ETHNO-RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE AS THE GATHERING STORM TO NIGERIA-BIAFRA WAR UP TO 1967: A CAUSAL ANALYSIS AND PROPOSALS

Abstract

Nigeria with over 250 ethnic groups, distributed among the two major religions of Christianity and Islam was engulfed in a catalogue of ethnic and religious resentments up to 1967 which eventually culminated in a thirty month Nigeria –Biafra war (1967-1970). This paper examines the manifestation of ethnic tension and resentments and sectarian violence in Nigeria up to 1967, their causes and proposals for new management strategies for the control of this social phenomenon, which is fast becoming a permanent feature of the Nigerian social map is proffered. The paper relied on qualitative research methodology sustained by ubiquitous secondary sources