Sources and Dynamics of Communal Conflicts in Nigeria: Limits and Possibilities

The prevalence communal conflict in various parts of the country has continued to generate chronic security issues among researchers, policy makers, academics and other stakeholders. Most concerning is the wide spread of the menace across the wide and breadth of this country. This paper interrogated the protracted nature of communal conflicts in Nigeria, focusing of its historical context, sources, dynamic nature, effects and response mechanisms deployed to curtail the menace by concerned stakeholders. The paper relied mainly on secondary sources including books, journals, scientific reports, bulletins, seminar/conference presentations. It identified main underling drivers of communal conflict, including land disputes, boundary conflicts, farmer-herder issues and chieftaincy disagreements. These factors have consistently been the main triggers for most instances of communal violence across the country. It further submitted that the fault lines, which denote their dynamic nature and opportunistic socio-cultural and political factors that frequently contribute to communal conflict's intense and aggressive nature. These factors encompass ethnicity, religion, identity politics, and cultural biases. They invariably impact of these deep-rooted elements often gives communal violence to its heightened tension/fear imposed on the communities, destruction of lives and properties, disruption of commercial activities, slowing down of socio-economic development. Nigeria's communal disputes have hindered the progress of markets and economic advancement. Efforts of governments and non-state actors were also documented, especially in the area of deployment of security operatives to quell the violence, reconciling aggrieved parties, provision of immediate relief materials and involvement in post-conflict peacebuilding. The paper concluded that communal conflicts persist in various parts of the country, especially in the rural communities. It submitted that the situation may linger if appropriate steps are not taken to tackle the menace. The paper recommended scientific researches to fully understand the deep-rooted nature of the conflict. It also advocated the establishment of early warning systems for timely detection. In addition, the paper advocated the deployment of more security operatives to rural communities where the teething issue of ungovernable spaces has not been frontally addressed.