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- Title
The Politics of Biafran Separatism in Nigeria: Spikes and Falls in the Intensity of the Agitation.
- Authors
Awoyemi, Adeniyi Jeremiah; Okuande, Olugbenga Opeyemi
- Abstract
While existing explanations for the recurring agitation for Biafra are not necessarily wrong, this study notes that the ethnic competition argument is overly elite-driven, neglecting the perspectives and autonomous actions of the masses. Consequently, it poses Biafra separatism in highly static terms, failing to account for variation in the intensity of the agitation over time and the factors that could lead to spikes and fall in the intensity of the agitation across different administration. As such, the study focused on the elements and dynamics driving the resurgent, the uprising of, and the fluctuation in the intensity of the Biafran agitation in Nigeria, with attention to different administrations in the Fourth Republic (1999-2019). Drawing on the evidence from the literature, the study observed that what ties all the existing explanations together is the level of feeling of collective victimization in separatist movements. Also, having studied all the administrations in the Fourth Republic, it is observed that during administrations when there is a high feeling of collective victimization and low sense of inclusion (in political recruitment and governance), separatist agitation tends to be very high. Conversely, administrations of high sense of inclusion and low feelings of collective victimization see the lowest levels of separatist agitations.
- Subjects
EASTERN Nigeria; NIGERIA; AUTONOMY &; independence movements; SEPARATISTS; PRACTICAL politics; CRIME victims
- Publication
Harvard Africa Policy Journal, 2020, p58
- ISSN
2332-581X
- Publication type
Article