Ethnic Minority Problems in Nigeria: A Historical and Political Study

Abstract

The 1960 Nigerian Constitution under which the country gained its independence concisely forbade any discrimination against any particular community, religion or socio-political opinion. Nigeria history shows that there is no formal constitutional restriction on minority socio-political rights. Nonetheless, this general constitutional principle of non-discrimination was rested within the context of stiff competition and conflicts for economic and political resources by the ethno-regional blocs that fathered the country. Cries of varying forms of discrimination and neglect by the ethnic minorities have continued. In the wake of Nigeria's independence, many minority politicians rebuffed the stranglehold of the three ethno-regional blocs and demanded the creation of separate regions to guarantee their freedom. The departing British colonial authorities, while appreciating the fears of the minorities rejected the demand for additional regions. A Willink Commission was appointed in 1957, to investigate the minority fears. Unfortunately, the mismanagement of ethnic minority fears had at times erupted into violent conflicts. The resurgence of ethnicity in Nigeria's fourth democratic dispensation has necessitated an affirmation of the relevance of the past, the agency of history and of course the currency of the present, all combined to create a better future in Nigeria and other countries with ethnic minorities.