Ethno-Religious Issues and National Intergration in Nigeria
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Date
2010
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MOI University Press Kenya
Abstract
Nigeria a forty-eight years old multi-religious society has made several constitutional efforts in its chequered march to nationhood. One of the inspired and calculated efforts at deception was the constitutional conference of 1995 where about four hundred Nigerians gathered to formulate a constitution that could resolve once and for all, the many problems of ethno-religious and national questions. Although, the military leadership in Nigeria then did not carry out or effect the constitution, yet the draft of the constitutional conference looked more like a mechanical contraption for ethnic groups rather a constitution of a nation state with a common destiny and will. The decision of the conference were not motivated by any philosophy of common identity rather, they were mooted by selfish interest and ethno-religious ambition at the expense of national interest. This paper attempts to x-ray factors largely responsible for ethno-religious issues in Nigeria. The paper adopts a historic-analytical approach and concluded that selfish and parochial interest more than anything else is the problem of Nigeria and ethno-religious sentiments were mere tools in the hands of the elite
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Keywords
Ethno-Religious, Issues, National Integration, Nigeria