Learning the ethnicity and politically history of Nigeria part2

Historically,ethnic identities  in Nigeria have been summarized intothe two  broad categories of majority and minority groups. Although unequal size and population are essential to this differentiation, its origins lie more in the power configurations of the former colonial regions in which the large groups – Hausa/Fulani in the North, Igbo in the East and Yoruba in the West – held sway.This is all the more important because prior to
the creation of these regions, there were no major or minor group distinctions in the country. However, with the regions came a ‘core’ comprising the major group and a‘periphery’ made up of numerous ‘small groups’ or minorities. The creation and multiplication of states and local government areas (the number of states has increased from 12 in 1967 to 36in 1996) which have replaced these broader regions has led to the emergence of new majorities and minorities; but, the old historical contexts remain, especially with regard to the major groupings. This is one of the things that has ensured the continued political relevance of the old regions and of the ‘historical minorities,’ which remain both regional and national in scope (Osaghae 1986).
While the category of majority groups remains intact, a number of scholars have identified important distinctions and reconstructions with in the ranks of minorities that in fact show that there are inequalities among minorities. Ekeh(1972, 1996) has moved from differentiating ‘marginals’ or dispersed minorities such as the Ijaw and Ebira (cut from their kith and kin in other regions) from other minorities, distinguishing between historically dominant minorities’ which were powerful overlords in the pre-colonial and colonial periods (Ijaw,Bini, Efik, Itsekiri) and ‘political minorities’ which  were marginalized and excluded both from power in the regions and the overall national power grid (see Ekeh, 1972 and 1996 for this progression). Osaghae (1998) on the other hand,has pointed to the multiple characteristics of minorities and identified
categories of powerful national minorities made up of: historically dominant minorities,which have been influential national actors;  northern and southern minorities;and religious minorities, all of which have unequal access and opportunities in thepower and resources arena. Finally, in the struggles for more equitable access to power in the 1990s, it became fashionable and expedient for several non-minority groups including the Igbo and some Yoruba subgroups to redefine themselves as ‘minorities’ in view of their alleged marginalization and exclusion from power and resources.  Such redefinitions have not however, changed the historical context of the majority-minority cleavage. There have been other important developments in the domain of ethnic politics. The creation of more states and local government areas has led to an expansion in the domain of salient identities, but at the same time, there has been a concentration of contestations and conflicts around local issues.This has provided the impetus for the sharpening of communal identities and conflicts, which have  manifested in conflicts between ‘indigenes’ and ‘non-indigenes’, ‘sons-of-the-soil’ and ‘migrants’ and‘settlers’. The resultant system of discriminatory citizenship has deep historical roots as we shall analyze below, however, the phenomenal rise of communal conflictsbeginning from the 1990s can be partly attributed to: shrinking state resources and the attendant recourse by groups to communal resources on the one hand; and, on the other hand, to a number of state policies, interventions and omissions, including the neglect and abuse of police and security bodies, thatare supportive of discriminatory practices.