Nigeria+-+Period+3+-+Collective+Identities+&+Cleavages

Links Nigeria - Period 3 - Table of Contents



http://www.emnnews.com/2011/04/19/mass-movement-of-nigerians-of-south-origin-back-home-reported-as-killings-continue/

__Social Class__

 * ====There is a strong division between the elites and ordinary people of Nigeria. The wealth of the elites is gained from control of the state and the resources of the country. They have maintained power through appealing to ethnic and religious identities of the people. The elites generally have found it difficult to abandon their access to the government's treasury for personal gain.====

__Ethnic Cleavages__

 * ====Nigeria has between 250 and 400 separate ethnic groups with their own wide range of customs, languages, and religions. The three largest groups are the Hausa-Fulani (29%), the Igbo (18%), and the Yoruba (21%). They all have very little in common and speak different languages.They live separately in their own regions and have virtually no contact with one another.====

__Religious Cleavages__

 * ====Political culture is made more complex because of the competing religions in Nigeria. About half of all Nigerians are Muslim, 40% are Christian, and the remaining 10% practice religions indigenous to the country. There are many international tensions between the three. Political culture is made more complex because of the competing religions. Disputes regarding the religious law of Islam, the //sharia// and its role in the nation's policymaking practices reflect the significance of religious cleavages.====

__Regional Cleavages__

 * ====Regional cleavages in Nigeria can be divided in many ways. Five years before gaining independence, the country was separated into Three Federated Regions in 1955. They are divided among ethnic and religious differences and set the basis for setting elections, legislative procedures, and also political party affiliations. Currently, the main means of dividing Nigeria is by north and south. The north is mainly Muslim and the south is primarily Christian.====

__Coinciding__

 * ====Many coinciding disputes in Nigeria align the same groups against each other. The main clashes that exist are ethnic, regional, and religious. As far as regional disputes, the north and south often battle over access to necessary resources--more importantly, the abundance of oil in the south near the Niger Delta. Religious conflicts are also prevalent, and can also be tied in with regional disputes because of the north and south differing in religious practices.====

__Cross-cutting Cleavages__

 * ====Cross-cutting cleavages in Nigeria divide society into many potential groups that may conflict one issue but cooperate on another. Examples of these types of cleavages would be religion, social class, economic class, profession, and gender. For example, women from the south and Middle Belt regions have dominated agricultural production and form a large part of agricultural producers, but they are usually withheld from owning land.====

__Attitudes and Beliefs of Citizens__

 * ====Citizens in Nigeria are quite skeptical of their government. They do not believe their government is legitimate and it severely lacks transparency. Although the country does have a constitution, it is not often followed and the fact that it has been amended and rewritten several times gives citizens all the more reason to not trust their government and support its actions. Also, with such corruption in elections and in many economic aspects, most politicians are not trusted by the people.====

__Political Participation__

 * ====Nigerian government does not have much involvement from its citizens. There are general elections held which do allow the citizens to vote for their candidate of choice, but the validity of these elections are very poor. This is surprising because the media in Nigeria is relatively widespread, each of the states having its own radio station and most having their own television stations. There are also more than 100 local and state-owned presses. However, most often elections are rigged or tampered with either by ballot stuffing or other methods. So although some participation is allowed, it has little effect over the people chosen to lead the country because of the mass corruption. Also, many leaders gain their high positions by overthrowing their precedents through a coup d'etat, making the country infamous for its military rule. New policies are usually only created through people of power, not the citizens.====

====-Collective identities in Nigeria have caused much conflict throughout the country's history. Institutional reforms such as multiethnic political parties, decentralization and a strengthened federal system have contributed to reducing tensions and minimizing these conflicts.====