International Affairs and Global Strategy www.iiste.org ISSN 2224-574X (Paper) ISSN 2224-8951 (Online) Vol.42, 2016 23 Religious Violence and National Security in Nigeria, 1999 – 2011 Oluwaseun Olawale Afolabi Institute of Peace and Strategic Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies Programme, University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Abstract Nigeria which is multi-ethnic and multi-religious in nature is faced with religious violence. Religion that supposed to be a unifying factor among several ethnic groups in Nigeria has turned out to be one of the catalysts that are causing destruction of lives and properties due to narrow-mindedness, misunderstanding, fundamentalism and fanaticism of religious adherents. Several political problems take on religious dimensions; manipulated by politics, poverty, illiteracy and ignorance in Nigeria. Violence based on religious affiliation and religious policies have indeed caused physical and psychological damage to several people thereby legitimising religious schism among Nigerians who simply have different religious affiliations. This upheaval threatens the national security of the country. Thus, study will make use of survey methodology in examining the effect of religious violence in Nigeria from 1999 to 2011 and intends to find out how religion which has been the bone of contention can bring peaceful co-existence. Keywords: Religion; Violence; National Security; Christianity; Muslim. 1. Introduction Religious violence in Nigeria has a clear connection with the proliferation of uncompromising Muslim and Christian activism, a relationship that has led to a growing culture of religious violence particularly in northern Nigeria. Before the advent of Islam and Christianity in Nigeria, African Traditional Religion, which encompasses several modes of worship to the Supreme Being had been the religion of Africans. It was rare occurrence of religious violence back in the time when Africans worshipped God the indigenous way. Thus, with the introduction of Islam and Christianity in Nigeria, there ensued violence and agitation for supremacy. The concept of national security was developed mostly in the United States of America after World War II. Currently, the concept encompasses non-military security such as economic security, energy security, food security etc. Security threats can come in any form. The present security threat in Nigeria is the Boko Haram terrorist attacks on the government and the country at large. Equally, religious violence is a threat to the well-being of the adherents of the religions in Nigeria. Several political problems take on religious dimensions; manipulated by politics, poverty, illiteracy and ignorance in Nigeria. Violence based on religious affiliation and religious policies has indeed caused physical and psychological damage to several people, thereby legitimizing religious schism among Nigerians who simply have different religious affiliations. Thus, there is a need to look at the factors that are responsible for religious violence in Nigeria since the inception of democracy in 1999 and to find out how religion can bring about peaceful co-existence. 2. Perspective on the Implication of Religion and Politics in Nigeria Religion which has no concise definition is a dominant element in both international and domestic politics. There are three prominent religions in Nigeria: African Traditional Religion, Islam and Christianity. The last two religions are more dominant and play important role in the daily life of their adherents. Fox (2001) identifies three important characteristics of what role religion plays in international and local politics. First, foreign policies are based on religious views. Secondly, religion acts as a basis for criticizing government decisions both internationally and locally. Thirdly, religious conflicts usually attract both local and international attention. Ellis and Haar (1998:188) add that the relation between religion and politics or between religion and perceptions of the State is rooted in history. In non-western societies like Nigeria, religion tends to have the capacity to be used as a political instrument. Religion has become an indispensible phenomenon and important factor in political discourse. Scholars like Awolalu (1976:1) argues that religion is a fundamental, perhaps the most important, influence in the life of most Africans; yet, its essential principles are too often unknown to foreigners who thus make themselves constantly liable to misunderstand the African worldview and beliefs. Religion parades into every aspect of the life of the Africans and it cannot be studied in isolation. Its study has to go hand in hand with the study of the people who practice the religion. Writing from an Islamic perspective, Juergensmeyer (2005:26) argues that Islam, the fastest growing religion in the world, is unique as it incorporates religion and politics and structures the political economy of a nation. Thus, neither can exist without the other. The political economy of religion is that religion everywhere is socially constructed, dynamic and embedded in socio-economic and political power relations, always in the brought to you by CORE View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk provided by International Institute for Science, Technology and Education (IISTE): E-Journals