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Land expansion by existing smallholder farmers (SHFs), aka stepping-up, is a major pathway to the rise of medium-scale farmers (MSFs) in Africa. In this paper, we investigate if and how armed conflicts constrain the ability of SHFs to transition to MSFs. We find that increased conflict intensity reduces the likelihood that a SHF will expand to a larger scale, especially for farmers who rely mostly on farm incomes, rather than off-farm incomes, for their livelihoods. These findings uphold other evidence that peace and stability influence private investment, including land-based investments, that are associated with economic transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study was designed to assess the effect of conflicts on yam production in Cross River State. The specific objectives of the study were to; identify the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents, assess the effect of conflicts on yam production in the study area and ascertain the constraints faced by yam farmers in the study area. Methods: The study adopted a multi-stage sampling technique. Three blocks were selected from each of the three Agricultural zones in the state. Three cells were randomly selected from each of the blocks sampled, which gave a total of twenty-seven (27) cells. A total of 450 respondents were selected for the study. Data were collected with the aid of a structured questionnaire. Data obtained were analysed using percentage, mean and standard deviation. Result: The result of the analysis revealed that a good number of the respondents had formal education and were married (53.6%). It was equally observed that conflicts reduced yam availability (X=2.50) decreased productivity (X=2.78), displaced farmers (X=2.68), caused hunger and starvation (X=2.62) and reduced arable land (X=3.08). The study also noted that the following constraints affected yam production in the study area include insecurity among yam farmers and communities (X = 278), high cost of labour (X = 2.55), lack of funds (X = 2.58) and fear of unexpected conflicts (X = 2.71) among many others. The study recommended that civil defence Corp should be posted to conflicts zones in the state to provide security to the farming communities during farming seasons. The study therefore concludes that government needs to provide compensations to yam farmers who abandoned their farms as a result of conflicts and these would encourage them to return home for their yam business enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzed the influence of socioeconomic characteristics on crop farmers and pastoralists' land use conflicts in Abia State, located in the Southeastern part of Nigeria. Data were collected with structured questionnaire, complimented with observation from 300 crop farmers and 40 pastoralists and analyzed using ordinary least squares regression model. On the part of the crop farmers, the result indicates that three of the ten independent variables (sex, family size and farm size) influenced positively and significantly the perceived causes of crop farmers and pastoralists land use conflict. On the part of the nomads, household size (t = 2.131), educational level (t = 2.222.) and social organization membership (t = 2.144) all influenced positively the perceived causes of land use conflict at 0.05% probability level. Herding experiences (t = 3.141) also influenced positively and significantly the perceived causes of land use conflict at 0.01% level of significance. It was recommended that the government should fasten the creation of more grazing reserves following the challenges of climate change for easy access by the pastoralists. The government should fasten the proposed demarcation of livestock route from the North to the South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Noma, a neglected tropical disease (NTD), is a preventable oro-facial gangrenous infection causing destruction of oro-facial tissues if untreated. This descriptive study was conducted in North-Eastern Nigeria which has witnessed armed insurgency increasing risk of noma. Data was obtained from patients' records at a tertiary hospital after a dental educational outreach using radio and visits to the hospital's ante/postnatal clinics. Data analysis was conducted at 95% confidence interval with p≤ 0.05 considered significant. Records of 49 patients were retrieved but 31 (63.3%) were utilised due to poor documentation. Age ranged from 2–63 years. Children (0–16 years) and Adults (17–59 years) were 67.7% and 25.8% respectively. Males were 13 (41.9%) and females, 18 (58.1%). Poor oral hygiene and malnutrition were common findings. Stage (WHO Staging System) 2 (51.6%) and 4 (22.6%) were the most common presentation. Successfully managed and referred cases were 51.6% and 48.4% respectively. Successful management was associated with early stages of noma (p = <0.001). Children were most vulnerable. Outreaches using radio and education to pregnant women and nursing mothers can boost early presentation and better outcomes. Attention to case documentation and inclusion of noma into the WHO list of NTDs are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synonymous with Nigeria is a deep political cleavage, which causes major political issues to be violently contested along the lines of intricate ethnic, religious divisions. Although efforts have been made to change these narratives through political reengineering and public policy process, but all have failed to achieve the desired goal of national unity and security. Of what degree is the threats of internal crises to the existentiality of Nigeria? How best can the use of public diplomacy help mitigate the danger of Nigeria's internal crises? Fundamentally, public diplomacy has the capability to transform a country's socio-political and economic assets, while reversing the negative attitude of people towards these assets if handled very well. Using relational theory, the conflicts and hostility towards others is explained in relation to socio-economic, political, cultural, and religious intolerance amongst the ethnic groups that make up Nigeria. The findings shows that the inability of Nigeria leaders to put the interests of the diversity of Nigeria first and respect the sensibilities of a fragile nation grasping for survival is the worst political crime, ever committed against the country. Concluding that inclusive collaboration and not unhealthy socio-economic and political competition would bring the ethnic groups in Nigerians closer than ever before. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the links between adverse events, depression, and decision-making in Nigeria. It investigates how events such as conflicts, shocks, and deaths of family members can affect short-term mental health, as well as longer-term decisions on economic activities and human capital investments. First, the findings show that exposure to conflict has the largest and strongest relationship with depression, associated with a 21-26 percentage point increase in the probability of depressive symptomatology. Second, depression is associated with lower labour force participation, child educational investment, and annual per capita income, holding constant covariates such as exposure to adverse events. People with depressive symptoms are 8 percentage points less likely to work. In addition, parents exhibiting depressive symptoms spend 18% less on their children's education. These findings show the links between adverse events and important outcomes such as labour and education through mental health. As such, policymakers must consider both the direct and indirect effects that adverse events – particularly conflicts – and depression can have on welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Striking balance and maintaining harmony between work and family have always been a great challenge for women in general. This article examines factors that conflict between official responsibilities and family demand among female staff of higher institution of learning in Nigeria. A structured questionnaire is administered to female staff of higher institutions across the country. Hierarchical sampling technique is used to select female staff from each institution. Simple percentage and bar charts are used to present the socio-demographic characteristics of respondents. The mean responses for each factor are ranked and the first four ranked factors are discussed. Stress, mental fatigue, and psychological burnout/disorder are the major effects observed, while resuming and closing work at convenience is the major mechanism being used by women in tertiary institutions. Other highly ranked mechanisms are using a housekeeper/help, using a childcare center closer to workplace, and using help from colleagues in carrying out official assignments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic activities cause habitat loss for wildlife, thus increasing human-wildlife conflicts globally. This study focused on highlighting factors that need to be explored when assessing human-wildlife conflicts for managerial actions. To identify critical factors influencing co-existence between humans and wildlife and the role these factors can play in supporting conservation of flora and fauna. A structured questionnaire was developed and administered to four communities around the two divisions of Cross-River National park to collect information demographic characteristics and series of tolerance construct statements to understand tolerance towards human-wildlife conflicts. The factors influencing tolerance in human-wildlife conflicts in Cross River National Park were highlighted using factor analysis on 335 households from communities living near the park. Tolerance in human-wildlife conflicts influences conservation and management in protected areas. The identified factors were a contribution to conservation, wealth & multiple livelihood sources, Compensation & Benefits, and community resilience. Furthermore, it was also discovered that carnivore conservation requires special attention for communities to provide support for conservation. Our results suggest that even though conservation is a central concept in human-wildlife conflict, other factors such as tolerance, the occupation of locals and the benefits to be derived play a critical role in ameliorating human-wildlife conflicts. Human-wildlife conflicts cannot be totally eliminated but having a clear understanding of the factors that play a major role in determining tolerance levels is a huge step towards peaceful coexistence and hence better management of the protected area [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women happen to be one of the most vulnerable groups to suffer losses of life and property during communal conflicts. In the midst of the high rate of incidence of communal clashes reported to involve pastoralist/nomads in Nigeria, it is important to investigate how the pastoralists' women manage to defend themselves. This study, therefore, examined the self-defense and escaping approaches of the pastoralists' women during communal clashes involving their husbands. Simple random sampling was used to select 120 respondents in Kwara State. Data were collected using questionnaire and analyzed using percentages. Findings showed that most (96.7%) of the women have witnessed communal clashes and 90% further agreed that women are targets of attack during clashes, however, the majority (79.2%) of the women did not join nor aided their husbands in communal clashes. Regarding pastoralists' women's approaches to defending themselves during clashes, 62.5% run away, 20% beg for mercy, and 17.5% fight back. Efforts should be made to engage both pastoral and host communities to embrace dialogue in resolving issues before it escalates into violent communal clashes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay argues that the inherent value of Indigenous African Religions (IARs), which ensures that the belief in different gods does not eclipse the fact of common humanity might be of importance to contemporary Africa plagued by ceaseless conflicts. The IAR ideology contrasts, for example, with that of Christianity which views the Christian God as the one true God and regards those who worship a different God(s) as pagans and gentiles. It also contrasts with the ideology of Islam, which views Allah as the one true God and regards those who worship different God(s) as infidels. The essay claims that social orientation in contemporary Africa is mostly influenced by the divisive ideologies of these two foreign religions that have come to dominate. These divisive ideologies are to a large extent, indirectly responsible for some of the violent conflicts on the continent. This divisive religious orientation bifurcates humanity into in and out-groups that are extended to the social sphere where people from different religious, ethnic and linguistic groups are treated as outsiders and are made targets for attacks like in South Africa and Nigeria today. Further, if we interpret such violent conflicts as evil and consider its source in light of the perennial problem of evil, what would be our response? Using the conversational method, the essay argues that both good and evil are part of the universe, and that if we want more good, then a change from a divisive to a complementary orientation based on the relational values of the IARs is imperative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Boko Haram insurgency is one of the most devastating violent crises that Nigeria has encountered in recent years. This paper compares the relative effect of the Boko Haram insurgency, as compared to other conflict events, on vaccination uptake among Nigerian children. To evaluate the effect of conflict events on vaccination, the children's birth months and the months of armed conflict were matched. The data on vaccination uptake was from the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) conducted in 2018, while the information on conflict events was from the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) Georeferenced Event Dataset (UCDP GED). The sub-group analysis was conducted, Boko-Haram affected sample vs. total sample, to evaluate the differential effect of armed conflict events on vaccination. The Boko Haram insurgency had a significant and negative effect on vaccination uptake in the conflict-affected states; Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe. On the other hand, other forms of conflicts that took place in Nigeria had significantly weaker effects on vaccination uptake. The negative effect of Boko Haram-related conflict events was particularly strong on Penta3/DPT3 uptake, while its effect on BCG was weak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fulani pastoralists are widely distributed across the six geographical zones of Nigeria and migrate from north to south in search of natural grazing lands at times of forage scarcity. This migration leads annually to resource use conflict and deadly attacks between migrating pastoralists and sedentary arable farmers. These conflicts have generated heated scholarly debates over the last few decades. Here, we provide an overview of the nexus between the farmer-herder crises, grassland management, and livestock production and argue for the establishment of irrigated pastures to increase forage production and quality and, thereby, reduce land-use conflicts. This recommendation is offered in place of the often-called-for transition to a ranching system for livestock production. We recommend an interdisciplinary approach to investigate the willingness of stakeholders in the livestock business to pay for fresh or conserved forage resources, as well as robust policies that could attract investment into the establishment, management, and sustainability of commercial forage production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indigene-settler phenomenon is currently a major challenge in Nigeria. This divide contributes to social exclusion for some groups in community life, constraining their participation in it, and reducing their ability to fully enjoy their status as citizens. With the aid of secondary data from books and journal articles, this paper examines how indigenesettler dichotomy contributes to conflicts. The paper begins with the clarification of the concept of indigene and settler. It further examines the origin of the indigene-settler phenomenon in Nigeria and the legal dimension of indigene-settler phenomenon in Nigeria. The paper indicates that indigene-settler phenomenon breeds conflicts because of competition over resources and identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is an extract from a broader empirical study conducted in 2015. It examined the dynamics of oil exploitation and conflict transformation in Edo State, Nigeria - an area often erroneously viewed as one of the zones of peace in Nigeria's turbulent Niger Delta region. The mixed method research was adopted. Using content analysis and descriptive statistics, the paper argued that oil-induced conflicts in Edo State are embedded in the narrative of grievances, poverty, absence of development, suppression and perceived neglect by government and oil companies. These issues have been addressed largely through the use of force, selective dialogue, suppression and infiltration of activism. Conflict transformation requires addressing the underlying causes of the conflict and building long-standing relationship through a process of change in perception and attitude of stakeholders. Beyond remediation of the environment, resource-rich communities in Nigeria yearn for infrastructural and human capital development both of which have remained elusive. Addressing community demands require confidence building, robust engagement and active local participation in community development and peacebuilding initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The health care system in Nigeria remains topical because of concerns over unremitting health outcomes, such as maternal and infant mortalities and frequent epidemic outbreaks, and more recently because of regular strikes by health workers. The strikes arise mostly from disputes between medical doctors and other health workers over a range of issues, including salary levels and emoluments, leadership of teaching hospitals, and appointment of the Minister of Health. Other health workers, who allege that doctors are favored in the system, have formed Joint Health Sector Unions to confront the doctors. Both groups have frequently engaged in strikes such that, within the past decade, there has always been a strike or the threat of a strike, a situation that causes disruption of health care services. Two presidential commissions have been instituted, to no avail. With the allegations of favoritism, only government even-handedness in more carefully delineating the areas of inclusion and exclusion in accordance with available legislations may stem the rising tide. Until solutions agreeable to both parties are found, the health system and the Nigerian people will continue to suffer frustrations of avoidable disruption of services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nigeria has a high maternal mortality rate, yet there is wide variation in the proportion of births by caesarean section between zones, states, and cities within Nigeria. This review examines the pattern of the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of mitigation measures on women's health in Nigeria. The combined impact of COVID-19 and conflicts on maternal healthcare and access to obstetric care, as well as the availability of obstetric anaesthesia in Nigeria, are discussed. There is a vicious cycle, intensified by unwanted pregnancy, abortion, and preventable maternal death., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests The author declares that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Nigeria is a heterogeneous nation that is populated with innumerable multi-ethnic and multi-religious groups. Invariably, violent community conflicts are regular features of the inter-group relations in the country. Thus, inter-ethnic hostilities, tribal warfare and religious riots have become serious dangerous signals that threaten the inter-group relations from accomplishing unity, peace and development of the nation. The spate and consequence of the multi-dimensional conflicts among various groups are thus worrisome; especially in the last one and a half decade. Consequently, the focus of the paper is to examine the dimensions of the ethnic and intergroup conflicts in Nigeria and effects of these crises on national development. Furthermore, given Islam as a religion of peace, the paper considers its provisions as panacea towards the building and sustenance of unity, peaceful co-cxistence and national development. The research techniques adopted in the work are descriptive survey, narrative and analytical methods. Data was collected from printed and electronic materials. The paper eventually identities the efficacy of the Islamic guide as feasible options for arresting the incessant ethno-religious conflicts in a multi-ethnic and multi-religious nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examined team approach education counselling in secondary schools as an enzyme for national peace building. It pointed out that adolescents can do a lot when properly guided. Adolescents can help in promoting peace spirit and culture among themselves in the school and communities. National peace can be achieved by inoculating the adolescents against violence, teaching them skills to manage conflicts nonviolently, and by seeking and creating a desire to seek peaceful resolutions of conflicts. The need for Behavioural Inoculation, Behavioural First Aid and Behavioural Treatment in order to promote peaceful co-existence in the society was emphasized. Also, the enzymic nature and role of team approach peace education counselling for adolescents in secondary schools in Nigeria was discussed and challenges facing the programme were highlighted. Based on the challenges, suitable recommendations were made among which are: team approach, involving the home, peer group, mass media, churches/mosques, schools and significant others should be employed in peace education counseling tofacilitate National Peace Building.Tthe counsellor as the technical head of the team should serve as the strategist, consultant, trainer and coordinator. In addition, the government at all levels should train and redeploy qualified counsellors and peer facilitators to secondary schools to be conducting workshops on diversity and enhancing peace skills. Also, facilities, instructional materials for the programme such as computers should be put in place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cholera outbreaks contribute substantially to illness and death in low- and middle-income countries. Cholera outbreaks are associated with several social and environmental risk factors, and extreme conditions can act as catalysts. A social extreme known to be associated with infectious disease outbreaks is conflict, causing disruption to services, loss of income, and displacement. To determine the extent of this association, we used the self-controlled case-series method and found that conflict increased the risk for cholera in Nigeria by 3.6 times and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by 2.6 times. We also found that 19.7% of cholera outbreaks in Nigeria and 12.3% of outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo were attributable to conflict. Our results highlight the value of providing rapid and sufficient assistance during conflict-associated cholera outbreaks and working toward conflict resolution and addressing preexisting vulnerabilities, such as poverty and access to healthcare.

Accepting that the Land Question was only limited to former settler colonies in Africa such as Kenya and Zimbabwe, dominant opinion in the literature has tended to trivialize the bitter struggles for land, many of which began during the colonial dispensation in many African nations. With globalization, democratization, structural adjustment and intensification of identity politics, many of these land conflicts have lingered. Yet studies of the conflicts, as in the case of Aguleri/Umuleri, have been scanty and almost ignore their historical and colonial roots. This paper explores colonial foundations of Aguleri/Umuleri conflicts, colonial policies designed to manage them and why they failed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the West Africa sub-region, conflicts, tension and crisis have become the defining characteristics of their statehood with some escalating into full scale civil wars, as in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Cote D'Ivoire bringing in their wake deaths, destruction and despair. Even the cases of Somali and the Darfur Region in the Sudan have defied all known solutions with attendant consequences of total and near disintegration of the two states respectively. Ordinarily, Nigeria being a federal state, the general expectation had been a better management of conflicts and social tension within the polity. This is due to received wisdom that federal states are expected to accommodate more pluralities and cleavages within a polity as it allows for diverse groups representation through the instrumentalities of decentralised structures of states and sometimes local governments. However, this potential has not been fully maximised as the country still contend with so many crises that have almost stretched out its capacity for corporate existence with threatening disintegrative tendencies. This paper interrogates one of the sources of conflicts in the country, the crisis in the Niger Delta Region. This is done against the backdrop of different attempts at management of the conflict which rather being ameliorated has assumed different dimensions; from self-determination struggles to recent experiences of kidnapping among other vices in spite of the much acclaimed amnesty programme of the federal government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines various aspects of local knowledge of water and how such knowledge shapes perception and structures engagements with water and water-based development initiatives in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Qualitative methods were utilized to collect data across age groups, ethnic affiliations and targeted individuals and institutions. The results show that local knowledge of water is shaped more by the cultural tradition than by its material properties. Such knowledge is nested in spiritual or metaphysical wisdom and clearly goes against such secular water resources concepts as commoditization, privatization and commercialization. Policy implications are highlighted, with an emphasis on the need for a good mutual relationship between local resource users and the secular authorities during water resources–based project development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Nigerian Armed Forces personnel have over the years maintained a track record of effective peace keeping campaigns in the world. The role Nigeria played in especially crises ridden Sierra Leone and Liberia can not be overemphasized. Paradoxically though, this record does not seem to be playing out in their security and crisis operations in the country. Analysts would quickly make reference to Umuechem, Odi and recently, the military bombardment of Ijaw communities in Gbaramatu Kingdom in Warri South West Council of Delta State. Some studies have shown that at the end of most of those operations, the military stay behind as "armies of occupation". This paper therefore, raises a number of questions which include: how effective and to whose benefit have measures adopted (like aerial bombardment) in the management of internal crisis by security forces in Nigeria been in recent times (1999-2011)? Is it not an indirect call for military interregnum, when democratic regimes authorize the rolling out of war machines by the military against the civilians? Are the military forces fully trained in surveillance and other non-combative skills of security maintenance? This study intends to consider a number of options available for the country to adopt and solve crisis situations with minimal collateral damage. These options include good governance, genuine national dialogue, adequate surveillance of the Niger Delta creeks, blocking of the sources of small and light weapons importation and sale of illegally bunkered crude oil into the international market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since its emergence as a research field in the 1980s, political ecology has provided a useful tool to explicate violent environments, notably as hallmarks of natural resource-dependent economies. Practitioners regularly address what might be called 'charismatic' natural resources such as oil and other precious minerals to describe contestation over access and control of natural resources. Yet, where this focus exists, the political ecology of less economically valuable or 'noncharismatic' resources is thereby obscured. Thus, Nigeria's dependency on oil production has generated much scholarly attention with its unstable political economy described as a rentier state. In contrast, this paper draws on extensive field experience and knowledge about the country to assess in a preliminary manner some of the dimensions and ramifications of a less well known second-tier natural resource commodity that is gaining attention as part of a possible national economic diversification strategy. Using the case of bitumen, a viscous hydrocarbon mainly used in road surfacing and roofing work, I assess the trajectory of this relatively overlooked resource, thereby opening a window onto the political ecology of a noncharismatic resource. In contrast to the ubiquitous violence in the oil-based Niger Delta, I suggest that bitumen political ecologies, while also provoking political conflict and debate, nonetheless seem to being marked by new power dynamics that might augur a less violence prone path in terms of Nigeria's political economy of natural resource production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nigerian state is troubled by insecurity of lives and property. The insecurity ranges from state security to human security resulting from increase in abject poverty, sectarian violence, political violence /assassinations, electoral violence, ethnic, communal and religious conflicts, Niger-Delta crisis, kidnapping and armed robbery. Accordingly, this paper contends that successive Nigerian governments since the return of democracy in May 1999 have made efforts to stem the spate of insecurity but to no avail due to wrong policy targeting of the predisposing factor. The paper concerns itself within the purview of these predisposing conditions and suggests that inspiring leadership, policy direction that favours the vulnerable and governance style that deemphasizes ethnic chauvinism and inclinations could stem the degenerating insecurity in Nigerian state. It notes above all the efforts to provide safety nets against marked driven policies that is widening the gap of inequality should concern the government in order to meet human needs so as to secure stable polity and peaceful coexistence in Nigerian state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the full ramifications of the evolving strategic environment in the Gulf of Guinea. It argues that the 'new scramble' or 'oil rush' in the region since its emergence as a critical energy repository and a strategic supplier to the global oil markets has elicited multiple lines of interest represented by both state and non-state actors. By delving into Nigeria's oil-rich context, this paper explores the fierce competition for influence ushered in by these developments, the contested notion of 'security' and 'sovereignty', and the emergent patterns of contestations as the Nigerian state mediates between global and local forces in its oil complex. Finally, it brings into bold relief the complexities of the intensified struggle for access to the region's vast energy resources — the current global economic downturn notwithstanding — and the challenge it poses to the region, and particularly to Nigeria, the dominant player in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

THE NIGER DELTA Region of Nigeria is the storehouse of Nigeria's crude oil, which accounts for approximately 90% of the country's revenue, providing more than 90% of total exports. Despite this, the people remain poor marginalized and restive. Resort to conflicts has, been taken as the only way of expressing grievances in oil-rich communities in the region. The conflict situation has been cause for alarm since 1999 with kidnapping of oil company workers, bombing of oil facilities and confrontation with state law enforcement agents, being common occurrences. These happenings have had serious implications for the economy. The paper reports on the results of a study employed interviews, stakeholder meetings and consulted news reports to assess issues central to the persistent conflicts in the region. The results indicated that both the government of Nigeria and the oil multinationals have failed to recognize communities in the Niger Delta as the third stakeholder in the oil industry The relationship has been characterized by unfavorable state policies, politicking' and lack of standard practices. The study thus noted that the government of Nigeria has not approached the question of the Niger Delta in an open manner, and hence it recommends that stakeholder participation/partnership predicated on transparency is a key to the solution of the Niger Delta problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conflicts over the status of Sharia Islamic law have dominated constitutional politics and ethno-religious relations in the Nigerian federation for decades. The adoption of stringent Sharia codes by 12 Muslim majority states in northern Nigeria, beginning with Zamfara in 1999, was particularly contentious, provoking broad concerns about the viability and survival of Nigeria's innovatively structured multi-ethnic federal system. But Sharia implementation and extension in Nigeria have followed a largely benign trajectory. The Nigerian federation's judicious combination of centrist and autonomy mechanisms has been remarkably effective in managing religious conflict and cauterising potentially disintegrative centrifugal challenges to national stability. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of group rights is indubitably an issue that concerns both minority and majority groups. Notwithstanding, minorities are quicker to claim the rights than the dominant groups. But the fact that group rights are a set of rights, though distinguishable from individual rights, within the general framework of fundamental human rights, shows that both minority and majority groups can exercise and enjoy them. The thrust of this article, however, is to fill the lacuna in extant literature on the need to appraise the role and place of group rights in the generation, transformation and sustenance of conflicts in Nigeria. The paper uses the age-long, protracted Ife-Modakeke conflict as a case study. Nigeria, being a plural society, the paper infers, is indeed susceptible to conflicts that border on issues of the collective rights of ethnic, sub-ethnic and religious groups. The article, nonetheless, argues that it is the non-recognition and respect of the rights of groups, both minority and majority, through the non-provision of adequate and appropriate measures by successive governments, contrary to international standards to which the country is a signatory, that often heightened tension and fractured inter-group relations in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nigeria's delta region was famous for its role in the trade and supply of palm-oil to the then industrialising world. Thereafter, its high quality crude-oil made it a significant player in the global oil market. However, the region has become (in)famous for the spate of violent conflicts that threaten both local and international economic stability and security. This paper highlights the correlations between these two eras, the parties and fundamental causes of the violent conflicts that beset the area. It argues that the underlying factor for restiveness in both periods is the exclusion of the local communities from participating in the exploitation and benefits of the resources. The paper theorises the causes of conflicts during the two periods based on social justice concepts of distribution and recognition. It suggests that the actualisation of normative elements of distribution and recognition that quelled the first of these conflicts has a fundamental role to play in resolving the multifarious conflicts that currently pervade the Niger Delta region. Consequently, it suggests that initiatives that recognise public participation in the crude-oil industry be extended to resolve the present conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]