the pro-active or preventive approach: Efforts in this regard should
be tailored towards addressing the conflict triggers and reduce the incidence of
communal conflicts across the country. This would include: proper demarcation of
boundaries between communities by the relevant government agencies; provision of
infrastructure as well as a level playing ground for all groups.
ii. Embarking on enlightenment programmes and sensitization: Every effort should
be made to minimize or forestall the outbreak of communal conflicts as well as their
escalation assuming they break out. In view of the severe consequences of violent
conflicts, peace building efforts need to be intensified. There has to be proper peace
education and enlightenment of the communities prone to communal conflicts on the
consequences of such conflicts.
iii. Confidence building measures: For a lasting solution to communal conflicts,
victims of such conflicts need to be properly rehabilitated and fully integrated in the
society. There has to be the provision of the necessary support to them and the
regular policing of the warring communities, in order to ensure the safety of the
vulnerable groups.
iv. Good governance: Good governance ensures that the leadership commits itself to
the promotion of responsive administration, accountability and social justice. Thus,
the leadership at any level of governance should eschew corruption and misrule and
be committed to fair play and integrity and above all, live above the ostentatious
pomp of office. By this therefore, the citizens on their own will be under obligation
to follow rightly, and be patriotic, pursue and practice those virtues that will promote
national development.

Other ways by which this could be achieved include:

1. Mediation: This is a situation where the Government set up a special panel to mediate
communities involved in the conflicts.
2. Dialogue: This is a situation where the opposing communities map out a means by which
the conflicts can be resolved amicably.
3. Peace keeping force: Special peace keeping force like army, air force, navy, police etc,
they are set up by the government restore peaceful situation in the communities.
4. Community Leaders: Communal conflicts can be resolved by the leaders of the various
communities like Obas, Obis, emirs etc.
5. The Law court: Communal conflicts can also be resolved at the law court if it can’t be
done by community leaders.

Conclusion

This study has examined communal conflicts, causes and effect as well as the relevance of it
to national integration in Nigeria. It has been noted that conflict is inevitable in every human
society. Functional conflict however can bring about societal progress, whereas
dysfunctional conflict is anti-thetical to development. The persistence of communal conflicts
in Nigeria has therefore remained a major threat to national integration and development.
Communal conflicts result from some socio-economic, political, ideological, cultural and
ecological factors. Communal conflicts among the ethnic groups in Nigeria have resulted to
severe consequences given the huge loss of lives, property and resources (tangible and
intangible) that are usually recorded during such conflicts. Communal conflicts have come
second to ethno-religious conflicts among the factors that have derailed national integration
in Nigeria. Unfortunately, the Nigerian state is yet to device appropriate strategies for the
effective management of communal conflicts in Nigeria. The measures so far put in place by
the state have failed to mitigate the potency of communal conflicts in the country. As the
study has shown, a properly integrated state is one where the citizens demonstrate a high
level of nationalistic consciousness, tolerate and accommodate one another and have little or
no recourse to violence as a means of settling disputes.
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