Violent Conflicts and Challenges of Adjustment in Plateau State: Case Study of Jos North Local Government Area, Plateau State
Main Article Content
Abstract
Nigeria is confronted with numerous violent conflicts that have inflicted monumental damages on the economy and peaceful co-existence amongst groups. These conflicts assume ethnic and religious forms leading to depletion of human resources/displacement, weakened state apparatus, and increased threats of secession. A fact is that states with multiple ethnicity and religions are prone to violent conflicts. This becomes more pronounced with underlying indigenship/ settlership debate. Conflicts in Plateau State are often deeply ethnic-based; religious factor has also remained a shadow trigger. The frequency of conflicts had led to trends of relocation, adjustment and even protracted conflicts in the deeply polarised state. This paper looks at structural adjustment as essential in the discussion of the pattern post conflict residency, settlement and human endeavour in Jos North LGA of Plateau State. It agrees with submissions of Richard Lazarus (1961) on theories of adjustment and personality; adopting a mixed design approach, while some KIIs were conducted as primary sources of data collection along secondary sources which were qualitatively analysed. Strengthening security and peace architecture including promotion of human security in prevention, rather than response to violence, will help in the healing process of the fragmented communities and people
Article Details
Authors hold the copyright of all published articles except otherwise stated.
References
Adebanwi, W. (2005). Contesting exclusion: the dilemmas of citizenship in Nigerian. The African Anthropologist, 12(1).
Alhaji, Inuwa Ali. (2002). In Shedrack G.B. (2007). Conflict and Peace Building in Plateau State Nigeria. Ibadan, Spectrum Books Limited.
Alubo, I. (2006). Ethnic Conflicts and Citizenship Crises in the Central Region. Lagos: Eddy Asae Nigeria Press.
Agbaje, A. (1990). Travails or the Secular State: Religion, Politics and the Outlook of Nigeria’s 3rd Republic. The Journal of Commonwealth and Comparative Politics, xxxviii edition.
Awogbade, M.O. (1983). Fulani Pastoralism: Jos Case Study. Zaria. Baker. Ahmadu Bello University Press.
Baker, T.M. (1954). The Social Organisation of the Birom. PhD diss. University College London. 19 July 2017. Retrieved from
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14678802.2016.1200314. Blench, R.M. (2004). Natural Resource Conflicts in North-Central Nigeria: A Handbook and Case Studies. London: Mandaras Publishing. Bruce, R. (1977). “Conversion amongst the Pyem.” Savanna 6(2), 155–166. 19 July 2017. Retrieved from https://www.africabib.org/query_p.php?pe=!861109813 !&SR=2
Danfulani, U.D. and Fwatshak, S.U. (2002). “Briefing: The September 2002 events in Jos, Nigeria. African Affairs 101, 243 – 255.
Dariye J. (2002). Creating Melting Pot: How Peace and Justice may be secured against fears of domination and plurality of cultures’, paper delivers at the Kuru Presidential Retreat on Peace and Conflict resolution, January 23-26; cited in Shedrak G. (2007) “Conflict and Peace Building in Plateau State Nigeria”; Ibadan, Spectrum Books Limited.
Federal Character Commission-FCC. (2005). In Kwaja, C. (2014). State Response to Violent Conflicts in Plateau State. Monograph Series No. 1. 2014; Jos, Visart Publishing
Harnischfeger, J. (2004). Sharia and control over territory: conflicts between ‘settlers’ and ‘indigenes’ in Nigeria. African Affairs, 103/412. Higazi, A. (2013). “Rural Insecurity on the Jos Plateau, Nigeria: Livelihoods, Land, and Religious Reform among the Berom, Fulani and Hausa.” In Interfaith Relations in Northern Nigeria; Policy Paper No2 March 2013; 11 July 2017. Retrieved from http://www.qeh.ox.ac.uk/nrn.
Human Right Watch. (2005). Jos, Nigeria. November 18. Human Rights Watch; New York.
Human Rights Watch. (2006). “They Do Not Own This Place: Government Discrimination Against Non-Indigene in Nigeria;” Human Rights Watch: Vol 18/No 3 (A); New York.
Jochnick C. (2001). The Human Rights Challenges to Global Poverty. In William V.G and Camilo P (Eds) (2001). The Poverty of Rights-Human Rights and the Eradication of Poverty. London, Zed Books.
Kaigama, I.A. (2012). Peace, not War. Jos; Hamtul Press Ltd.
Kwaja, C. (2014). State Response to Violent Conflicts in Plateau State. Monograph Series No. 1.2014; Jos, Visart Publishing.
Lazarus, R. S. (1961). McGraw-Hill Series in Psychology. Adjustment and Personality. New York, NY, US: McGraw-Hill Book Company. Lengman, J. (2017). Director General, Plateau State Peace Building Agency; Interviewed 25/5/2017.
Leonard, P. (1972). Who own Jos? Ethnic Ideology in Nigeria Urban Politics. Urban Anthropology, 1(1) (SPRING 1972). Published: The Institute, Inc. 5 July 2017 Retrieved from www.jstor.org/stable/40552853.
Madunagu O.M. (2011). A Review of Government White Paper on Reports of Ethno-Religion Conflicts in Plateau State. In Para-Mallam, J.O (Eds.), Finding Durable Peace in Plateau. Kuru, National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS).
Richard S.L. (1961). Adjustment and Personality. New York, McGRAVyjttEL Book COMPAQ, INC.
Sha, P.D. (2005). The Politicisation of Settler-Native Identities and Ethno Religious Conflicts in Jos, Central Nigeria. Ibadan: Stirling-Horden Publisher. Shedrack G. B. (2007). Conflict and Peace Building in Plateau State, Nigeria. Ibadan: Spectrum Books Limited.
Shedrack G.B and Carole R. (2011). Violent Conflict and its Aftermath in Jos and Kano Nigeria: What is the Role of religion? Religion and Development Research Programme, Working Paper 69.
Taylor, Shelley E. (1983). Adjustment to threatening events: A theory of cognitive adaptation. American Psychologist, 38(11), Nov 1983, 1161-1173. 19 July 2017. Retrieved from: http://psycnet.apa.org/buy/1984-17824-001.
Tell. (2004). Hausa/Fulani have no claim to land in Plateau. Tell. Lagos, May 31. William V.G and Camilo P. (2001). Human Rights as a Source of Inspiration and Instrument for the Eradication of Poverty: The need for an Integrated, Economic, Political and Legal Approach. In William V.G. and Camilo P. (Eds.), “The Poverty of Rights-Human Rights and the Eradication of Poverty. London, Zed Books. Yusuf. M.S. (2009). “Jos, A City in Peril: An Overview of Ethnicity and The Origin and Sources of Conflicts in Jos. 5 July 2017. Retrieved from https:// www.files.ethz.ch/isn/142958/GD-WP-Jos-deadly-cycle.pdf.