The United Nations independent expert on minority issues, Rita Izsak has attributed some of the tensions and conflicts that have erupted in Nigeria’s northern and the middle-belt States on the constant competition for the unequal allocation of resources such as land issues, population movement and migration, and even the gradual but important impact of climate change.
Izsak, who was in Nigeria on invitation by the government to conduct an assessment and proffer solutions of the minority plights in the country, said in Abuja while addressing the press that the term minority is far from an easy one to define in the Nigeria context.
According to her, with over 250 ethnic groups and even more languages spoken in the country, many among Nigeria’s population could be defined as minorities with distinct languages, cultures and traditions.
“It is important to note that my consideration of minority issues doesn’t only consider national contexts where the dynamics and dimensions of identity, ethnicity, religion, language and access to power and resources are frequently more important and play a greater role in the daily lives of individuals and communities,” she said.
The UN expert stated that she has also learned about some of the problems and threats to minority rights that exist in several states and that, in some cases, have threatened historical harmonious inter-communal relations.
She said her observations about the states visited including Plateau and Kaduna, revealed that there are new divisions where once was relatively peaceful coexistence. Also, Izsak expressed sadness to learn that the impact of extremist and radical elements and violent attacks perpetrated against Christian and Muslim communities have heightened suspicious and in some locations create a climate of fear.
The UN minority rights campaigner urged that those who incite or perpetrate violence must not be allowed to succeed in deepening divisions between communities and must be held to account for their crimes.
“Enhancing the capacity, training and resources of the security forces in regions where violence has broken out is essential.
However, sustainable solutions to communal violence equally lie deeper than a heighten security response. They must also address long-standing and contentious political, economic and social issues and inequalities that have been neglected,” Izsak said.
