Abstract

A burgeoning literature has appeared taking stock of the violent conflicts in Plateau State. Often we are told that such conflicts are the manifestations of religious intolerance among the Berom, the Jarawa, and the Anaguta, who are predominantly Christians, and the Hausa-Fulani who are Muslims. Other explanations suggest that they are ethnic conflicts between the Hausa and the other ethnic groups, who are resisting Hausa domination. The purpose of this paper is not to contest established facts, but to show how segregation between Hausa-Fulani migrants and their host creates avenues for conflict. Results from a cross-sectional survey in some crisis-prone cities like Jos North, Jos South and Barkin Ladi local government areas, as well as evidence from relevant literature suggest that Hausa-Fulani migrants within Plateau state do segregate themselves from their host communities. While the indigenes are those who perceive themselves to have common ethnic origins with traditional ties to the land they occupy, the migrant communities insist on maintaining their cultural and religious identities, with the aspiration not only to disregard the historical and cultural sensitivities of the host communities, but to eventually dominate them in a display of superiority. It argues that migration itself may not be the immediate cause of the conflicts; rather the fear of domination by the indigenes and the effort by the migrants to maintain their identity is at the root of the conflict.

Keywords

SegregationViolent-ConflictMigrantsPeaceful Co-existence and Adaptation

Published in: Nsibidi:AE-FUNAI Journal of Humanities ( Volume: 1 , Issue: 1 , October 2018)

Page(s): 111 - 128

Date of Publication: October 2018

ISSN Information: 1596-5428