ETHNO-CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND RELIGIOUS PLURALISM:

IMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION AND PLANNING IN NIGERIA

BYPROFESSOR ROSELINE EMEH UYANGA (Ph.D)

DEPARTMENT OF CURRICULUM STUDIES, EDUC. MANAGEMENT AND PLANNING

UNIVERSITY OF UYO, UYONIGERIA

roselineuyanga@yahoo.com

FOCUS OF THE STUDY

• Inter- community conflicts• Internal displacement of persons (IDPs)• Loss of lives and livelihoods• Ethnic and religious identities of IDPs and

influence on education

THEORY

• Lee’s theory of migration (1966)• Positive / pull factors comprising attractive

socio-economic conditions, security and comfort

• Negative/push factors including poor socio-economic conditions, conflicts, wars, natural disasters and others

MOVEMENTS AND ASSOCIATED CHALLENGES

• Movements bring diverse groups of persons together, hence the need for self understanding and tolerance for co-existence.

• Nigeria has over 450 ethnic groups living in 774 local government areas.• Nigeria has three major tribes namely: Ibo, Yoruba and Hausa.• Nigeria has three major religions namely: Christianity, Islamism and

Paganism.Hence:• Religious intolerance,• Ethnic rivalry,• Clash of cultural interest,• Struggle for resource control,• Struggle for governance.

CONFLICTS AND CRISES LEADING TO INTERNAL DISPLACEMENT OF PERSONS

• Boundary/ cross border crises (Ebonyi- Cross River, Benue –Taraba, Kogi-Edo and Cross River- Akwa Ibom states)

• Ethno-religious crises (Maitasine riots in Kano, Kaduna, Yola , Maiduguri,Gombe, Bauchi, the Zango-Kataf, Kaduna, Zaria, Katsina and Bauchi crisis etc., Boko Haram)

• Inter-group crises (Jos civil disturbances, Tiv- Fulani clashes in Benue, Niger delta disturbances, Tiv- Jukun crisis in Benue and Taraba state, etc.)

TABLE 1: Summary of IDPs spread across Nigeria, 2003-2007.

S/N States causes Year No of IDPs

1. Yobe Flood/Fire 2003-2007 300,000

2. Jigawa Flood/desert storm Persistent 200,000

3. Delta Indigene-settlers/economic neglect

Persistent 500,000

4. Cross River Communal/land dispute/Bakassi crisis

2003-2007 250,000

5. Plateau Indigene-settlers/Religious conflict

Persistent 505,000

6. Osun (Ife-Modakeke) Indigene-settlers 2003 200,000

7. Kano Ethno-religious Persistent 300,000

8. Kwara Ethno-religious 2005 160,000

Source: The Punch, Mon. Feb 22, 2010,p.8

Associated challenges are: inability to provide education to IDPs; dis-unity in the nation. Study investigated these challenges.

TABLE 2: Figures of IDPs in camps during Jan.-Feb. 2010 Ethno-religious

crisis within Jos CityS/N No of Persons Location of Camps

1. 3,000 NLEA Training centre,Lamingo

2. 2,500 Police Staff College, Bukuru

3. 2,000 Airforce Base, Rayfield

4. 1,450 Multi-Troups Training Centre

5. 3,000 GOC,Rukuba Barracks, Jos

6. 3,000 COCIN, Catholic, Baptist and Ruban Primary Schools

7. 6,000 Bukuru Police “B” Division

8. 3,000 Central Mosque

Source: The Punch, Mon. Feb 22, 2010, p.8

RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESIS

The following research questions guided the study:1. What are the prevalent factors that pre-dispose to internal

displacement of persons in Nigeria?2. What are the adaptive strategies of educational administrators and

planners regarding use of school plant facilities for IDP youths?3. What are the economic leverage strategies adopted by the

educational administrators and planners for IDPs?4. What integration strategies are adopted by the educational

administrators and planners for national unity?Null hypothesis (Ho): There is no significant difference in the mean responses of male and female IDPs on the prevalent factors that pre-dispose to internal displacement of persons in Nigeria.

METHODOLOGY

• A purposive sampling technique was adopted (Plateau, Cross River and Yobe states in Nigeria)

• Sample comprised 200 IDPs in the age bracket of 11-30 years, and 40 educational administrators

• Data collection was with a researcher- designed questionnaire which covered the main areas addressed by the research questions.

• Descriptive statistics were used to answer research questions, and a t- test of no significant difference was used to test the hypothesis.

RESEARCH QUESTION 1 AND TABLE 4

What are the prevalent factors that pre-dispose to internal displacement of persons in Nigeria?Table 4: Prevalent factors and IDPs in Nigeria

Questionnaire Item

Factor Very Often Often Occasionally Rarely Very rarely Sum of Number

3 Competitive resource use conflict

133 65 5 - - 200

97.5% 2.5% - 100%

2 Boko Haram insurgency 140 56 4 - - 200

98.0% 2% - 100%

4 Natural disasters 126 48 20 6 - 200

87% 10% 3% 100%

RESEARCH QUESTION 2 AND TABLE 5What are the adaptive strategies of educational administrators and planners regarding use of school plant facilities for IDPs?Table 5: Ranking of Administrators’ mean responses to adaptive strategies

Questionnaire Item

Adaptive strategies Mean Response Rank

10 Over-crowding of nearby community schools

3.78 1st

8 Use of open-air classrooms for learning

3.75 2nd

14 Use of “zana” classrooms for learning

3.12 3rd

9 Use of logs of wood , stones and bare floor as classroom seats

2.89 4th

12 Recruitment of additional classroom teachers

2.18 5th

5 Use of village council halls as schools

2.12 6th

7 Engagement of displaced teachers to teach IDPs

1.93 7th

11 Establishment of camp site schools for IDPs

0.96 8th

6 Use of shifting school system to accommodate IDPs

0.89 9th

13 Use of school on wheels to cater for IDPs

0.43 10th

RESEARCH QUESTION 3 AND TABLE 6

What are the economic leverage strategies adopted by the educational administrators and planners?Table 6: Ranking of mean responses of IDPs to economic leverage strategies

Questionnaire Items

Question Mean Rank

18 No specific economic leverage activities are promoted in the camps

2.67 1st

17 Qualified internally displaced teachers are not recognized by Government

2.58 2nd

16 There is temporary employment for qualified teachers in host communities’ schools

0.96 3rd

15 There is skills training for IDPs in re-location camps

0.83 4th

19 Rural business training is promoted for IDPs in the camps, and in the Host community

0.72 5th

RESEARCH QUESTION 4 AND TABLE 7What are the functional integration strategies adopted by the government?Table 7: Ranking of administrators’ mean responses to functional integration strategies

Questionnaire Items

Question Mean Ranking

21 Singing of the national anthem

3.87 1st

24 Recitation of the national pledge

3.85 2nd

26 Establishment of unity secondary schools

3.52 3rd

30 Promotion of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Programme for university graduates

3.43 4th

27 Equitable distribution of educational facilities to all states in the federation

2.53 5th

25 Promotion of Universal Basic education (UBE)

2.31 6th

22 Promotion of policies on teachers’ and students’ exchange programmes

2.07 7th

28 Promotion of non-discriminatory admission policies into educational institutions

2.00 8th

23 Promotion of un-biased appointment to posts of responsibility irrespective of states of origin

1.65 9th

29 Provision of pensionable employment to Nigerians outside their states of origin

1.04 10th

HYPOTHESIS AND TABLE 8Null hypothesis (Ho): There is no significant difference in the mean responses of male and female IDPs on the prevalent factors that pre-dispose to human displacement in Nigeria.

Table 8: t-test on views of IDPs on the prevalent factors that pre-dispose to human displacement based on gender

Subjects N Mean SD Cal. T Tab. T Decision

Male IDPs 127

39.81 16.05

0.4 1.96 UpheldFemale IDPs 73

40.78 17.04

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

• Internal displacement of persons is a very common phenomenon in Nigeria.

• The most prevalent factor that causes internal displacement of persons as indicated in this study, is the Boko Haram insurgency. This is followed by competitive resource use conflict which includes though is not limited to:

i. land use crisis, ethnic rivalry and boundary adjustment crisis, resource control, and struggle for governance crises.

ii. Other factors include natural disasters like flood.

• Internal displacement of persons affects school plant facilities management.

• Educational administrators and planners in Nigeria are doing very little to provide education to IDPs of school age.

• No specific economic leverage activities like skills training, are planned for IDPs.

• Integration strategies adopted by both education managers and the Nigerian government are inadequate as unifying factors for the nation, hence the need for additional strategies such as:

Provision of functional basic education; promotion of social integration through education, appointment to posts of responsibilities, governance/ leadership, scholarships, employments etc. without bias, and religious tolerance.

• IDPs should be taken care of educationally, so as to sustain their psyche and personality, and build their capacity for futuristic living .