Middle Belt

Overview

As to what the Middle-Belt entails, three top members of the Middle-Beltern struggle had this to say as presented in the pan-Middle-Beltern magazine, New Vision in December 2000:

The veteran journalist, Chief Bayo Joseph, Media Consultant and Chairman, Editorial Board of the New Vision, on his own part said:

On another flash, Onesimus Enesi added that:

The definition of the Middle Belt areas are subject to great debate due to the presence of significant number of ethnic Hausa, Fulani, Kanuri and Igbo groups . In addition, the Yoruba who are the predominant ethnic group in Kwara and Kogi have a strong affinity with the larger Yoruba body and frequently prefer not to be associated with the Middle Belt identity.

Politics

Territories

States of Nigeria which are generally referred to as belonging to the Middle Belt are: old Plateau (now Plateau and Nasarawa), old Gongola (now Adamawa and Taraba), Niger, Kwara, Kogi, Benue, the Federal Capital Territory, alongside Southern Kaduna, Southern Bauchi, Southern Kebbi, Southern Gombe, Southern Yobe State and Southern Borno, all culturally considered as part of the Middle Belt.

Agitations for a region

The yearnings for the creation of the Middle Belt region in Nigeria had been a burning issue, as even groups like the United Middle-Belt Youth Congress (UMYC) demand for a separate identity from the "North" by the creation of the Middle Belt region as a federal unit within Nigeria.

Demographics

Population

The population of the Middle Belt as of 1991, was about 17.3 million but now predicted to be over 45 million people with the Christian population accounting for 65%, Muslims 25%, and Animists 10% of the total population.

Ethnolinguistic groups

The Middle Belt consists of many ethnic groups speaking over 230 languages. There is no dominant ethnic group, but among the larger groups as of 1991 are: Tiv with a population of 5.1 million and Nupe with 1.8 million people.

Ethnoreligious conflicts

Minorities in Nigeria tend to be dominated by the three largest ethnic groups, the Hausa of the North, the Yoruba of the Southwest and the Igbo of the Southeast. Surrounded by divergent religious, economic, and cultural histories, the Middle Belt has been the melting pot where small and large ethno-religious groups in Nigeria have long coexisted, but where they have also increasingly collided over land, resources, identity and political power. The result is a mixture of recurring conflicts and occasional political unity and solidarity amongst these highly differentiated peoples. An example for the latter was the United Middle Belt Congress that emerged following Nigeria's independence from United Kingdom in 1960. In particular, Jos city in Plateau State has been a centre for ethno-religious disputes and violence since the 1990s. The Jos Forum Inter-Communal Dialogue process spanned 16 months from August 2013 - December 2014, and refers to a peace process undertaken by communities living in Jos that concluded in a "Declaration of Commitment to Peace". In 2018 violence escalated, with battles for scarce resources leading to over 500 deaths and 50 towns being destroyed. The clashes were largely between Muslim Fulani pastoralists and Christian Berom farmers. Over 300,000 people have been displaced by the violence.

References

References

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