Greetings, Jaybaby,
This is just a free comment, not an "answer" to your question.
Ethnicity, "A sense of being different than other groups because of
cultural tradition, ancestry, national origin, history, or religion."
web.bryant.edu/~fsp/modules/2/diversitygloss.htm
Ethnicity existed in the area of Africa that now is Nigeria long
before the country was established, following its having been a
British colony.
This site from the CIA mentions 250 ethnic groups.
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ni.html#People
This site explains that these predate any European involvement in the area.
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+ng0014)
You can click on the table of contents and then look at the preceding
and following chapters on Nigerian history.
Perhaps with your question you are asking more about the problems in
Nigeria that relate to ethnicity.
A problem common to many countries that emerged from colonies is that
the colonies grouped together different neighboring ethnic groups
under one administration, but when the countries were founded and
local governments established, the ethnic groups soon began to
reassert themselves politically, often on the basis of their being
different states within a new country. Ethnicity, per se, did not
emerge, rather the competition and conflict between the groups emerged
when they were brought together under a single government.
The chapters in the second site on "EMERGENCE OF NIGERIAN NATIONALISM"
and about the "civil war" explain more, as well as the chapters under
"ethnicity" and further down the chapter on "domestic security".
I hope this is of some help. Certainly, if you have any questions, I
am sure a Researcher can provide you the information you want.
Regards, Myoarin |
