Since 1982, Nigeria has experienced more than ten large scale ethnic or religious riots in its major cities. These violent clashes have wreaked economic, political, and social havoc; caused an enormous number of deaths and injuries; and posed serious obstacles to Nigeria's sociopolitical development as well as retarded efforts at nation-building. The papers collected in this book serve as a critical part of an overall objective to develop and promote mechanisms for the understanding and resolution of ethnic and religious conflicts in Nigeria. Both academic and community leaders address various aspects of these conflicts, and Uwazie offers several thoughtful options for their successful resolution. Inter-Ethnic and Religious Conflict Resolution in Nigeria will interest students of African history and current affairs, scholars of anthropology and ethnicity studies, and those involved in international relations and peace studies.

With the prevailing violent conflict situation of our world, perpetuated sometimes even in the name of religion, humanity today faces extinction. To reverse this ugly trend, humanity has no choice than to build a society where every tribe and tongue can coexist in peace. This work analyzed the violent conflicts from anthropological, behavioral, politico-philosophical, and theological perspectives, and makes a demand on humanity to save herself through proper education and dialogue with all men and religions. Lotanna Olisaemeka is a researcher in Missiology affiliated with the Philosophisch-Theologische Hochschule, Vallendar, Germany.

The varying traditions in the migration research of different countries are closely connected to the respective national political landscape and the way in which the respective national state views itself - affirmative and positive or perhaps more self-critical. Seen side by side, much emerges to be discussed and challenged that was previously beyond doubt. The present volume introduces the reader to the traditions of migration research in twelve different countries: the more traditional immigration countries of Canada and Australia, four European countries with decades of experience (United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Netherlands), countries newer to immigration such as Italy, Poland and Japan, and finally the postcolonial countries of India, Malaysia and Nigeria. Through this comparative approach this volume presents a new approach to understanding the different research traditions. The reader is confronted with the various ways in which emigrants are included or excluded from society, thereby gaining an understanding of the existing intellectual discourses as well as learning to qualify them in the light of other solutions and traditions. Because the approaches of the respective migration research tradition are not always the same, the volume is attractive for a number of professionals: Sociologists, political scientists, ethnologists, economists, and philosophers can join together to discuss the terms migration, integration, and their relationship to social structures. This in turn challenges premises that previously were held to be a matter of course.

Inspired by ethno-religious conflicts which occur in a frequent, incessant and violent manner in the contemporary Nigerian society, Basil Ugorji examines the very real struggle for cultural justice that often leads to tribal violence and clashes, ethnic and religious wars, and genocides. The author thoroughly investigates the relevance of certain measures, judicial and coercive, used to manage ethno-religious conflicts in Africa. Based on the historical and political contexts (pre-colonialism, colonialism, post-independence), the author explores the premise that a shift is required in the research of peaceful resolution: first, from retributive justice to restorative justice, and second, from coercive methods of reconciliation to ethno-religious mediation, with a focus on the ethnic, tribal and religious groups involved in conflicts; the origins, causes, consequences, and actors involved; and the forms and places of occurrence of ethno-religious conflicts. With scholarship and compassion, the author sees the people within the conflict and exposes their humanity. Beyond the posturing and politics, he returns sanity to the discussion by revealing the often counterintuitive behavior of social systems under stress. More than just empirical observation, From Cultural Justice to Inter-Ethnic Mediation: A Reflection on the Possibility of Ethno-Religious Mediation in Africa provides welcome insights into convoluted dynamics and offers practical strategies through peace education. There is something here for everybody seeking a way forward out of chaos in Africa, from grassroots advocates to senior policymakers.

Recommendations. -- Introduction. -- Historical background and context. The development of Nigerian federaism - The origins of the indigeneity issue in Nigeria - The extent of the problem in today's Nigeria. -- Government discrimination against non-indigenes. Ambiguous legal definitions of indigeneity - Certificates of indigeneity - Theatres of government-sponsored discrimination against non-Indigenes. Public sector employment. Barriers to obtaining higher education. Barriers to political participation. -- Indigeneity and intercommunal conflict: an overview. Indigene-settler conflicts. -- Case studies. Plateau State: The case of "stateless citizens". - Kaduna State: indigeneity and intra-state conflict. - Delta State: the ownership controversy in Warri. -- The Nigerian government response and potential policy alternatives. Possible policy responses to the indigeneity issue.

The political economy problems of Nigeria, the root cause for ethnic, religious, political and economic strife, can be in part addressed indirectly through focused contributions by the U.S. military, especially if regionally aligned units are more thoroughly employed.

This Handbook provides an authoritative and foundational disciplinary overview of African Public Policy and a comprehensive examination of the practicalities of policy analysis, policymaking processes, implementation, and administration in Africa today. The book assembles a multidisciplinary team of distinguished and upcoming Africanist scholars, practitioners, researchers and policy experts working inside and outside Africa to analyse the historical and emerging policy issues in 21st-century Africa. While mostly attentive to comparative public policy in Africa, this book attempts to address some of the following pertinent questions: How can public policy be understood and taught in Africa? How does policymaking occur in unstable political contexts, or in states under pressure? Has the democratisation of governing systems improved policy processes in Africa? How have recent transformations, such as technological proliferation in Africa, impacted public policy processes? What are the underlying challenges and potential policy paths for Africa going forward? The contributions examine an interplay of prevailing institutional, political, structural challenges and opportunities for policy effectiveness to discern striking commonalities and trajectories across different African states. This is a valuable resource for practitioners, politicians, researchers, university students, and academics interested in studying and understanding how African countries are governed.

This volume offers a comprehensive assessment of the problem of conflict and its methods of management in Nigeria’s contemporary democracy. It represents a compendium of resourceful studies provided by experts on conflict studies from various disciplines across the Social Sciences and Humanities. Such studies are very useful at this crucial point in Nigeria’s history as there are currently various national and international efforts to address the scourge of violent conflicts that have caused huge numbers of deaths and displacement of persons. The book will be of particular interest and use to conflict researchers, students, practitioners and government officials.

Despite the present-day democratic government's commitment to human rights, socio-cultural and religious clashes still pose a threat to Nigeria. As a panacea a split according to ethnic and religious boundaries has been suggested; on the other hand upholding the different strands might spell greater benefits for the country's development. The basic assumption of both views is that ethnic and religious pluralism have led to conflicts, but that they are fuelled by politics, inequitable distribution of economic goods and the negative forces of globalization. In this project, examining these conflicts and the efforts made to resolve them, particular attention will be paid to dialogue and reconciliation. The key practice suggested is convivence: a symbiosis of interactive and interpenetrative approaches, based on intercultural and interreligious hermeneutical perspectives.

The Historical Dictionary of Islamic Fundamentalism provides a comprehensive and detailed examination into Islam as a religion, Islam as a government, and Islam as a way of life. It is a thorough analysis of various groups, events, movements, key figures, and dogmas that have influenced contemporary Islamic Fundamentalism.