Communication Gap And Ethno-Religious Dispute In Nigeria: A Barrier To Sustainable Development

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate how communication gap between different ethnic groups in Nigeria has facilitated several ethno-religious crises predominantly in the northern region which caused significant loss of lives and properties. The increasing trends of ethno-religious disputes in Nigeria do not only constitute a major threat to the corporate existence of the country but are also working against Nigeria’s development and its sustainability. The present study aimed at discovering the causes of ethno-religious disputes as well as identifying the effects of communication gap on ethno-religious dispute in the country. It also aimed at determining the role of the government in addressing the problem of communication gap between different ethnic groups. To ensure a complete analysis of data, the study adopted a qualitative methodology. This involved in-depth interviews with 10 respondents whose responses were coded into themes based on the objectives of the study. A semi structured face to face interviews was conducted using an interview schedule. The findings of the study show that the causes of ethno-religious disputes include intolerance, injustice and partiality of leaders, indigene/settler’s dichotomy, struggle for power and resources, poverty and unemployment. Furthermore, the results reveal that the effects of communication gap on ethno-religious dispute are misinformation, spreading of rumours, distortion of truth, unfair judgement and taking law into one’s hand. Therefore, the government has a critical role to play in tackling the challenges of communication which retard national cohesion.

Keywords: Communication gap, Ethno-religious disputes, Sustainable development

Introduction

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa; it is composed of more than 250 ethnic groups. The most populous and politically influential ethnic groups are Hausa and Fulani 29 percent, Yoruba 21 percent, Igbo 18 and the remaining minority ethnic groups constitute 32 percent (Adeyemi, 2006). Nigeria is a religious nation, and it is oversupplied with several religions which assisted in accentuating regional ethnic distinctions in the country (Adamu, 2001)

Nigeria is a multi-religious, multi-ethnic, and multicultural society with enormous potential for economic, social, and democratic development. However, intense ethno-religious crises have retarded development and progress of the country. Nigeria is usually characterized as a deeply divided state in which major political issues are vigorously contested along the lines of complex ethnic, religious, and regional divisions. The causes of these conflicts may not be unconnected with the communication gap between different ethnic groups, particularly misunderstanding and mistrust between the followers of various religious and ethnic groups (Ayinla et al., 2006).

It is against this background that the paper will examine the causes of ethno-religious disputes as well as identifying the effects of communication gap on ethno-religious dispute in the country. Similarly, the paper determines the role of the government in addressing the problem of communication gap between different ethnic groups.

Problem Statement

Communication gap that exists between different ethnic groups, particularly in the northern part of Nigeria has enabled the outbreak of numerous ethno-religious crises that has produced a substantial loss of lives and properties. Tolerance among different ethnic and religious groups is almost absent or unavailable in the country.

The leaders and political office holders were accused of bias, especially, in the distribution of social and economic resources as well as providing employments to the teeming unemployed youths. Similarly, indigene-settler’s dichotomy and lack of clear elaboration on their rights by the Nigerian constitution to attain a reliable status worth having generates a serious problem.

People are in the habit of spreading rumours just to cause apprehension among citizens and they also in the habit of taking the laws into their hands. They don’t allow the criminal justice system to intervene in ensuring peace and stability in the country. Therefore, these problems necessitate the need to conduct an empirical study.

Research Questions

The fundamental questions that require investigation are:

What the causes of ethno-religious disputes in the country?

What the consequences of ethno-religious disputes towards national cohesion?

What is the role of the government in tackling the problem of ethno-religious disputes?

Purpose of the Study

The purposes of the study are as follows:

To find out the causes of ethno-religious disputes in the country

To discover how communication gap increases ethno-religious disputes

To determine the role of the government in tackling the problem of ethno-religious disputes

Research Methods

The paper utilized a face to face interview with respondents from different ethnic groups in some states like Kano, Kaduna, Bauchi, Plateau, Benue, Taraba, Lagos and Enugu States. The researchers employed the service of the research assistants to help in coordinating the respondents for the interview as well as translating the views of the respondents from their local language to English.

The paper employed a qualitative research design as the suitable method in this study, because it requires people’s knowledge, understandings, views, interpretations, experiences and interactions. The study was also made flexible in order to maximize the collection of intensive and high-quality information for the success of the study.

The interview technique was adopted by the researcher to collect data from the respondents. Therefore, in-depth interviews are considered to be the best to describe and understand the respondents’ views on the effects of communication gap on ethno-religious dispute in the country. This is in line with Schatzman and Strauss (1973) who assert that the interview must be used to provide context and meaning. Their justification of the interview as a critical qualitative tool is pertinent to this study.

For this study, a semi structured face to face interviews was conducted using an interview schedule provided by Sekaran (2003) in which the topic and questions are notified in advance before the actual interview sessions take place.

A sample of ten respondents was chosen for the study. They were randomly selected from different ethnic groups in the country. The justification for these choices was to explore the challenges of communication between different ethnic groups in Nigeria which bring setback to national unity. Time and budget constraints did not allow for a larger sample size.

The respondents consist of both males and females. And the data collected was interpreted using the thematic analysis method. That is to say the interview responses were transcribed by a researcher, and then followed by ordering, studying, coding and separating the transcripts into chunks. A researcher confirms the responses of the respondents by re-listening to the audio record of the interview to validate and verify the responses. A researcher read the transcripts several times to gain a deep understanding of the information and record the current, relevant information as categories. The data with evidence of the categories were continually collected from the interview transcripts and sorted into concepts. Themes reflecting recurring patterns of the concepts emerged into codes. From the codes, the themes were generated and the data are interpreted by making comparisons between the findings and the literature. Therefore, the researchers organise and gather all the results into a descriptive form. By doing so, the researcher obtained the required data on the problems of communication gap between different ethnic groups in Nigeria.

Findings

The findings of the study are based on the data collected from the interview of the respondents. The views of the respondents were examined and discussed as follows:

Conclusion

In all parts of northern Nigeria, ethno-religious disputes have assumed alarming rates. It has occurred in places like Kano, Bauchi, Nassarawa, Jos, Taraba, Kaduna, Niger, Borno, Maiduguri, and Benue State respectively. These ethno-religious identities have become disintegrative and disparaging social rudiments menacing the peace, stability and security in Nigeria. The frequent and persistent ethnic conflicts and religious clashes between the two dominant religions (Islam and Christianity) is a major security challenge that confronts Nigeria. Since independence, Nigeria appears to have been bedevilled with ethno-religious conflicts. The culture of intolerance that leads to alienation of some parts of the country and their denial to equal treatment has made those affected to think and believe that striving for national interest is a pervasion. In contrast, they believe that fighting for individuals’ and the group’s interests is “an acceptable norm” Therefore, ethnocentric politics, sectional solidarity and primordial interests have become prominent features in the country’s political system. Sectional and individual virtues and interests rather than collective virtues and national unity are advanced and exalted (Owutu, 2012). The quest for nation building and national integration in this scenario, however, becomes a mirage. Ethnicity and religion continue to be clogged in the wheel of progress in terms of Nigeria achieving national unity where all will have a sense of belonging and commitment not minding their ethnic or religious affiliation (Omotola, 2010).

References

• Adamu, A. (2001). “Towards Ethnic and Religious Tolerance within a United and Diverse Nigeria” A Keynote Address Presented at the 2001 National Conference Organized by Members of Gamji Association, Kaduna, January 22: http://www.abdullahiadamu.net/speeches/gamji.htm

• Adeyemi, L. O. (2006). “Ethno-Religious Conflicts and the Travails of National Integration in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic” http://www.dawodu.com/adeyemi3.htm

• Ayinla, S. A.; Muhammed, A. Y., & Adeoye, M. N. (2006). “Ethnic Discrimination and Religious Intolerance: An Overview of Inter-Group Relations in Nigeria”. In O. Akinwumi; O. O. Okpeh & J. D. Gwamma (eds.) Inter-group Relations in Nigeria during the 19th and 20th Centuries. Makurdi: Aboki Publishers, pp. 605-617.

• Omotola, J. S. (2010). Secularism and the Politics of Religious Balancing in Nigeria. In Cultural Pluralism Revisited: Religious and Linguistic Freedoms. April 27, 2012, Berlin, Germany Irmgard Coninx Stiftung Website: http://www.irmgard-coninx-stiftung.de

• Owutu, I. U. (2012). “Ethno-religious Conflicts and the Search for Elusive Peace and Security in Nigeria”. A Paper Presented at the Conference Organized by the Department of History and Diplomatic Studies, Samuel Ademoyega University, Ogwa, June 17-20.

• Schatzman, L., & Strauss, A. L. (1973). Field Research: Strategies for a natural sociology, Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall.

• Sekaran, U. (2003). Research methods for business, 4th Ed. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.: USA.