Religion, Ethnicity and Politics as Impeding Factors on Social, Economic and Political Development in Nigeria

Abstract

Nigeria constitutes an indispensable partner on the African Continent. As such, it is expected that religious institutions, ethnic nationalities in Nigerian state should work in conformity for her survival. But, this has not been the case over the years. This study interrogated religion, ethnicity and politics and the effects on Socio-economic and political development in Nigeria. The study is qualitative and adopted exploratory research design. The method of data collection was documentary review complemented by key informant interviews conducted with 6 purposively selected interviewees from University of Ibadan. Content analysis technique was adopted and data collected were analyzed .The study found that, ethnicity and religion were used as political instrument during elections in Nigeria. It was discovered that the fusion of the trio in determining who gets what, when and how has had negative toll on Socio-economic and political development in Nigeria. The study concluded that socio- economic and political prosperity has been impeded because of the usage of ethnicity and religion as a political tool. The study recommended that, for meaningful development to take place in Nigeria, the component parts should uphold moral values, social justice and fear of God as epitomized in Church-state approach to conflict management.