The Nigerian War In The Perspective Of Inter-Ethnic Politics

Modem Nigeria is is an emerging country in the process of decolonization after the second world war whose national construction was more artificial than natural.Due to Britain’s interests Britain implemented the policy of "divide and rule" in Nigeria during the colonial period.The policy has deepened the gap between various ethnic groups which lacked mutual historical and cultural traditions and made Nigeria’s political situation act out a pattern of tripartite confrontation.Accompanying by the process of national independence,The connection between Nigeria ethnic groups and different regions has become more and more close.After independence Nigeria’s ethnic groups started to intensely competed for the state status, power and national resources.The fierce struggle for national power and resources between the three main ethnic groups(Ibo, Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba) made the contradiction between the ethnic groups in Nigeria become more and more deep.Until the contradiction turned into irreconcilable,the civil war broke out.This paper holds that the Nigerian civil war is the extreme consequence of the Nigerian ethnic conflicts.The reason,progress and impact of the Nigerian civil war must be studied focusing on Ibo by analyzing the rise,development,mobilization of Ibo’s ethnic consciousness and the ethnic conflicts between Ibo and other ethnic groups in the perspective of inter-ethnic politics.