“They Do Not Own This Place”
 Government Discrimination Against “Non-Indigenes”
 in Nigeria

Summary

Recommendations

To the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
To all State Governments in Nigeria

Introduction

Historical Background and Context

The Development of Nigerian Federalism
The Origins of the Indigeneity Issue in Nigeria
The Extent of the Problem in Today’s Nigeria

Government Discrimination Against Non-Indigenes

Ambiguous Legal Definitions of Indigeneity
Certificates of Indigeneity

Arbitrary decision making, discrimination and corruption in the issuing of indigeneity certificates

Theatres of Government-Sponsored Discrimination Against Non-Indigenes

Public sector employment
Barriers to obtaining higher education
Barriers to political participation

Indigeneity and Intercommunal Conflict: An Overview

Indigene-Settler Conflicts

Case Studies

Plateau State: The Case of “Stateless Citizens”

The Jarawa of Yelwa
The Hausa of Jos
Indigeneity and intercommunal violence in Plateau State
Government mismanagement of the state’s indigene-settler tensions

Kaduna State: Indigeneity and Intra-state Conflict

Religious discrimination and certificates of indigeneity in the city of Kaduna
Discrimination and violence against Hausa Muslims in Zangon-Kataf

Delta State: The Ownership Controversy in Warri

Indigeneity and intercommunal conflict in Warri

The Nigerian Government Response and Potential Policy Alternatives

Possible Policy Responses to the Indigeneity Issue

April 2006   Volume 18, No. 3(A)