Nigeria @66: The Ethno-Religious Divide

Every October 1, Nigerians gather to celebrate independence. Flags are raised, speeches are delivered, cultural displays take place, and messages of patriotism fill the air.

But beyond the celebrations lies a deeper question that touches virtually every part of the country: How can a nation of more than 250 ethnic groups and diverse religious traditions continue to build a common identity and live together in peace?

Nigeria’s diversity is well known: from the Hausa-Fulani communities of the North to the Yoruba in the Southwest and the Igbo in the Southeast, alongside groups such as the Ijaw, Urhobo, Tiv, Ibibio, Efik and Kanuri, the country is home to a remarkable range of cultures, languages and traditions.

Religion adds another important dimension to this diversity. Islam and Christianity are the country’s two largest religious traditions, alongside indigenous beliefs and other faiths. While this religious and cultural variety can be a source of strength, it has also, at different points in Nigeria’s history, become entangled with political competition, social tensions and violent conflict.

At independence in 1960, the hope was that these different people would come together under one flag and build a common future. The national anthem of the time captured that aspiration in the words: “Though tribe and tongue may differ, in brotherhood we stand.”

Sixty-six years later, that aspiration remains a work in progress.

When Identity Becomes a Barrier

For the ordinary Nigerian, the ethno-religious divide is not merely an abstract subject for political speeches or newspaper discussions. It can affect everyday life.

A young person may worry that his or her ethnic background could influence access to employment or political opportunities. A family may encounter resistance because of its religion or place of origin. Farmers and herders may find themselves caught in conflicts over land and livelihoods. Traders travelling across regions may sometimes face suspicion because of their perceived ethnic or religious identity.

These experiences are not universal, and Nigeria’s ethnic and religious identities do not automatically produce conflict. However,when identity becomes a basis for exclusion, discrimination or political mobilisation, it can weaken the sense of shared citizenship.

The consequences become particularly severe when tensions escalate into violence.

Since the return to democratic rule in 1999, Nigeria has experienced numerous communal and ethno-religious conflicts in different parts of the country, including parts of Plateau, Kaduna, Kano and Benue states. Such crises have resulted in deaths, displacement, destruction of property and disruption of economic activity.

The Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast has added another dimension to Nigeria’s security challenges. Although the conflict cannot be reduced to religion alone, the group’s extremist ideology has contributed to prolonged violence, displacement and disruption of communities, particularly in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.

“When violence erupts, it is rarely the powerful who bear the greatest immediate burden. It is the market woman whose shop is destroyed, the motorcycle rider who cannot work because of a curfew, the farmer who cannot reach his field, the trader who loses merchandise, or the child whose education is interrupted.”

Farmer-herder conflicts in parts of the Middle Belt have similarly involved a complicated combination of competition over land and water, livelihood pressures, insecurity, communal grievances and, in some cases, ethnic and religious identities.

The result is often the same for ordinary citizens.

When violence erupts, it is rarely the powerful who bear the greatest immediate burden. It is the market woman whose shop is destroyed, the motorcycle rider who cannot work because of a curfew, the farmer who cannot reach his field, the trader who loses merchandise, or the child whose education is interrupted.

Beyond The Divide

Nigeria’s story cannot be told only through its conflicts. Across the country, millions of Nigerians live, work, trade and form relationships with people from backgrounds different from their own.

In Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abuja, Kano and countless other cities and towns, people from different ethnic and religious communities share neighbourhoods, workplaces, markets, schools and public transport.

In busy markets, commercial relationships often transcend ethnic boundaries. A trader may do business with someone whose language, religion or place of origin is completely different from theirs. In offices and universities, Nigerians from different parts of the country collaborate every day.

These ordinary interactions may receive less attention than political crises, but they are important evidence that coexistence is already part of Nigerian life. Sports and popular culture provide other examples.

When the Super Eagles play, millions of Nigerians cheer for the same national team regardless of ethnic or religious background. Nigerian music regularly blends Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Pidgin and English expressions. Nollywood tells stories drawn from different parts of the country and presents them to audiences at home and abroad.

Inter-ethnic marriages have also created families that bring different cultures together. The National Youth Service Corps, established in 1973, has provided generations of young Nigerians with opportunities to live and work outside their home regions and encounter cultures different from their own.

These experiences do not eliminate prejudice or conflict, but they demonstrate that Nigerian identity can coexist with ethnic and religious identities.

What The Ordinary Nigerian Wants

For many citizens, the aspiration is straightforward: they want to live in a country where they are judged primarily by their character, competence and conduct rather than their tribe or religion.

They want to be able to travel, live, work and worship safely anywhere in the country. They want their children to attend school without being taught to fear people from other communities. They want a system in which being Nigerian provides a meaningful sense of belonging regardless of where a person comes from.

Achieving this requires more than appeals for unity during Independence Day celebrations. It requires institutions and practices that make equal citizenship real.

Justice and Fairness

The first requirement is fairness: citizens are more likely to trust a country when they believe that its institutions treat people equally. Questions surrounding employment, education, political appointments and access to public resources must be handled transparently and in accordance with the law.

Nigeria’s constitutional arrangements, including the principle of federal character, were designed in part to address the country’s diversity and ensure that different sections of the federation have representation in national institutions.

“Political leaders also have an important responsibility. Elections are naturally competitive, but political competition becomes dangerous when politicians deliberately exploit ethnic or religious differences to mobilise voters against one another.”

But representation alone is not enough. Where disputes occur, citizens need confidence that investigations will be impartial, perpetrators will be held accountable and victims will receive justice regardless of their identity.

Justice that is delayed, selective or perceived as biased can deepen existing grievances.

Politics Without Division

Political leaders also have an important responsibility. Elections are naturally competitive, but political competition becomes dangerous when politicians deliberately exploit ethnic or religious differences to mobilise voters against one another.

Nigeria’s political debates should focus more strongly on ideas, policies, leadership records and development.

Citizens also have a role to play. Voters can demand that candidates explain how they intend to address unemployment, insecurity, education, healthcare, infrastructure and economic opportunity rather than allowing political campaigns to become competitions over ethnic or religious loyalty.

A diverse society does not have to become a divided electorate.

The Power of Religious and Traditional Leaders

Religious leaders and traditional rulers can also influence how communities respond to difference. Pastors,Imams, traditional rulers and community leaders are often trusted voices within their communities. Their words can either reinforce suspicion, or encourage peaceful coexistence.

Their influence can also be particularly important during periods of tension, when rumours and misinformation can spread quickly.

Religious teachings that emphasise the value of human life, peaceful coexistence and respect for neighbours can contribute to reducing hostility.

Dialogue should not replace justice, but it can help communities address grievances before they become violent.

Education As a Brridge

The classroom is another important place to build national cohesion. Young Nigerians should learn about the history, cultures and contributions of communities beyond their own. Nigerian history should not be reduced to dates and names for examination purposes. It should help students understand how the country evolved, the challenges it has faced and the contributions different communities have made to its development.

Children who grow up understanding Nigeria’s diversity may be better prepared to interact with people whose backgrounds differ from theirs.

Schools can also promote critical thinking, civic responsibility, conflict resolution and respect for human rights.

The media also has a complementary responsibility. Reporting conflict is essential, but journalism should not portray entire ethnic or religious communities as responsible for the actions of individuals or armed groups. Stories of cooperation, inter-ethnic friendships, successful communities and peaceful problem-solving also deserve attention.

The Nigerian public needs to see both the problems confronting the country and the examples of citizens working to overcome them.

Diversity As a Strength

Nigeria’s ethnic and religious diversity is not, by itself, the country’s problem. The challenge arises when differences become tools for discrimination, exclusion, violence or political manipulation.

“The goal should not be to make Nigerians identical. It should be to ensure that a person can be proudly Igbo and proudly Nigerian; proudly Yoruba and proudly Nigerian; proudly Hausa and proudly Nigerian; or proudly Ijaw, Tiv, Efik, Kanuri or Urhobo and proudly Nigerian.”

A country can accommodate many identities while maintaining a common national identity. In fact, Nigeria’s diversity can become an important national asset when citizens are able to preserve their cultural traditions while participating fully in the life of the federation.

The goal should not be to make Nigerians identical. It should be to ensure that a person can be proudly Igbo and proudly Nigerian; proudly Yoruba and proudly Nigerian; proudly Hausa and proudly Nigerian; or proudly Ijaw, Tiv, Efik, Kanuri or Urhobo and proudly Nigerian.

Our identities should not have to compete, they should be able to coexist.

The Nigeria of People’s Dream

Imagine a Nigeria where a person from Sokoto feels at home in Onitsha and a person from Bayelsa feels safe in Bauchi; imagine a country where a young Nigerian’s opportunities are not determined by tribe or religion; imagine communities where children grow up seeing cultural difference as something to understand rather than something to fear; and, also imagine a country where political disagreements do not automatically become ethnic or religious battles.

That Nigeria is possible, but achieving it requires more than patriotic slogans. It requires fair institutions, responsible political leadership, credible justice, quality education and citizens willing to reject hatred even when it appears politically convenient.

It also requires Nigerians to recognise that national unity is not created only in government offices. It is created in homes, schools, workplaces, markets, places of worship and neighbourhoods.

Every time Nigerians choose cooperation over suspicion, they strengthen the bonds of citizenship. Every time they reject discrimination, they reinforce the principle of equal belonging. And, every time they defend the rights of someone from another ethnic or religious community, they contribute to the Nigeria envisioned at independence.

One Country, Many Identities

At 66, Nigeria’s greatest challenge is not that it has many ethnicities and religions. Its challenge is ensuring that those differences do not become barriers to equal citizenship.

The words of Nigeria’s first national anthem, “Though tribe and tongue may differ, in brotherhood we stand”, remain relevant because the country is still working to turn that aspiration into everyday reality.

“The many cultures can remain, languages can remain, religions can remain, and so are the traditions. Above all, the idea that every citizen belongs must remain.”

The ordinary Nigerian does not necessarily ask for everyone to speak the same language, worship in the same way or belong to the same ethnic group. The demand is simpler: fairness, security, dignity and belonging.

Nigeria’s future will depend partly on whether those principles can become stronger than the divisions that have repeatedly tested the country.

The many cultures can remain, languages can remain, religions can remain, and so are the traditions. Above all, the idea that every citizen belongs must remain.

If Nigeria can build a society in which a person is free to celebrate where they come from while feeling equally invested in the future of the entire country, then diversity will no longer be viewed primarily as a fault line. It can become what it has always had, the potential to be: one of Nigeria’s greatest strengths.

At 66, the task is not to erase our differences. It is to build a country strong enough to accommodate them.

– Emmanuel is an NYSC member in the Department of Public Enlightenment