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Growing Apart? Ethno-Regional Identity Politics, Tensions And Threats To The Nigerian State, 1960-2010, Ali Simon Yusufu Bagaji

Ali Simon Yusufu Bagaji

The notion of democracy, the motive behind party formation, ethno-regional spread of parties, voting behaviour and pattern of electoral results, and pre and post election crises among other fissiparous tendencies are all indications that Nigeria is a highly divided society. This article examines manifestation of ethno-regional identity politics, and how identity has re-focused political participation, struggles and conflicts in the Nigerian federation. It concludes that despite institutionalisation of measures aimed at preventing the use of any form of divisive identity in the Nigerian body politic. Nigeria, after over fifty years of state-building and political engineering, appears to be growing apart.