Discerning Ethnicity, Religion and Politics as Instruments of Social Relegation: The Northern Nigerian Philosophy on the Babu Group

This paper examines the role of ethnicity, religion and politics as instruments of social relegation, with specific emphasis on the Babu people of Nigeria amidst an extant Northern philosophy. In order to thoroughly explore the concern of the study, the paper employs a descriptive—historical methodology to evaluate the Northern Mafias’ religious bigotry and exclusive treatment of the Babu group. Several variables were researched to buttress the argument that Religion has been the bane of social relegation in Nigeria, particularly in light of the Northern quest to relegate other groups, specifically non-Hausa/Fulani; non-Muslim groups into modern day slaves. To this end, the study contends that this legacy, launched by Othman Dan Fadio, has been the major cause of the oppression of the non-Muslims in Nigeria, particularly those of Northern Nigeria. In consequence, the study demonstrates how the Hausa/Fulani, Muslims have consistently marshalled the philosophy of divide and rule to place themselves at a cutting edge while the Babu group have been at the receiving end politically, socially, economically and religioulsy. Against this background, the paper argues that the church being the agent of transformation has a critical role in halting the usage of ethnicity, politics and religion over the autochthonous nationalities in the context of Nigeria’s socio-political and socio-economic situations. While the paper addresses the question, in what important ways can the church in Northern Nigeria halt the wrong usage of these ideologies, it contributes to the field of religion, sociology, economy and politics, demonstrating that in the context of Northern Nigeria, religion, ethnicity and politics have been employed to marginalized the Babu group, thereby, placing them at a disadvantage position socially, economically and politically.