The latest developments
On August 29, 2023, the police reported having arrested about 67 people who were attending a gay wedding in Ekpan, a city in the southern Delta State. Homosexuality is punishable by law in Nigeria, and this was one of the major operations against suspected gay individuals. In July 2023, a militia group killed 24 residents of Akpuuna, a village in the central-north of the country.
On the 5th of the same month, Doctors Without Borders declared that the malnutrition crisis in northwest Nigeria was worsening: in the first 5 months of 2023, hospital admissions increased by 26% compared to the same period the previous year. The NGO urged authorities to provide an immediate response to the situation. On June 20, a terrorist attack left 15 people dead in Plateau State, central Nigeria. The perpetrators were not identified.
On April 8, another act of mass violence occurred: armed men attacked a refugee camp and killed about 37 people who had taken shelter in a school. This happened in Benue State, in the central-north, which a week earlier had witnessed the killing of about 50 people. Locals pointed to nomadic Fulani herdsmen as responsible for the school attack, as they have long been in conflict with sedentary Hausa farmers over land and resources.
February also saw violence by “bandits,” often referred to as irregular militias engaged in kidnappings for profit. In the northern part of the country, in Katsina State, more than 100 people died in 48 hours of clashes between these armed groups and local vigilante groups. In January 2023, there were 40 deaths following an explosive attack in Rukubi, central Nigeria. The authors appear to be unidentified terrorists.
In the past, the area has been subjected to Nigerian army airstrikes against jihadist militias, often resulting in civilian casualties. Meanwhile, on May 29, 2023, the country’s presidency changed hands: Buhari was succeeded by Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The new head of state, who declared during the inauguration ceremony his intention to govern honestly and in accordance with the Constitution, is grappling with a country afflicted not only by serious security problems but also by profound economic stagnation.
What is being fought for?
Various conflict scenarios are open in the country. In the Northeast, clashes and attacks due to the presence of Islamic terrorists have been ongoing for years. In the Middle Belt, tensions and violence are caused by the opposition between herders and agricultural communities, aggravated by desertification caused by climate change. In the oil-rich region of the Niger Delta, guerrilla activity by rebel groups fighting against the dominance of foreign extraction companies continues.
There are also (and they are increasing) episodes of rebellion with subsequent government repression in Biafra, due to the region’s claims for independence. Then there’s the element of crime, more or less organized, widespread throughout the country and particularly in large cities. A central knot of instability remains terrorism. Nigeria ranked sixth in the 2022 Global Terrorism Index (GTI) published by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), an improvement from the fourth position in 2017. Total deaths from terrorism in the country decreased to 448 in 2021, the lowest level since 2011. However, there is not much to celebrate, as the number of terrorist attacks increased by 49% between 2020 and 2021. 36% of the attacks were claimed by ISWAP, while Boko Haram is responsible for only 8%, and 44% were not attributed to any group.
General overview
Nigeria is a federation of states created in 1914 by the British, who, at the end of the colonial era, delineated its borders according to their own interests. They created a “monster” state by uniting the poor, semi-desert Northern region, inhabited by the Hausa and Fulani nomads historically of Muslim faith, with the densely populated Southern region, inhabited by sedentary populations belonging to two main ethnic groups (Yoruba and Igbo) historically of Christian faith.
Nigeria is composed of 36 states and one territory (the area of Abuja) inhabited by 250 different ethnic groups with three dominant groups. The extreme heterogeneity of the country makes it difficult to develop a strong sense of national identity, so much so that the first 40 years of its independent history are an almost uninterrupted chain of coups d’état and military governments. In 1999, the first free elections handed the Presidency to Olusegun Obasanjo, in office until 2007. Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, with approximately 231 million inhabitants. It cultivates, among others, oil palms and rice, and exports livestock. It is a major producer of oil and other resources such as natural gas, coal, and zinc. However, its economy is weak.
In 2022, crude oil revenues fell well below expectations. By late July 2022, Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed stated that oil funds for the first quarter of 2022 were 61% lower than expected, and OPEC data confirmed that Nigerian crude oil production had collapsed in recent years. Despite the natural wealth of their country, in 2022, over 80 million Nigerians live in extreme poverty, according to data published by the World Poverty Clock (WPC): 39% of the population.
The country does not shine in terms of human rights respect. Freedom of expression and the press are severely limited. However, civil society is very active. Between October and December 2020, the largest wave of protests in the last 30 years occurred. Triggered on October 3 by the murder of a young man in Ughelli, Delta State, by officers of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), the movement #EndSARS was revived. This movement was born in 2017 from youth complaints against the violence and corruption of the anti-robbery unit and distrust towards the central government, which has always hidden its crimes (arbitrary arrests, illegal detentions, robberies, extortions, tortures, and murders). The protest spread from Abuja and Lagos throughout Nigeria, paralyzing it for three months. The police responded with violence, resulting in hundreds of deaths and injuries. Extensive damage was also caused by infiltrated hooligans. In addition to the dissolution of SARS, the protests targeted government corruption, social inequalities, lack of opportunities, gender discrimination, and LGBTQ+ community discrimination. Feminists and activists were pillars of the protests. According to observers, these protests could have had an impact on the 2023 presidential elections, potentially shifting power away from the party that had held it thus far.
Instead, the country’s leadership passed to Tinubu, from the same party as former President Buhari. Meanwhile, terrorism remains rampant. Internal clashes and conflicts between various armed groups exacerbate violence. Bandit groups, engaging in ransom kidnappings, and ethnic tensions, especially between Fulani nomadic herders and Hausa farmers fighting for control over water and land (increasingly scarce due to desertification), further contribute to the turmoil. These clashes often result in village massacres and mass kidnappings. The number of internally displaced persons and Nigerian refugees is rapidly increasing.
Key figure or association – Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu
Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu is a Nigerian politician, a member of the All Progressives Congress. He has a long career as an entrepreneur and served as the governor of Lagos from 1999 to 2007. He has been accused of illicit enrichment during his tenure. In 1993, in the USA, he was investigated by federal authorities regarding his excessive income, which seemed to be linked to heroin trafficking. Despite the numerous accusations, he has never been convicted. He became President of Nigeria on May 29, 2023, after an election campaign that focused on his effectiveness as an administrator and businessman. Opponents reported serious electoral fraud and demanded the annulment of the vote, but it did not happen. Tinubu remained President.
FOCUS 1 – From e-Waste to Lanterns
Among the many problems it must address, Nigeria is also grappling with the overproduction and lack of recycling of electronic waste (e-waste). It produces approximately 500,000 tons per month, which it dumps in workshops, open spaces, landfills, and water sources. These wastes pose a serious problem for the environment and human health. The start-up Quadloop is seeking to develop low-cost, zero-emission solar lanterns from electronic waste.
FOCUS 2 – An identity sketch through time
At the prestigious modern art gallery Art Twenty One in Lagos, the French artist Prune Nourry exhibited a series of sculptures representing the girls abducted by Boko Haram in 2014. In that year, on the night between April 14th and 15th, 276 Christian schoolgirls aged between 16 and 18 were abducted by the Islamist group from their girls’ school in Chibok, in the East of the country. Nourry based her work on photographs to reproduce the features of the young girls.