Revue LAROS
Volume 10, Numéro 1, Pages 534-551
2018-01-01

Ethnic Diversity And Conflict In Africa. Case Study: The Niger Delta Of Nigeria

Authors : Taleb-baghli Wafaa .

Abstract

Since Africa has attained independence, the continent has witnessed many conflicts that are catalogued as ethnic. Many observers have seen these outbursts of violence as an outcome of Us colonial past that has amplified the separation and competition between ethnic groups because of the "divide and rule " policy. Nigeria, which is the "economic giant of Africa " thanks to its oil resources, is also an immense trafficking area that the elites have pillaged without measure, making this oil-producing country a condensed of the continent's evils, between dictatorship, and ethnic antagonisms. This Federal Republic; composed of 36 states, is the most populous country with 140 million inhabitants according to the 2006 census, and one of the largest in the continent, with 923,768 km. Its population is very heterogeneous, with 450 languages and 250 communities belonging to four main ethnic groups: Hausa and Peul settled in the north, Yoruba (south-west) and Ibos (south¬east). Political rivalries between the three major ethnic blocs, Yoruba, Peul-Hausa and Igbo, around the distribution of substantial oil revenues extracted from the Niger Delta region have resulted in violent intra-communal conflicts.

Keywords

Ethnicity - Conflict - Africa — Nigeria — Niger Delta.